We’re so happy to welcome soprano Katrina Thurman (she/her/hers) to the podcast! Katrina is a fellow Philly-based opera singer and the founder and artistic director of one of Philadelphia’s newest arts organizations East Passyunk Opera Project (ePOP)!

Katrina gives us a peek into her multi-passionate and multi-faceted life as a producer, opera singer, and arts administrator. She tells us of her inspiration for the creation of ePOP and talks about the collaborations she’s developed to implement ePOP’s goal of bringing opera “the art form up close and personal in order to build a more intimate level of engagement between audiences, the artists, and the music.”

She also shares some behind the scenes stories of her time so far working at the Met on ‘Akhnaten’ and how her experiences there have shaped the trajectory of her company and her artistic life.

Connect with and follow Katrina on the socials! Find her on Instagram @katrinasoprano and on Facebook @KatrinaThurmanSoprano or visit her on the web: katrinathurman.com and ada-artists.com/katrinathurman

Check out the East Passyunk Opera Project (ePOP), too! Here’s a link to the super cool upcoming project with Mobbluz and K.C. Grummun in March 2023. Follow ePOP on Instagram @epopphilly , on Facebook @epopphilly, and check out their website: epopphilly.com

Many thanks go out to our Season 4 sponsors:

Stagetime– Stagetime is the professional hub for the performing arts and is a growing community of 4,000+ opera singers and classical musicians, arts administrators, agents, production staff, and beyond. Set up a launch-ready portfolio in under 10 minutes — a growing list of over 100 arts organizations accepts a Stagetime profile in lieu of a website URL. Unlike a static website, Stagetime allows you to connect with collaborators, showcase your skills, source (or be sourced as) the right talent, and center your creative practice. The arts industry is waiting for you on Stagetime!

EM2Connect– em2CONNECT is a small creative facilitation practice made up of the high-energy and ideas-driven duo of Emily Martin and Elizabeth McDonald. They specialize in rebranding, repositioning, and promoting flexible thinking around creative careers. Their work is centered on THE PROCESS – a collaborative support program where creatives (re)define their creative philosophy as a foundation for strategic career thinking.

The Sparkle Twins – We are thrilled to have The Sparkle Twins as continuing sponsors for season FOUR. Cherisse and Cherissia Williams are Identical twin sopranos from Brooklyn, NY. Their custom face masks for singers are BACK IN STOCK, so be sure to order one today, and stay healthy in style! To check out their full line of products, visit www.sopranotwins.com/shop and follow them on socials @thesparkletwins !!

And to our affiliates:

The Opera Dolls – Opera Dolls are plush dolls that sing opera when you squeeze their bellies! If you’re tired of hearing wheels on the bus on repeat during this time at home, bring culture to your living room or online classroom and snag yourself an opera doll! Use the code OPERALIFE20 for 20% your order!

Singing Straw – The Singing Straw is an eco-friendly, helpful tool for your practice sessions. Use the code mysocalledoperalife10 for 10% off your order and to support the podcast!

If you’d like to support the podcast, join our Patreon, Buy Us a Coffee, and follow us on Instagram!

Comments, suggestions, or have a story to share? Reach out at info@mysocalledoperalife.com We’d love to hear from you!

Music from this episode: 

Basic Implosion and Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod
Link: incompetech.com
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

My So-Called Opera Life is produced and hosted by Elise Mark and Marcelle McGuirk and is edited by Joshua Wise.