Dear Member of the Opera by You community

Would you like to attend the world premiere of our unique community opera plus an afternoon seminar for the package price of €52.50 per person?

July 21, 2012 is a historic day for global opera, for that it is the day scheduled for the premiere of the world’s first community opera, Free Will. The thoughts, ideas and plans of our Opera by You community will become flesh and blood, theatre, music and plot on the Olavinlinna Castle stage. It will be sooooo exciting to see what sort of opera we have created!

Seminar at 13.00 on July 21

On the premiere day of the opera Free Will we are holding a seminar to discuss working as a community and the use of crowdsourcing to create an opera. We will exchange experiences of the Opera by You project, and well-known speakers will share their views on community product development. Speaking at the seminar will be

• The Opera By You operatives: composer Markus Fagerudd, stage director Jere Erkkilä, stage designer Samuli Laine, librettist Iida Hämeen-Anttila and project manager Päivi Salmi
• Chief Marketing Officer Peter Vesterbacka, Rovio
• Head of Crowdsourcing Pia Erkinheimo, Nokia Ideas Project
• The director of the film Iron Sky, Timo Vuorensola, Blind Spot Pictures

The number of tickets is limited.
Online bookings only, campaign code STUDENT12. Buy here online
http://www.operafestival.fi/In_English/Front_page/mainmenu/specialoffer_freewill.iw3

Keep in mind that our work is still going on! And will get even more intense in June! Stay tuned.

Best, Päivi

Hi all Opera by You -members! Now I am very happy to announce the winners of community activity competition. 5 members that have been among the most active in creating Free Will community opera have been awarded with travel packages to the Savonlinna Opera Festival and world premiere of Free Will on 21st July 2012. Now all Opera By You community members have an opportunity to reach for Jorma Ollila Innovation Award which will be granted in July.

The winners of the travel packages were drawn among the 20 most active members of the online community. Lucky ones are: Javier Armendariz from Spain, Enrico de Zottis from Italy, Finnish Heli Nevakare and Nancy Somerville and Sabrina Pena Young from the United States of America.

However, the work of the community will be going on until the premiere, when three Jorma Ollila Innovation Awards are granted based on active participation. The award is an acknowledgement on special activeness and innovative ideas. Winners will be announced at an Opera By You seminar, held on the day of the premiere on 21st July.

Remember, that the project is not over yet. The online direction, the most exciting phase of the project, is starting in two months. We want to encourage all the current and new members to follow the direction process online, and take actively part in the interaction. Everyone is a potential winner of Jorma Ollila Innovation Award; activeness and ideas count.

All the winners, please contact me personally paivi.salmi@operafestival.fi for the details of the prizes.

Have a nice weekend!

Best, Päivi

The time has come to do the prize draw of the competition for the most active members of the Opera by You community. We entered the names of the 20 most active members for a draw in which the prizes are five travel packages for the Savonlinna Opera Festival and the performance of the opera Free Will on July 21, 2012. More details on prizes will follow after the prize draw.

The short list of the most active Opera by You members (situation 30.3.2012)

- Heli Maaret Nevakare (FIN)
- Nancy Somerville (USA)
- Enrico de Zottis (ITA)
- Javier Armendariz (ESP)
- Phillip Wayne (FIN)
- Seppo Hiltunen (Fin)
- Antti Wiio (FIN)
- Daniel Vizitescu (ROM)
- Kela Ruuskanen (FIn)
- Timo Albert Hintsa (FIN)
- David Jansson (SWE)
- Graziano Gallo (ITA)
- Angela R (ITA)
- Toivo Pollari (FIN)
- Valentina Liski (FIN)
- Timo Airisto (FIN)
- Sabrina Pena Young (USA)
- Demetrio Bonvecchio (ITA)
- Liisa Niskanen (FIN)
- Rafael Perez Daniels (ESP)

Congratulations to the short list members! The prize draw will be held April 10 2012, just after the Eastern. So you have still some time to be more active and make your way to the short list!!

Our journey together is not over yet. Now we have still some very exciting phases left. You will have the unique possibility to follow and influence the stage direction ONLINE. This will happen in June 2012. More info will follow later.

REMEMBER: We have still some community tasks left, find below some examples

Stage direction design, few examples
http://www.wreckamovie.com/tasks/show/2496
http://www.wreckamovie.com/tasks/show/2512

Marketing planning
http://www.wreckamovie.com/tasks/show/2375

Please, go and listen the final pianoscore of Free Will https://www.dropbox.com/home/Free%20Will

Best Päivi, your production leader

Getting Started - some tips

Here some tips for you who want to put your personal stamp on a full scale opera.

In Opera by You community we are creating a live opera in online community. The Opera is called Free Will and it’s original synopsis is written by Italian Graziano Gallo. This libretto was chosen from about a hundred suggestions by the Opera By You community and a group of operatives.

The opera itself will be seen at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in summer 2012.

You don’t have to be the next Mozart to participate. Every single idea, opinion, question, phrase, thumb up and tune is appreciated.

Join us, make an effort, win a trip to Savonlinna Opera Festival. Everyone taking part in creating Opera By You has a chance to win a trip to Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland. Been there? If yes, you know why this is the best prize ever. And if not, then hey, don’t miss it! Great opera, scenic Lakeland Saimaa and a medieval castle as a stage, beautiful Finnish summer nature, cup of coffee at the Savonlinna market square.

