SHOW NOTES: Season 4, Ep. 10 - Curt Olds and Jennifer DeDominici of ENCORE: A MUSICAL REVUE
Aug 2, 2019
It's the final episode of Season Four of the podcast! What a summer it's been. To sum up: two tragic, warhorse operas that both happen to involve naval ships - the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln in MADAMA BUTTERFLY and the H.M.S. Indomitable in BILLY BUDD - and a double-bill production of rather obscure works by the great French composers Debussy and Poulenc. As one would say at my mom's Thanksgiving dinner, WHAT A SPREAD. Even though those productions are coming to a close this weekend, don't worry! We've got something splendid to close out the season with a bang - ENCORE: A MUSICAL REVUE. Thank goodness!
I loved talking with director/curator/baritone Curt Olds and mezzo soprano Jennifer DeDominici. Full disclosure - I've been friends and colleagues with Jen for almost 8 years, and I've known Curt in person for about 7 and by name - through our mutual voice teacher, the late Esther England - for about 19 years. So their joint interview was one I was VERY much looking forward to doing.
We mentioned that Jennifer and Curt were both in the inaugural production of ENCORE: A MUSICAL REVUE last summer. Here are some photos, taken by Amanda Tipton:
Curt has performed with Central City Opera MANY times, most recently (if you don't count last summer's ENCORE) in the musicals SHOW BOAT and OKLAHOMA!. Check out these fantastic photos of Curt in those shows:
Curt Olds with Ellen Kaye in SHOW BOAT, 2013 (Photo by Mark Kiryluk)
OKLAHOMA! 2012 (Photo by Mark Kiryluk)
We spent quite a few minutes discussing Curt's mustache, which he grew especially for his role in PHANTOM. So I found a couple websites just for him: MustacheWaxReviews.com and TheStache.com. He should have no problem adding to his collection of mustache products from now on.
A lot of the episode was spent talking about the incredible international tours that Curt and Jennifer have taken. Jennifer spent NINE MONTHS at sea as a star performer on the luxury cruise line Seabourne. She sent me a few photos to share with you from her adventures:
Jennifer actually lives in Colorado Springs, and she performs all over the region. Make sure to check her website often for her upcoming performances.
Curt is in the MIDDLE of the world tour of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, in which he is playing the role of Andre. He just happens to be on a short break from the show - perfect timing for our ENCORE. (As he said in the episode, he has to be back on tour with PHANTOM on August 9 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Yep, that's just three days after ENCORE closes at Central City!) Here are some photos from his time in Southeast Asia (used with permission).
Make sure to see where Curt will be next, post-PHANTOM, by checking out his agency's webpage.
Like I said, it was so much fun to interview Jen and Curt, as you could probably tell in the interview. Thanks for listening (and reading), and hope to see you up on the hill for ENCORE! Remember, the Central Ciy Opera Podcast episodes are available year-round, so you can listen any time. It's been my absolute pleasure bringing these conversations to you.
Until next time, my friends.
-Emily Murdock, Host & Producer