Girindra Selleck's Opera & Acting Adventures

2008-06-19T11:29:00.021-05:00

Hello! My name is Girindra Selleck, I have done many operas and plays, but my real passion lies in the film industry. I have wanted to be an actor since I was four.

In the film world, I see myself in movies such as Oceans 11, 12, and 13, The Thomas Crown Affair, Unaccompanied Minors, the Friends TV Show, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, comedic roles, and action roles.

My dream role is Pendragon in the Pendragon series.

Some of my skills useful in the film world are my sword fighting training, my horseback riding skills, my acting abilities (obviously), my comic abilities, my ability to do different voices, and of course my will to be in movies.

Some of my favorite actors are Matthew Perry, Brad Pitt, David Schwimmer, Matt Le Blanc, Matt Damon, Robert DeNiro, Ben Stiller, Al Pacino, Denzel Washington, Bill Murray, and more.

I know I have potential to be in movies. Email me at operablog-108 "at" sneakemail dot com if you have a role that I could audition for.

Here are some pictures from the roles I have done:

My first performance in THE MAGIC FLUTE in the role of the First Spirit was in English with the Des Moines Metro Opera, under the direction of Dr. Robert Larsen in 2006. I also sang Peaseblossom in MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, Sam the Chimney Sweep in THE LITTLE SWEEP, plus Children's Chorus in CARMEN and OTELLO in the 2007 season at DMMO.

Girindra Selleck, First Spirit with John Michael Moore as Papageno.

Three Spirits with Talise Trevigne as Pamina in Dress Rehearsal

Girindra Selleck, First Spirit in Flying Cloud

Magic Flute Finale Dress Rehearsal

Puccini's LA BOHEME
In March 2007 I performed (along with my Mom, Soprano Ulrike Selleck
(www.UlrikeSelleck.com) in Puccini's LA BOHEME at the
University of Iowa Martha Ellen Tye Opera Theater in Iowa City, Iowa.

(Click photos to enlarge.)

Britten's MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
In June and July 2007 I performed the principal role of Peaseblossom in Benjamin Britten's MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM with the Des Moines Metro Opera.
Our production gained an accolade from Opera News, the leading opera review magazine in New York:
“Conductor Larsen joyfully illuminated Britten's ingenious, ephemeral sound worlds … the fairies glittered visually and vocally”.
June 23, July 6, 10 & 14, 2007 at 7:30pm; July 1, 2007 at 2:00pm Tickets: (515) 961-6221 or DMMO online.

Britten's THE LITTLE SWEEP

I also performed the part of Sam, the title role, in Benjamin Britten's charming
one-act opera THE LITTLE SWEEP with the Des Moines Metro Opera in July 2007.
It was a delightful Dickensian story about a mistreated chimney sweep boy
(Girindra) who is finally liberated from his tormentors. Great fun!

Bizet's CARMEN
I also performed in Bizet's CARMEN sung in French with the Des Moines Metro Opera. June 22, 29, July 7 & 12, 2007 at 7:30pm;

June 24 & July 15, 2007 2:00pm

Verdi's OTELLO
And I performed in Verdi's OTELLO sung in Italian with the Des Moines Metro Opera.

Mozart's THE MAGIC FLUTE
In January 2008 at the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre I sang the part of the Erster Knabe (First Spirit) in Mozart's THE MAGIC FLUTE in German, under the direction of Daniel Kleinknecht.

Tickets: 319-366-8591 or online: http://www.theatrecr.org

Girindra as Erster Knabe, John Muriello as Papageno

Scroll down the page for more information on Girindra.

My first performance in THE MAGIC FLUTE with DMMO: Three Spirits in Rehearsal

Dennis Hendrickson, DMMO Voice Coach;
Girindra Selleck, First Spirit;
Andrew Bartlett, Second Spirit;
Jonathan Beatty, Third Spirit

Three Spirits in Dress Rehearsal

Girindra Selleck, First Spirit; and John Michael Moore as Papageno in Dress Rehearsal

Girindra Selleck, First Spirit; and Eric Fennell as Tamino in Dress Rehearsal.

Girindra Selleck, First Spirit; and Jonathan Beatty, Third Spirit

If you would like to hear audio clips of the arias I sing with the other Spirits, please email me at operablog-108 "at" sneakemail dot com for updated links to these mp3 files.

Scroll down the page for articles from the press.

The Magic Flute is a highly symbolic story that draws on Mozart's experience with Freemasonry. For interesting background information, open these links in a new browser window:
http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/mozart_a/TheMagicFlute.html
and
http://www.dogstar.dantimax.dk/magflute/flutetxt.html

More about Girindra
I have liked opera since I was little. My favorite operas are The Magic Flute, Midsummer Night's Dream, Don Giovanni, Turandot, Carmen and La Boheme. I have seen operas in Germany, Chicago, New York, London, Kansas City, Iowa, St. Louis and Paris.

