I am returning home to Cleveland to perform selections from Carmen, The Tales of Hoffman and Lakme with Opera Per Tutti for the Dream Day’s benefit, The Cherry Blossom Ball on Thursday, May 8th at the Akron Civic Center. Featuring performances from musicians and dancers, as well as a silent auction, all proceeds will benefit Dream Days, a non-profit dedicated to organizing events for those with developmental and physical disabilities and other chronic conditions.

Take a moment to listen to my interview this morning with AM 930 WEOL!

I am so excited to sing my fourth season with Opera Per Tutti and am thrilled to be using my talents to support such an important cause.  It’s such a good feeling to be singing in my hometown and marrying two of my biggest passions: Disability Advocacy and Opera.  I hope you will join me in supporting the important work of Dream Days on May 8th!

I'm looking forward to performing at the YAI International Conference opening ceremonies on Monday, April 28th.  I will be collaborating with Michael Kingon, an extraordinary pianist who has played with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for over 20 years, in a celebration of musical diversity.  I hope to see you there!

Click here for more information

Congratulations to my dear friends and studio-mates from CCM, Yi Li and Amanda Woodbury, as well as Julie Adams, Ao Li and Patrick Guetti, on winning the 2014 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.  This is the second year in a row for a McGraw Studio win!!

I had a wonderful time performing at the 6th Annual "Sing for Hope: Sing for Home" Thanksgiving Dinner and Concert at Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church at East 22nd and Lexington.  I love performing for audiences who do not necessarily have a background in classical music.  Their response was so honest and positive, and they requested encore after encore!  This event made Thanksgiving very special for me and I can't wait to return nest year!  

A defining moment: after years of hearing "You need to sing for Plácido!" it finally happened! 

It was such a pleasure to sing for such an intelligent, kind and receptive artist.  I was impressed by his generosity, both with his time and his encouraging words.  He also let me in on a secret- the room I was singing in was the first he had ever sung in at the Met, and he was excited that it could be a first for me as well!

Maestro graciously invited me to greet him and his family after his performance of Germont in La Traviata that afternoon.  It was a brilliant show, and his mere entrance on the stage was greeted with thunderous applause.  

Singing for a man who inspires art by his very presence was intensely gratifying and I wish my grandfather, Miklós Penzvalto, could have been there with me to meet him.

By PAULETTE PENZVALTO
Pictured: Director, Pam Berlin



Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy The Cripple of Inishmaan, which was first performed in 1996, is set in a small town called Inishmaan in the Aran Islands, off  the west coast of Ireland. It will be performed by the fourth-year drama students December 6 through 10 and centers on the filming of Robert Flaherty’s 1934 nonfiction feature Man of Aran. The play’s action follows a young boy, Cripple Billy Claven (played by Adam Farabee in the Juilliard production), who is determined, against all odds, to land a role in the film. Inishmaan is directed by Pam Berlin, who has also helmed The Good Person of Szechwan, Uncle Vanya, and Hedda Gabler at Juilliard. Recently Berlin spoke with Paulette Penzvalto, an intern in Juilliard’s Special Projects Office.

What about this play grips you?

McDonagh has written these wonderfully vivid, eccentric characters and has given us a gold mine for exploring them. He creates a fantastic energy in this play and the characters are brimming with frustration and longing to escape. This isn’t a naturalistic play—the preparation for it is a process of finding the authenticity of the world and balancing it with the inherent theatricality of the work. And even though our play takes place in the 1930s, it could have done so a hundred years before. The Aran Islands haven’t changed much—I visited there 25 years ago, so I can really reference them firsthand.

What brought you there?

I was spending a month in Ireland, and came over from Galway. As a person in the theater, it was particularly interesting to me because there are so many Irish plays based on the west coast of Ireland; I had just done Translations by Brian Friel and Playboy of the Western World by John Millington Synge, which takes place in County Mayo. Synge spent a lot of time on the Aran Islands and wrote about them, and that was one of the reasons I wanted to explore the west coast. [Juilliard Opera presents Riders to the Sea, an opera based on a Synge play, on December 9, 11, and 13.]

How was your experience there?

It is astonishing how primitive those islands are. There are very few cars and people use donkeys and

carts to travel. It is spare and desolate, and also very beautiful. Synge once described those islands as “big slabs of limestone,” and that’s what they feel like. People really do lead these amazingly basic, hardscrabble lives, and I think this play really embodies that.

