Meet Julie Silver Campbell | Opera on Tap Co-Manager

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julie Silver Campbell of Opera on Tap Colorado and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julie, what principle do you value most?
By far, the fact that Opera is a universal, understandable, accessible language, no matter who you are, or what your background is, who you love or what you look like. Opera should be available no matter what your income level and people of all colors, shapes and sizes should be able to perform it if they have the inclination no matter who they are, who they love or what they look like. Opera tells a human story, and humanity doesn’t just have ONE look.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Opera on Tap (OOT) was born in 2005 at Freddy’s Bar and Backroom in Brooklyn and incorporated in 2007 to promote opera as a viable, living and progressive art form and to support the developing artists who continue to keep the art form alive. What began as a small monthly gathering of ambitious, classically trained singers looking for more performance opportunities, has grown into a producing organization that has gained a loyal audience base and national recognition as an innovative force on the classical music scene. Through its Chapter program, which now has over twenty vibrant national (and international!) chapters, OOT has created a large network of performers, creators, and supporters. Our mission is to expose new audiences to opera and classical music by taking opera and classical music out of the concert hall and performing it in alternative venues, to aid young performers in their development by giving them the opportunity to perform and to promote and support them through our organization and to help promote new classical works of contemporary classical and operatic composers.

Opera on Tap Colorado was established in 2011 and since then we have produced more than 125 shows including but not limited to; our monthly shows at the Enigma Bazaar in Denver, Colorado, unique multi-sensory pairing experiences, SEE/HEAR, Illuminated Stories in Song, a visual album featuring original film written to support four song cycles, an original production of Weber’s Der Freischutz, a tour of Puccini’s Suor Angelica, a staged production of Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus in collaboration with the Aurora Symphony, the Mini-Festival of Mini Operas in Lafayette, and more.

In order to pursue our goal of breaking down any perceived or real barriers to experiencing our performances we make an effort to present our performances at casual venues, offer low ticket prices, and do what we can to reach a broad audience base.

We are also working on breaking down any perceived or real barriers for any singers that want to audition for our group, trying to show them we are safe space for them to be exactly who they are, and to grow the way they want to grow.

None of these things are easy, of course, and we learn every day, we learn from every show, and from every person who comes to listen to us. That is the best way to overcome our challenges, is to evolve and learn, and to show people exactly who we are. On paper, we look somewhat confusing and people see opera and guess the show will be stuffy. As soon as they see one of our shows though, they realize that we are anything but.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Day 1: Breakfast at the Denver Biscuit Company, a walk to the Denver Cat Company to pet some kitties, coffee at Allegro Coffee Company, an afternoon cocktail and a snack at Enigma Bazaar.

Day 2: Union Station for breakfast and a farmers market (I’m pretending it’s already that time..), wander around downtown, got to see Hamilton at DCPA

Day 3: Drive all the way to Bake N’Denver for a kolache, then a trip to the Polish Pottery Factory Store in Lakewood and then Breckenridge Brewing Company and a show at Vintage Theater Company.

Day 4: Wander around Boulder, and Dinner at Avery Brewing Company

Day 5: Wander around Lafayette, and dinner at Acerage by Stem Cider

Day 6: Hike the Flatirons and have a picnic

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Eve Orenstein founded our chapter of Opera on Tap Colorado, and without her, we wouldn’t be where we are today. She is an absolutely force of nature and even though she doesn’t live in Colorado anymore, her imprint on us in indelible.

Website: https://operaontap.org/colorado/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/operaontapco/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OOTCO

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJaN_3Ia_dks8zaBNydnWyw

Image Credits
Asha Romeo, Nnamdi Nwankwo, Thomas Mitchell Poole, Jerome Síbulo, Margaret Siegrist, Alex Sierra, Nathan Snyder