BAU-XI PHOTO PRESENTS: Opera Houses by David Leventi

DAVID LEVENTI
OPERA HOUSES
February 5 – 19, 2011

OPENING RECEPTION: SATURDAY FEBRUARY 5th, 2-4 PM, artist in attendance

These stunning photos record the interiors of world-famous opera houses, all taken from centre-stage with 4x5 and 8x10 Arca-Swiss cameras to maximize detail. Architecturally meticulous, this body of work serves to historically document these national and cultural landmarks. The series is titled 'Bjöerling's Larynx', after Jussi Bjöerling, a Swedish operatic tenor known for the technique, feeling and range of his voice. Bjoerling debuted at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm and eventually became a principal at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Leventi states, "These two spaces – and the others that I have photographed thus far – are the spaces in which my grandfather, Anton Gutman, never got the chance to perform. Gutman was a cantor trained right after World War II by Helge Rosvaenge, a famous Danish operatic tenor who sang regularly with the State Operas in Berlin and Vienna. While Gutman was interned in a prisoner-of-war camp in the Soviet Union, he performed for prisoners and officers. Nearly a half-century later, I grew up listening to him sing while he walked around our living room. As the son of two architects, I experience an almost religious feeling walking into a grand space such as an opera house."

David Leventi grew up in Chappaqua, NY and Nantucket, MA. In 2001, he received his Bachelor of Fine Ar ts in Photography from Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri. From 2002 to 2008, Leventi assisted Robert Polidori in his studio and on international shoots as First Assistant, Studio/Archive Manager and Drum Scanner. His photographs have been widely published in Culture + Travel, Vanity Fair, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, BlackBook, Travel & Leisure, Best Life, Forbes, I.D. Magazine, New York, LIFE Magazine, Time Out New York, and Time Out New York Kids.

Contact information:

324 Dundas St. West
Toronto, ON, M5T 1G5
416.977.0400 / info@bau-xiphoto.com
www.bau-xiphoto.com
Gallery Hours: Monday - Saturday, 10-5:30, Sunday 11-5:30
Media Contact: Robyn McCallum or Danielle Forest at 416.977.0400 or info@bau-xiphoto.com