So it’s not what we’ve seen in the movies?

Man of the Island is an amazing work, but highly romanticized. Robert Flaherty presented the people on the island as noble savages. I think Martin McDonagh must have seen the film and felt that no culture lives that sort of idealized, simple life, where one is basically honest and good, and then decided to write a play that debunked all of that. I suspect the truth lies somewhere in between McDonagh’s play and Flaherty’s film.

What are some historical references you have used to research the Islands?

Synge’s book The Aran Islands, which he wrote in the early 1900s, really talks about the people, their character, and their culture. There are also memoirs written by people who grew up in the Great Blasket Islands—also off the west coast—which are wonderfully evocative and vivid.

How are you going about creating the look of the production?

How we feel about the play is embodied in the design choices we make; the designers and I have looked at a lot of photographs, in order to fortify ourselves with the visual history and to come up with the design. Because this is not a realistic play, how do we create a set which at once has an authenticity and yet also a theatricality? It’s fun trying to figure that out.

Have you encouraged your actors to do similar research?

To an extent, and it’s also my job to bring that research in, so that the initial rehearsals are really about steeping them in the world of the play. The actors help to inform a lot of the choices which I can’t possibly make until we start working together.

What distinguishes McDonagh’s work?

The Irish have such an incredible aural tradition, and McDonagh, who’s widely considered one of the most exciting living Irish playwrights, has an amazing gift for language. He loves to shock and to be outrageous, and his plays, including this one, have a tremendous amount of humor; his characters are cruel and yet we grow very fond of them because they are so wonderfully eccentric.

Can you tell us about some of them?

The characters emanate primal instincts, and while they’re in a world that has an incredible amount of cruelty, McDonagh draws it in a very funny way. There is at once a combination of people being very blunt in the way they behave and speak, but also [exhibiting] the wonderful Irish characteristics of being cunning and devious. The clearest example of this is Johnny Pateen Mike (played by Ali Sohaili)—he’s greedy, opportunistic, and always nosing into other people’s business, but then you realize there’s a whole other side of him. The same holds true for Helen (played by Natasha Warner), a tomboy whom McDonagh describes as a terror. She would stand up to anyone and wouldn’t be afraid to get into a fight with someone much larger and heavier than she is, but she surprises you when you’re not expecting it. Martin McDonagh loves to do that.

Source:  The Juilliard Journal

Photo credit: Pam Berlin (John Gary Brown)

Paulette Penzvalto and Eva Andersen present a relief concert on Columbus Circle in New York City to raise money for the Hurricane Sandy relief effort.  A special thank you to all who donated and to our unofficial sponsor Wafels & Dinges, who kept us in hot beverages and delicious waffles all night long.

Click here for more information about how you can help!

Benefit Concert at Carnegie Hall for the Lang Lang International Music Foundation

By Paulette Penzvalto 


Cleveland native Kelly A. Dobos MS is making her mark on the beauty world, both as a Cosmetic Chemist in the Skin Beauty Research Lab at Kao USA and creator of Jergens Natural Glow and Protect. We had the opportunity to talk to Dobos about her background, her line of work and what her influences are.

How did you first get interested in Cosmetic Science? 
Honestly, I didn’t know the field existed. But I wish I had, because it’s been the most amazing career. The summer after finishing my undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Oberlin College I was in two weddings, maid of honor for both. I needed a real job ASAP. So I started working for a company that made cleaning products. About three years later, one of my raw material suppliers mentioned a position opened at a cosmetic company and that the formulation science involved was similar, I jumped at the chance. As much as I love science, I also love beauty products so it’s been a perfect fit.

Describe the process of coming up with and creating the formula for Jergens Natural Glow and Protect.
Product development starts out with an idea to fulfill an unmet consumer need. Once we have the concept worked out, each ingredient is selected by what it contributes to the formula and then lots of little batches are made testing different combinations of those ingredients. Then the samples are evaluated, we usually start with an internal panel of expert sensory evaluators and when it comes to sunless tanners, you’ll find me wandering the lab in shorts with something like 12 spots of color on my legs to ensure we get the most natural looking color. Once I’m confident I have some strong prototypes, the product gets taken to focus groups with consumers so we verify performance and make tweaks if needed. Then it’s time to scale up to final production.

