Local Highlight: Rosalinda Verde & the Visalia Opera Company (+Giveaway!)

Meet Rosalinda.

JM Haynes Photography

Rosalinda is a talented twenty-eight year old Visalian who has had music in her bones since she was a young girl. After growing up singing Selena and Gloria Estefan songs at fairs and weddings, she studied music at Point Loma Nazarene University. (Fun fact: She auditioned for the program singing a Bonnie Raitt song while wearing glittery cowboy boots. We know––you love her just for that!) Currently, she sings in two cover bands and is the founder of the Visalia Opera Company.

That's right: this salsa-dancing, glitter-boot-wearing girl sings opera! In fact, she is crazy about it. Although she may be passionate about opera today, however, it wasn't until she had the opportunity to sing in the San Diego opera chorus that she fell in love with it. There, she saw opera performed by masters and learned it is an exquisite, beautiful, and challenging art form.

You may be hesitant about opera, but maybe we can take a lesson from Rosalinda: Whether it's Selena, Bonnie Raitt, or Mozart, good music is good music.

Read on to hear from Rosalinda and learn about the Visalia Opera Company and their upcoming performance of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. We hope to see you support this fantastic organization. Be sure and enter the giveaway to win two tickets to the opera!

What is the Visalia Opera Company (VOC)?
VOC is compiled of many fantastic, professional singers from the Central Valley. Our goal is to expose our community to the art of opera, especially our youth. I know a lot of people think they don’t like opera, and yet many people haven’t seen one. I dare anyone to listen and not be, at the very least, impressed by the talent.

How did the VOC begin?
I started the VOC in my head before I moved back to Visalia from San Diego. I knew we had talent here and knew that the community would be open to it. Visalia is home to an amazing symphony, the SoundNVision Foundation, and great musicians who are making a difference. I was lucky enough to connect with the Arts Consortium; they are our umbrella company and have made it possible for VOC to hold non-profit status.

What has the VOC performed?
We’ve performed at several parties, functions, and restaurants such as The Depot and Little Italy. VOC has done two “Taste of Opera” events during the Arts Consortium's “Taste the Arts” festival, which motivated our first fully staged opera last year: Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. We performed with an orchestra, a ballet company, and a gingerbread chorus, culminating with a final sold-out performance. VOC took pieces of Hansel and Gretel this past summer and performed for children at all of the King’s County libraries. Most recently, our singers performed at the Pops in the Park Concert with the Tulare County Symphony.

What does your week look like as a member of the VOC?
All of our singers are extremely busy. For almost every one of them, being a musician is their full-time position. We all love what we do and when we are running around in between rehearsals and our jobs, we count ourselves blessed that we get to be close to music everyday.

Where does the VOC receive support, and how can we as a community support?

We have received support from grants, Visalia’s City Council, and other private sponsors that are listed on our website. The community can support by being open-minded and attending one of our concerts or operas. You will find that VOC has a way of making opera accessible to everyone.

VOC also needs fiscal sponsors; at a time when many opera companies are folding it is a great feat that the opera company in Visalia has remained in the black. Organizations like the Tulare County Symphony and the Visalia Opera Company raise the standard of living for our community and enrich our culture. These companies need to be cherished and preserved.

What's the big upcoming performance? And who's this opera hunk we've heard about?
VOC will present Mozart’s most hilarious opera, Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro). It is a pinnacle of both operatic and human achievement. The story contains a Count with a roving eye, a love triangle, suspected adultery…it is just like a normal day for the average Visalian. ;) (And PS - Mr. Zachary Gordin of operahunks.com will perform the role of the Count in the production.)

What is your inspiration for creativity?
I work at the Creative Center, an arts school for adults with disabilities. They are a supremely talented population; the students inspire me every day. When I hear my friends sing I am inspired to work on my craft and to work to ensure the community hears their talent.

What’s playing on your iPod?
Linda Rondstadt. She sang pop, county, mariachi music, and opera. She can do it all. I want to be her when I grow up.

Something I couldn’t live without is… My family. “Dad, can you build an opera set?” “Mom, can you go buy glitter for our dew fairy?” “Brother, can you drive our trailer full of Hansel and Gretel props all over Kings County?” “Nana, can you do Zombie Mozart’s makeup and make the burnt up gingerbread witch out of cardboard?” I also cannot live without my cell phone. It is my brain.

My top five faves this month are... You pick. That’s why I read your blog. ☺ (Rosalinda, we say your faves are salted caramel, crocheted scarves, pumpkins, lattes, and Mozart.)

We hope you are as excited as we are about our Visalia Opera Company and their upcoming performance! Please support them by attending the opera and fundraising opportunities. And stay connected with them on Facebook, Twitter, as well as the VOC and Arts Consortium websites.

Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro

November 8-10

Main Street Theatre

Purchase Tickets

A Notable Night

(To benefit the Arts Consortium and Visalia Opera Company)

Wine & Appetizers

Art, Music, Silent Auction, & Raffle

Sunday, October 27th, 5-7pm

The Lakes Clubhouse in Visalia

Purchase tickets at the door: $25

You can win a set of two tickets to the opera! Enter the giveaway below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway