Central City Opera Weekend 2010 - Recap

Last weekend we saw two operas that couldn't be more different from one another. On Saturday it was Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld, which was a total romp, a farce, in French, opéra bouffe. There was nary a serious moment from beginning to end.


On the other hand, Madama Butterfly, on Sunday, was as intense a performance as we have ever seen. By the end of this sad, tragic story, I would venture to say there was not a dry eye in the house. It was intensely emotional and powerfully performed. We thoroughly enjoyed both productions and highly recommend them.


Here we are, all gathered for breakfast at the Chase Creek Inn Bed & Breakfast. This room is so bright. It is illustrative of the entire B&B, a place full of light and peace and good food, thanks to its proprietors, Karen and Hal.


Opera a la Carte is a lot of fun, and we haven't attended in years. Just before the afternoon opera, some of the performers present three scenes from three different operas at the Williams Stables, just across the street from the Opera House. It's a great way to broaden one's opera experience. In this venue, the actors/singers are right in front of you. It's almost like being on stage with them.

One of the many relaxing features of the Chase Creek Inn B&B is the porch, with its comfortable rocking chairs. Here are Abe and Vickie enjoying the porch.

The view from the Inn's porch.


Bidding adieu to our favorite Bed and Breakfast for another year.

Central City Opera Weekend 2010

This weekend we embark on our 8th annual Central City Opera Weekend. The picture below comes from their website here. Also, I recently discovered another excellent resource, the Central City Opera Festival Blog: Behind the Curtain.

Along with two other couples, we spend Friday and Saturday night at our favorite Bed & Breakfast, the Chase Creek Inn B&B, nestled just around the corner from the hustle and bustle, the flashing lights and electronic sounds, of Blackhawk's casinos.

We see two of the three operas offered this season by the Central City Opera House Association.

On Saturday, we'll see Orpheus in the Underworld by Offenbach.

And on Sunday, we see Puccini's Madama Butterfly (photo taken from the CCOHA web site).

We relax in the B&B's hot tubs; enjoy the gentle breezes in the rocking chairs on the porch while listening to the babbling brook (Chase Creek) and watching the hummingbirds and chipmunks.

We take walks into town or into the nearby mountainous countryside. Friday night has become the night to walk to the Ameristar casino and enjoy their fine buffet. Coincidentally, the Chase Creek Inn B&B is "an historic structure saved from demolition by the Midcap family. The top of the structure was moved from the current site of the Black Hawk Casino by Hyatt (currently the Ameristar) and placed on a long abandoned mining site."

Then Saturday we reserve a table after the opera in the Teller House's Face Bar for a fine meal provided by the Kevin Taylor Group.

All in all, this is a weekend we look forward to with eager anticipation throughout the year. It is a weekend to relax, to unwind, to enjoy time with friends, and to appreciate marvelous music in the splendor of the majestic Rocky Mountains. Does it get any better than this?

Check out previous weekends here: 2009, 2008, 2007.

Central City Opera Weekend 2009

We just returned from another wonderful weekend in Central City, Colorado. We saw two of the three operas in the Central City Opera House Association season.

The three couples arrived at our favorite Bed and Breakfast, the Chase Creek Inn, on Friday night.

Here's the group gathered in the Dining Room.

On Saturday afternoon, we saw the musical "A Little Night Music" by Stephen Sondheim. It was a lighthearted farce, and we enjoyed it very much.

Reviews:

CCO makes much of "A Little Night Music"

Daily Camera, July 6, 2009

Soprano McNair very much "still here"

Denver Post, July 3, 2009

Sunday afternoon we saw the opera "Lucia di Lammermoor." It was also very enjoyable but quite different from the Sondheim musical, not at all lighthearted.

Mad about her: Central City's spellbinding "Lucia"

The Denver Post, June 30, 2009

CCO Stages luminous "Lucia"

Daily Camera, June 29, 2009

Russian soprano finds depth in madness of "Lucia"

The Denver Post, June 21, 2009

Incredibly, the Central City Opera House, opened in 1878 and in its 77th year after reopening in 1932, has never performed a Handel opera. This year, that all changes, with the performance of Rinaldo.

Reviews:

A spellbinding staging of "Rinaldo"

Denver Post, July 14, 2009

Opera has a crush on Handel

Denver Post, July 5, 2009

Central City Opera House, Opening Night, 1932

Former Weekends

2008     2007

Central City Opera Weekend 2008

Our annual Central City Opera Weekend is coming up at the end of this week, and yet I still have not published any pictures from last year's event. As we look forward to this weekend, here are a few pictures from 2008. The 2007 trip was documented here.

Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story was a big hit and came off splendidly on the Central City Opera House stage.

Arriving at the Chase Creek Inn Bed & Breakfast in Blackhawk, Colorado.

The operas performed in Central City in 2008 were all in English.

The front of the Opera House

Three lovely ladies in the garden outside the Opera House.

Inside the Opera House


The Chase Creek Inn B&B

Rich and Kim return from a nice walk around the neighborhood of the Chase Creek Inn B&B.

This beautiful fountain was built recently at the end of the street of the Bed & Breakfast.


The Central City Opera House Association specializes in performing American opera. Susannah was a fine example of that genre.


Former Weekend
2007

Central City Opera Weekend 2007 and The Best B&B in the West

This weekend Kathy and I celebrated our fifth annual Central City Opera Weekend, staying at our favorite Bed & Breakfast, Chase Creek Inn in Blackhawk, Colorado (see link below). Central City and Blackhawk are two historic Colorado cities that are, unfortunately, now known mostly because of legalized gambling and the influx of casinos. This is unfortunate because their history is very rich and interesting. Additionally, the Central City Opera, in its 75th year, provides excellent operatic entertainment every July and August, high in the Rocky Mountains.



The Central City Opera House, built in 1878, was reopened in 1932 by the Central City Opera House Association, and has been in operation ever since. Here's a picture of the historic building. Check out their website here: http://www.centralcityopera.org/

A view down the street running by the Opera House. The historic St. James Methodist church (oldest church in Colorado) is on the left (but unfortunately covered by the huge pine tree!).

Here's Kathy in the historic Teller House Hotel (next door to the Opera House). It is now a museum, not an operating hotel, but they do have a bar and a restaurant operation out of the Teller House during Opera season. In fact, we had a fine dinner here with our friends, Jim and Sue, on Saturday evening, between operas.






This year we were again blessed to enjoy our opera weekend with our dear friends, Jim and Sue. Here is a picture of the four of us out front of the most peaceful, wonderful Bed & Breakfast we have discovered, the Chase Creek Inn.







Here's a view of the B&B from above.
















Kathy and Sue relax on the porch. The rocking chairs, gentle breeze, and the sound of the babbling brook make this a very relaxing area. Also, chipmunks and squirrels cavort on the hill behind the house, and hummingbirds visit the feeder provided for them.


















The hot tub is one of the attractions that keep us coming back to Chase Creek Inn year after year.


















Hal and Karen are the proprietors of the Chase Creek Inn B&B. They are a delightful, hospitable couple (and Karen's gourmet breakfasts are par excellence!). For further details, check out their website here: http://chasecreekinn.com/index.html