I was so excited to fill in for my friend and colleague Amanda Tipton to photograph a part of Central City Opera’s Al Fresco Concert series. They started doing these outdoor performances as a way to bring opera to the people during the pandemic. Like most opera companies, they had to cancel their season in order to keep their audiences safe and adhere to COVID-related ordinances. After doing a lot of research, they figured out creative ways to present live music outside and safely. This was actually the first performance I was able to photograph since the pandemic began. It was so amazing to be able to get back in my element again. Plus, outdoor performances are always so much fun to capture!
Central City Opera’s Al Fresco Concert Series
This concert brought together local artists from different backgrounds. Megan Marino, Mezzo-Soprano, and Michael Mayes, Baritone/Guitar are a husband and wife duo. Michael has sung on the Central City Opera stage for many years. They brought along Jason Hicks of The Blue Canyon Boys with them to play guitar. They met him at an impromptu neighborhood quarantine jam session.
I wanted to capture some photos that show the audience but Central City Opera wanted the photos to be timeless which meant no masks in the photos. To achieve this, I made sure to take lots of photos showing the audience in the foreground to show the backs of their heads, with the performers as the subjects. I was so excited when I noticed the person sitting all the way at the top of the hill, listening to the performance from afar. This is what public concerts are all about. People just walking their dogs, going for a hike, and wandering around town stopped to listen to the show. For a lot of them, it might have been their first opera experience too.