All in all, my favorite arias are Papageno's "Der Vogelfaenger bin ich ja" and "Ein Maedchen oder Weibchen", as well as Don Giovanni's "Fin ch'han dal vino," Rodolfo's "Che gelida manina," the Commendatore's "Don Giovanni," and the Queen of the Night arias from THE MAGIC FLUTE.

My dream role is Papageno, but I will have to wait a few years to perform it.
My favorite opera singers are Simon Keenlyside, Bryn Terfel, Anna Netrebko, Cecilia Bartoli, and Placido Domingo. My favorite conductors are Dr. Robert Larsen, Dr. Daniel Kleinknecht, James Levine and Claudio Abbado.

I have seen countless plays, operas etc. both in Europe and America. My 1^st play was when I was 6 months old and I sat on my Mom's lap through Shakespeare’s Midsummer's Night Dream directed by Rodney Franz.

I have seen many of Shakespeare’s plays at the Globe Theatre in London and at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. I really liked Spamalot (a take-off on Monty Python’s Holy Grail film) and The Lion King.

I study voice with Dennis Hendrickson at DMMO and Stephen Swanson at the University of Iowa. In addition, my Mom, Ulrike Selleck (www.UlrikeSelleck.com) who is a soprano, coaches me. I studied acting with Lucia Rich, Rodney Franz and with my father, Thomas Selleck, who studied with Marcel Marceau’s teacher, Etienne Decroux and I've taken theatre workshops in London. I study sword fighting with Kendall Wells, who is a student of Anthony Delongis.

My previous roles were in The Nutcracker, party boy and soldier; The Mikado, Titwillow bird; Shakespeare Gala, dancer; Prahlad’s Boon, Prahlad; and a national TV commercial for Wahl Clipper Corporation. I invite you to email me at operablog-108 "at" sneakemail dot com

Thank you for visiting my blog!

Scroll down the page for articles from the press.

Girindra Selleck -- Articles from the Press

2006-06-18T13:07:00.000-05:00

Fairfield Weekly Reader article, June 29, 2006

Floating on an operatic cloud
in Mozart’s Magic Flute

“Floating on a cloud 20 feet above the stage is really fun!” exclaims 10-year old Fairfielder Girindra Selleck, First Spirit in the Des Moines Metro Opera professional production of Mozart’s Magic Flute. “But singing the arias with the other two Spirits and with Pamina and Papageno is even more fun – since the Spirits get to save both of them from committing suicide!”

Girindra, a homeschooler, just completed his first performances in DMMO’s professional production of Mozart’s opera at Simpson College campus in Indianola, Iowa. He is one of three boys who guide the main characters of the opera towards safety, higher knowldege and enlightenment. More details and photos of the opera are posted at http://girindraselleck.blogspot.com.

Girindra won the role of First Spirit after auditioning in February and has been intensively rehearsing the intricate 3- or 4-part harmonies of Mozart’s arias ever since with Andrew Bartlett and Jonathan Beatty, the two other Spirits. DMMO founder Dr. Robert Larsen and voice coach Dennis Hendrickson directed the boys in Indianola prior to the rehearsals that began last month with the full cast, most of whom auditioned in New York or Chicago for their parts.

“All the singers are experienced professionals and I learn a lot just watching them and especially singing with them” Girindra explains. “The trickiest and longest aria is with Pamina (Talise Trevigne), where the Three Spirits snatch away her dagger and reassure her that Tamino (Eric Fennel) still loves her. But I like the shorter aria with Papageno (John Moore) because he is so funny. That’s the role I want to sing when I’m older!”

Although this is Girindra’s first professional opera appearance, he comes from a musical and theatrical family: His mother, Ulrike Selleck, was featured as Katisha in Rodney Franz’s 2004 production of The Mikado; his grandmother sang and teaches opera voice professionally in Germany; and his father teaches mime and movement as a guest instructor at MUM and theatre games for the local homeschoolers.

On one level, The Magic Flute is delightful fairy tale, but the underlying Masonic symbolism is rich in allusion to the process of initiation into the path of knowledge and the achievement of higher wisdom. (For more details, go to: http://www.dogstar.dantimax.dk/magflute/flutetxt.html or http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/mozart_a/TheMagicFlute.html )

Performances are Friday June 30, 7:30 pm; Saturday July 8, 7:30 pm; Thursday, July 13, 7:30 pm and Sunday July 16, 2 pm at Simpson College, Indianola, Iowa. Ticket information: www.dmmo.org or 515 961 6221.

Opera taking Fairfield boy to new heights

Fairfield Ledger 06/23/2006
By Lacey Jacobs, Ledger staff writer

Ten-year-old Girindra Selleck of Fairfield has his head in the clouds -- literally, as the First Spirit in Des Moines Metro Opera's production of Mozart's "The Magic Flute." "The Magic Flute" opens tonight at Simpson College in Indianola, and with two other young spirits, Girindra will make his debut entrance in a professional production flying in on a cloud.

