Balanced Opera Enthusiasts in a World Class City
What does the city of West Palm Beach, Jimmy Buffet, The Flying Dutchman, Bruce Springsteen, The Barber of Seville and Nirvana have in common? The equal affections of Joe and Alex Chase. Like most of us, Alex and Joe don’t consider themselves fanatics of any one particular genre of music because they enjoy so many types. Some evenings they blast Bob Dylan and other nights it’s the Italian opera, Cosi fan tutte, translated as “Women are like that.”
For Joe and Alex, their appreciation for Palm Beach Opera is in many ways synonymous with their admiration and commitment to West Palm Beach. Self-proclaimed West Palm Beach “lifers,” Joe and Alex have developed successful careers as high profile lawyers, a tight community of friends and a love for all that our small city has to offer, including Palm Beach Opera. To the Chases, West Palm Beach is the next Portland, Oregon or Austin, Texas.
“We take for granted that this is a world class place. Palm Beach County is a serious metropolitan area with West Palm Beach growing as the urban center. It will become a real, midsized city. But West Palm Beach itself is like a small town, not a huge city. You can know people, live close to downtown, and ride your bike. We have the arts, an incredible selection of restaurants and professional opportunities. I’m a corporate lawyer and do mergers and acquisitions, large business transactions. It’s incredibly sophisticated, the work I get to do here. I also have a five minute drive to work. If I ride my bike, it takes 10 minutes. To have that kind of lifestyle and access to all of this is remarkable,” explains Joe.
Access to high caliber, operatic talent in her backyard continues to impress Alex. Growing up in a household of classical music devotees and performers, Alex acknowledges world class talent. As a child, she frequently visited the ballet in Tulsa, Oklahoma and her family always bought season tickets to the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas and Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas. But to Alex, Palm Beach Opera hosts top talent, second to none.
“The fact that Palm Beach Opera can draw world class talent for each of the performances is huge to me. Every aspect of the production is world class. For me, that’s important,” says Alex.
A classically trained pianist and flutist herself, Alex experienced opera for the first time in the eighth grade. The same year she also launched a blog solely dedicated to her love for Nirvana.
“I stayed up over Christmas break and taught myself how to write HTML and decided that what I was going to produce with that knowledge was a Nirvana website. I think at one point, I had 300 subscribers,” laughs Alex.
Curious Joe stumbled upon opera as he poked around the cd collection on his boss’s book shelves at his first consulting job right out of college. His boss loaned him a few cds and it was the conviction of Maria Callas in Tosca that inspired Joe’s interest of opera.
“Isn’t that how so many things happen? If my story says anything, it can be that opera is something you can engage with casually. It’s just great music. It’s a great show and a great spectacle,” says Joe with enthusiasm.
Though the Chases have made a point of visiting several opera houses around the world and belong to Young Friends at Palm Beach Opera, Joe refrains from deeming himself as an opera aficionado.
“I’m a Florida boy and will defend Jimmy Buffet all day long. He’s always been a favorite….I’m not a die-hard classical musical lover. But going to the opera is a great night. We have a nice meal downtown, see a Palm Beach Opera performance and then maybe go to the Blind Monk after for a glass of wine. It’s such a great night,” says Joe.
Another part of what creates so much meaning in a night at a Palm Beach Opera performance is the opportunity for the Chases to disconnect from reality and “lose themselves” in the experience. They are both often taken away in the emotions of the story and the composition of the live music. Opera evokes a type of spiritual experience, similar to that of focused prayer or long-distance running for the Chases.
“It’s just the experience of being present. The nature of what I do professionally, there are always surprises and I have to take care of so many things. But just being, being at the opera and experiencing the performance. That’s all I’m doing for a few hours. On some level, more than anything else, that’s what keeps me coming back,” says Joe.
Alex agrees. For her, spirituality and music go hand-in-hand and the live orchestra moves her to deep emotion.
“I’m the kind of person that gets moved by the music even without the underlying story,” says Alex. “Sometimes just the way it’s composed is moving enough for me that I will tear up a little.”
For Joe and Alex, the younger generations of West Palm Beach have the opportunity to form the culture of our emerging city.
“Institutions like Palm Beach Opera build the community and shape the identity of the city. Regardless of musical preferences, I tell everyone to give opera a chance. For people who are interested in the world around them, they will see the value in it. If you’re young, join Young Friends!” says Joe.
Read here for more information about Palm Beach Opera. Click here to purchase tickets. Learn about joining Young Friends. __________________________________________________________________
Joe and Alex are expecting their first child, a baby boy, late March 2016. They’ve already bought their tickets for Adriane Auf Naxo for March 19. “We may have to run out of the Kravis Center if we go into labor, but we definitely plan to be there,” says Alex. We think if Baby Chase responds to the comedic jokes of Adriane Auf Naxo and puts Alex into labor during the performance, Alex and Joe will have no other choice but to name him after the author, Richard Strauss. At the least, we suggested they nickname him Figaro. Congrats Joe and Alex! Thank you for being Young Friends members and for sharing your story with us.
