When he’s not busy with his day job at Smith College’s Theater Department as the assistant to the technical director, Alan Schneider can often be found on stage, here in the Valley or places further afield. The veteran tenor has appeared with various symphonies and choral groups, as well as in operas and operettas; at the Academy of Music in 2013, he had a lead role in “The Garden of Martyrs,” an opera based on the infamous hanging of two Irish immigrants in Northampton in the early 1800s for a crime they likely never committed.
But in the past few years, Schneider has devoted much of his time to directing productions for Panopera, a company dedicated to making opera an affordable venture in the area by having participating artists share profits. The artist-led company, which Schneider co-founded, has staged “La Bohème” by Giacomo Puccini and Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” among other shows.
“Opera is such a big undertaking,” Schneider said in a Gazette interview two years ago. “Our goal is to bring together all these different groups and see if we can’t find a way to make this work. And I think we can, because there are so many talented people here who have that same goal.”
Hampshire Life: Talk about the work you’re currently doing. What does it involve, and what are you trying to achieve?
Alan Schneider: I occasionally get opera or concert gigs in Boston and elsewhere, most recently a couple of shows with Odyssey Opera in Boston and a Beethoven 9th Symphony with Symphony New Hampshire. Locally, however, my focus since 2014 has been on my own company, Panopera. We produce operas at the Academy of Music in Northampton, using professional talent from as close by as possible.
The main goal, however, is not artistic, but economic. We’re trying to build a company that can survive and pay its artists decently with earned income from ticket and advertising sales, not public or private subsidy: a commercial opera company.
HL: What do you draw inspiration from? Do you ever have any “Eureka!” moments?
AS: I draw the most inspiration from my colleagues, who, more often than I deserve, are willing to invest their time and skills in Panopera.
HL: How do you know when your work is finished?
AS: The curtain closes and the house lights come up.
HL: Name two artists you admire or who have influenced your work. What about their art appeals to you?
AS: Two of the greatest tenors of the 20th century were Jon Vickers and Franco Corelli. What inspires me about them is not only their voices, but the physicality and deep emotional commitment in their singing.
HL: If you weren’t an artist, what do you think you’d be?
AS: An architect.
HL: What’s your go-to snack while you’re working?
AS: Coffee.
HL: Do you listen to music while you’re working? What kind?
AS: Since music is my work, I have no choice but to listen to whatever piece I’m working on.
HL: What do you do when you’re stuck?
AS: If I’m working on something by myself, then I have to put it away for awhile. One of the advantages to working on a large collaborative art form like opera, however, is that while I personally may be stuck on something, someone else is not — and the work can continue.
— Steve Pfarrer