"We just basically guard and show the way of the other people," Girindra said of the role of the three spirits who are kind of like guardian angels.

Having grown up in a family of performers, his father having a background in theater and his mother in opera, Girindra was exposed to opera at an early age and has always liked it.
Girindra's mother said he's always singing or humming at home whether he's completing school work or playing with toys.

When Girindra's father first saw the ad for auditions, Girindra said he didn't want to do it, then he wavered back and forth and finally, in the last minute he decided to do it. He auditioned in late February and was given a call-back where he and the other two boys to first sing the roles together were ultimately cast in the show.

The three spirits sing four arias throughout the course of the opera and face the challenge of breaking into song after having sat silently on their cloud. Girindra also had to learn the skill of acting on stage while always maintaining an eye on the conductor for cues.

"Performing on stage, rehearsing, basiclly being with the other people because it feels like one big family," Girindra said are the things he likes about opera and theater. "And of course, it's nice to get applause from the audience and feedback."

When Girindra and the other two spirits aren't on stage, they are backstage in a room for those with pricipal roles, playing cards until it's time for their entrances. And because the show is in Indianola, the opera provides them with an apartment, so when he's not in rehearsal, Girindra said they just have fun and watch movies.

While this is Girindra's first involvement in a major production, he has previously performed in "The Nutcracker," "The Mikado," "Phalad's Boon" and in a national television commercial. He studies voice, acting and stage fighting.

"When I get older, I want to be a movie actor and opera singer," he said. His dream rolel is Papageno in 'The Magic Flute" because it's funny. It's about the only funny role in all of opera," he said.

According to Girindra and his parents, "The Magic Flute" is not performed very often because it is difficult to find three boys who have the right look and sound for the three spirits for whom the the show is written. It is one of the last operas written by Mozart. The show has an elaborate set and costumes and a cast of approximately 70. The Des Moines Metro Opera has been producing operas for more than 30 years and puts on three or four shows during a season.

Graceful 'Magic Flute' kicks off Metro Opera's 34th season
Des Moines Register article, June 26, 2006
By ROBERT C. FULLER
SPECIAL TO THE REGISTER

Mozart's whimsical "The Magic Flute" is one of the most popular operas ever written.

Since its first performance in Vienna in the fall of 1791 a few months before Mozart's death at the age of 36, it has been produced again and again by opera companies around the world to such an extent that it has never left the opera stage.

With a strange, complex and fantastic plot, full of both Masonic symbolism and heartfelt humanity, it brims with some of the most beautiful music ever written.

So it comes as no surprise that the Des Moines Metro Opera chose to open it 34th season Friday night with this beloved masterpiece.

In fact, the DMMO has produced this work in two previous seasons, the first in 1975 and most recently in 1988.

Its popularity is attested to by the fact that all tickets to every performance this season were sold before the first performance Friday evening in the Blank Performing Arts Center at Simpson College.

This production, both staged and conducted by Robert L. Larsen, is charming, elegant and flowing. It is well-paced, visually stunning and a pleasure to the ear.

Soprano Talise Trevigne is brilliant as Pamina. Beautiful, demure and gloriously voiced, she sings with grace and intelligence and acts with great sureness.

From San Francisco, she is new to Des Moines audiences. Hopefully she will become a regular here, for she is destined to create a loyal following.

Pennsylvania tenor Eric Fennell returns to Des Moines as a handsome and elegant Tamino. He sings with radiance and acts with assurance.

But it is not the star-crossed lovers most of the audience come to see, but Papageno, the bird catcher.

Comic, poignant and full of human frailties, this is one of the most-loved roles ever created for the operatic stage.

Simpson College alumnus and Milford, Ia., native John Michael Moore is wonderful as this exotic character.

He sings with a rich baritone of beauty and finesse. It is no wonder this young singer recently was named a finalist in the coveted Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition and will be singing at that renowned house in New York in the fall.

California soprano Anna Vikre returns to sing the wickedly difficult coloratura of the Queen of the Night with fire and impeccable technique.

Bass Kevin Maynor is regal and resonantly-voiced as Sarastro. He speaks as well as he sings and makes even his spoken dialogue near the beginning of Act 2 noteworthy.

Travis Richter, another Simpson product, is hilarious as he romps through his role as Monostatos, Tony Dillon is well-voiced as the Speaker of the Temple and Melanie Long is charming as Papagena.

Finally Courtney Ames, Janara Kellerman and Cindy Sadler are rightfully comic and fine-voiced as the three Ladies in Waiting, while the three youngsters, Girindra Selleck, Andrew Bartlett and Jonathan Beatty, are assured well beyond their years as the Spirits.

The simple but elegant sets are designed by R. Keith Brumley and beautifully lighted by Barry J. Steele.

Together with lavish and beautiful costumes by Linda Cho and Susan Memmott-Allred, this production is as ravishing to see as to hear.

Friday night's performance was dedicated to Anne Larson, the talented mezzo-soprano, who died last week.

For more information go to http://www.girindraselleck.com/