What sets this product apart from any other?
It’s the combination of a gradual sunless tanner with broad-spectrum sun protection and the moisturization you expect from Jergens lotion. Three benefits in one product, and at a price that’s very reasonable.

How often and where have you traveled?
I travel across the US and for a variety of reasons. Technical conferences, focus groups, and press events. This year I’ve already been to NYC, San Diego, and Miami. I only had one week in April where I wasn’t on a plane.

The Society of Cosmetic Chemists is a professional organization that promotes the advancement of science behind personal care products. I am currently a national Area Director and I’m responsible for assisting the St. Louis, Ohio Valley, Lake Erie, Mid-West, Twin Cities, and Ontario chapters, and that means I need to visit each of those chapters at least once during the year. I can have a couple months packed with travel and then a few off. It’s tiring at times but I really enjoy it.

Whom have you met with on trips to New York?
NYC is the place I travel to most often, it’s the center of the beauty care industry. I go there for press events associated with new product launches. Press events are a lot of fun. I get to break down the technology behind a product’s efficacy for editors from every major beauty and fashion magazine. I was so nervous the first time I met Jean Godfrey-June of Lucky, which has been my favorite magazine ever since it launched (founding editor Kim France, also an Obie!). A little side note, I was visiting my friend Hannah in LA a few years ago and was actually photographed for Lucky’s Street Style. That was a thrill. You can still find my picture on their website.

What is the best part of your job? 
Are you asking me to pick one thing? Because I love everything about my job! I LOVE science. I research and design experiments, and can explain how molecular orbital theory is behind sunscreen efficacy or how there’s physics involved in those pearlescent particles in eye shadow. I also get to read beauty magazines and go shopping to keep up on competitors and claims.

How many women on average do you work with?
In the lab, the tendency is generally skewed towards more males. But I think the field of cosmetic chemistry, which blends biology, chemistry, physics, and, math can inspire more girls to pursue science education. I take an opportunity I can to tell young girls about my career and show them how fun science can be.

What does your average day look like?
Everyday is different, I can be in my lab coat creating formulations on the bench or wearing steel toe boots in the plant scaling up a new formula for production. Or I’m sitting behind a mirrored wall watching consumers and searching for insights that will lead to new product ideas. I never get bored.

What is your favorite magazine?
Lucky because it removes all of the silly stories like, the best hairstyle to get you a date, and focuses on clothes, accessories, and beauty products.

What was your favorite hangout when you were living in Cleveland?
Capsule isn’t around anymore, but it was the best bar in Cleveland. The sleek space-themed interior was home to rock shows and many Scrabble games with friends on Sunday nights. I miss that place.

What did you work on at Bonne Bell?
I formulated lip balms, lip gloss, and other color cosmetics.

What was your program and dates of study at Oberlin and UC?
I graduated from with a bachelor’s in chemistry from Oberlin College in 2001, completed my MBA at Cleveland State University in 2008 and just finished my Masters in Pharmaceutical Science with Concentration in Cosmetic Science this February (2012). Both masters were done while working full time, but 100% worth the effort. I wanted to become an expert in my field.

What are some of the beauty staples you could not live without?
I don’t leave the house without mascara and a sunscreen for face and body. Most accelerated skin aging (wrinkles, discoloration, loss of elasticity) is attributed to excess UV exposure. And the brand new Jergens Natural Glow and Protect(sunless tanner with SPF) is my go-to when I want a tan look.

What’s an interesting fact you’d like readers to know?
I used to DJ a metal radio show at Oberlin College with my friend Annie. I think it’s important to challenge norms and be eclectic. I set goals every year and push myself to do something new, like getting my motorcycle license last fall. I never want to stop learning and growing, personally and professionally.

(source: fashionablycleveland.com)

I had an excellent time with Maestro Jim Caraher and Indianapolis Opera at the State Fair this week, thank you to everyone who came out to our six shows and made it such a fun event!!  The indianapolis Opera will continue to perform until the 19th, so I hope you'll stop by and check out some of the other outstanding vocalists, as well as the International Pavilion which was transformed by Jorden into a magical (and educational!) tour of Italy.

A special shout out to my friends from the "Little Eately" Food Truck, currently stationed inside the International Pavilion- Definitely worth stopping by while you are checking out the show!!  They make the most delicious panini and friend ravioli, and their blood orange lemonade is to die for!!