Here’s tips on how to contribute. It’s easy. Drop a word or two if you like, or really dig into it and give it your heart’s worth.

In creating an opera there are basically four phases. In brackets the timelines and deadlines:

1) the plot = synopsis (by June 2011) - find attached the latest version with Acts and Scenes.
2) the detailed script = libretto (by May 2011) - find the latest version attached.
3) the composition = music , find the final pianoscore below
4) the visualization = guidelines mainly for stage sets, lightning and wardrobe. (Stage sets by May 2011, lightning and wardrobe by December 2011).

At the moment we have already finalized the script, stage sets design, costume design and composing. But we have still lot to do with stage direction and marketing planning.

THE SCRIPT
Find here the final script
http://www.wreckamovie.com/shots/show/8931

THE MUSIC - COMPOSING
Free Will composing has now ended and you can find the final pianoscore here. The orchestration will be done by Markus Fagerudd.
http://www.wreckamovie.com/shots/show/9735

THE VISUAL SET UP - VISUALIZING
The community has finalized the following:

Find the final stage sets here
http://www.wreckamovie.com/shots/show/9457

Find the final costumes here
http://www.wreckamovie.com/tasks/show/2381

Participate here in to the stage direction tasks
http://www.wreckamovie.com/tasks/show/2476
http://www.wreckamovie.com/tasks/show/2435

In visual design and stage direction there will soon come some new tasks. Stay tuned!

THE SLOGAN, VISUAL IMAGE AND MARKETING of FREE WILL
Find the detailed task here
http://www.wreckamovie.com/tasks/show/2375

We are looking forward to hearing your ideas!And if you have any questions, feel free to contact myself or the other operatives of this project, Iida Hämeen-Anttila (writing), Markus Fagerudd (composing), Samuli Laine (visual designer), Jere Erkkilä (stage director), Juki Pohjolainen (head of production) and Essi Palo (head of wardrobe).

As the production leader of Opera By You I’m also more than happy to help.

Päivi Salmi
paivi.salmi@operafestival.fi

Getting Started - some tips

Here some tips for you who want to put your personal stamp on a full scale opera.

In Opera by You community we are creating a live opera in online community. The Opera is called Free Will and it’s original synopsis is written by Italian Graziano Gallo. This libretto was chosen from about a hundred suggestions by the Opera By You community and a group of operatives.

The opera itself will be seen at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in summer 2012.

You don’t have to be the next Mozart to participate. Every single idea, opinion, question, phrase, thumb up and tune is appreciated.

Join us, make an effort, win a trip to Savonlinna Opera Festival. Everyone taking part in creating Opera By You has a chance to win a trip to Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland. Been there? If yes, you know why this is the best prize ever. And if not, then hey, don’t miss it! Great opera, scenic Lakeland Saimaa and a medieval castle as a stage, beautiful Finnish summer nature, cup of coffee at the Savonlinna market square.

Here’s tips on how to contribute. It’s easy. Drop a word or two if you like, or really dig into it and give it your heart’s worth.

In creating an opera there are basically four phases. In brackets the timelines and deadlines:

1) the plot = synopsis (by June 2011) - find attached the latest version with Acts and Scenes.
2) the detailed script = libretto (by May 2011) - find the latest version attached.
3) the composition = music (by December 2011)
4) the visualization = guidelines mainly for stage sets, lightning and wardrobe. (Stage sets by May 2011, lightning and wardrobe by December 2011).

At the moment we have already finalized the script and stage sets design. But we have still lot to do with composing, stage direction and marketing planning.

THE SCRIPT
Find here the final script
http://www.wreckamovie.com/shots/show/8931

THE MUSIC - COMPOSING
Here you can find the latest tasks in composing.
Scene 6, first part
http://www.wreckamovie.com/tasks/show/2324

Mozarts aria
http://www.wreckamovie.com/tasks/show/2368

If you have any questions about the composing, just contact Markus Fagerudd, our composing operative who is guiding the community in composing tasks. Here shortly how composing is happening here: according to a task you may compose an entity, or those part of the task you find most interesting. The main thing is that you compose the way you feel it should be. You may also send in sketches of music, everything is valuable.

We are composing a pianoscore for the moment. This means vocalparts+piano. Please use a notation software you prefer. You can send in files with the free download program Musescore. You can also send in Sibelius and Finale files. Files from other notation software should be sent in as pdf + mp3.

Markus, our composing operative will gather and put together the material that you all contribute with. Then we can together still improve it according to the ideas and comments you share us all.

THE VISUAL SET UP - VISUALIZING
The community has finalized the following:

Find the final stage sets here
http://www.wreckamovie.com/shots/show/9457

Find the final costumes here
http://www.wreckamovie.com/tasks/show/2381

In visual desig there will soon come some new tasks. Stay tuned!

THE SLOGAN, VISUAL IMAGE AND MARKETING of FREE WILL
Find the detailed task here
http://www.wreckamovie.com/tasks/show/2375

We are looking forward to hearing your ideas!And if you have any questions, feel free to contact myself or the other operatives of this project, Iida Hämeen-Anttila (writing), Markus Fagerudd (composing), Samuli Laine (visual designer), Jere Erkkilä (stage director), Juki Pohjolainen (head of production) and Essi Palo (head of wardrobe).

As the production leader of Opera By You I’m also more than happy to help.

Päivi Salmi
paivi.salmi@operafestival.fi