Documentary On Cleveland Orchestra Going National

From APT: Opera Reimagined: Animating the Cunning Little Vixen, a new WVIZ/PBS ideastream documentary, follows Cleveland Orchestra Music Director Franz Welser-Möst and Director Yuval Sharon in 2014 during their collaborative process of creating a technologically innovative production of Leoš Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen with digital animation in Severance Hall. On Friday, Sept. 8 on WVIZ/PBS, Northeast Ohio audiences will see the local premiere broadcast of the film that tells the behind-the-scenes story of an opera production from initial concept to opening night. The program will air on public television stations across the United States throughout September.

American Public Television (APT), a leading syndicator of top-rated programming to the country’s public television stations, selected Opera Reimagined: Animating the Cunning Little Vixen for national distribution. Stations across the United States have the opportunity to select the program for broadcast beginning in September.

WVIZ/PBS ideastream, the film’s producing station, will air the film on Friday, Sept. 8 at 9 p.m. ET in the Northeast Ohio market. Throughout the month, additional stations regionally and nationally will premiere the program to their audiences (see below chart for details).

The Cunning Little Vixen at Severance Hall and the Musikverein

On Sept. 23, 24 and 26, 2017 The Cleveland Orchestra will present live, encore performances of the 2014 production of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen at Severance Hall. Tickets are available now at clevelandorchestra.com. Oct. 12 to 28 as part of a five-city European Tour to Hamburg, Linz, Luxembourg, Paris, and Vienna, The Cleveland Orchestra will bring this production to the Musikverein (Oct. 19 and 20, 2017), where it will make history as the first fully-staged opera presented since the concert hall opened in 1870.

Broadcast Schedule

See below for specific broadcast times as of Aug. 10, 2017.

Additional stations may choose to air Opera Reimagined: Animating the Cunning Little Vixen. Please contact WVIZ/PBS or check your local listings for the latest details.

“Opera Reimagined: Animating the Cunning Little Vixen is a 30-minute documentary that presents an in-depth, behind-the-scenes perspective of all elements of the performance, including the details that go into planning opera,” said Peg Neeson, station manager of WVIZ/PBS ideastream. “We are thrilled that viewers from all over the country have the opportunity—through this program—to see the details that go into creating a new kind of production, delve into the story and feel as if they had a front row seat to opening night.”

“The city of Cleveland and The Cleveland Orchestra especially are places for innovation and creativity, and our production of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen is one of the most outstanding examples of what we have done," said Cleveland Orchestra Music Director Franz Welser-Möst. “I remember when I saw it for the first time, I felt like a new art form was invented. Showing this film to the world is a great way to celebrate the start of our 100th season in 2017-18, the beginning of our Second Century. This opera production demonstrates that The Cleveland Orchestra is thriving. Part of that is because we take risks, we don’t shy away from being innovative and creative, we actually go for it.”

When conceptualizing this opera, Sharon was inspired by the story’s original form as an illustrated series called Liška Bystrouška (“Vixen Sharp-Ears”.) Central to the treatment of the 2014 production were the concept of old-fashioned amusement park photo stands where people poked their heads through cutouts and transformed themselves into cartoon characters. The Cleveland Orchestra commissioned California-based creative studio Walter Robot to design and animate the entire opera. Along with the animation, doors were strategically placed within the set, allowing masked singers to pop in and out of the scene and take on the appearance and character of forest animals.

Image Courtesy of Cleveland Orchestra