Opera Innovation Q&A | Opera Nabi Founder Kristen Choi

OI: Could you tell us why this art form inspires and delights and how you arrived at the Opera Nabi small business concept?

KC: I've always loved anime, since I was a kid. The drawing style always attracted me and even more so the chibi style. I mean who doesn't love mini, cute versions of things? It's appealing! And just adorable. I decided to start (Opera Nabi) after tapping back into my old hobby of drawing. As mentioned, I love anime and manga, so I decided to pick up drawing and sketching again. Then, after drawing for a while, I decided to become even more creative with it. While in quarantine, I felt that it was time explore creativity in other places besides music and singing. That’s when I decided to bridge the opera world I miss so much with this revived hobby of sketching and doodling. By doing so, I could reimagine famous opera scenes and composers in the manga or chibi style. I decided to put a poll on Instagram just for fun, to market research the idea, actually getting some positive responses from friends and colleagues.

I also wanted the name of my store to reflect who I am. Of course, it had to be opera-related, so opera had to be a part of the name. I decided on ‘Nabi’ because in Korean it means ‘Butterfly.’ The opera, Madama Butterfly, also has a very significant place in my heart, becoming the main inspiration for my shop’s name. Also, if you know me, I'm a very social person and love meeting people and making friends, so there’s that word play, too. I also wanted to keep the name in Korean to reflect my cultural identity.

OI: Who is your customer and why? For instance if I'm an opera lover but not a sticker aficionado, how would you sell me on the idea of collecting and using Opera Nabi creations?

KC: Well, customers right now are mostly opera and music lovers. Stickers are super accessible and make amazing gifts for opening and closing nights of shows and are also cute accessories to decorate personal items. Singers can add some extra personality to their scores, notebooks, tablets, or waterbottles by putting a sticker on any of these items. I'm still in the process of ordering cards with opera anime scenes depicted, but I imagine they’d be beautiful gifts to give to people.

OI: The opportunity to "sell" opera to people already interested in these art forms is obvious. What are your thoughts for perhaps nurturing a greater interest in opera through the Opera Nabi imagery and products you're creating?

KC: Right now, anime is super mainstream, especially among younger generations. When I was a kid, it was considered nerdy or "dorky" to like anime, but now it’s considered to be a beautiful art form. I think by connecting the two and reimagining opera in this style, Opera Nabi could attract some anime otaku nerds and lovers.

(Los Angeles, CA) - Opera Singer. Reiki Master. Innovator. Maria Dominque Lopez is all of these and more. I met Maria in May 2020, two months into the pandemic. Connected by a friend through Instagram, it’s a pleasure to know her, as well as being one of her distance Reiki clients - an experience that opened the door to my own improved mental and spiritual health during these often dark and unprecedented times. It’s for all of these reasons that we were thrilled when Maria agreed to contribute some thoughts and reflections to Opera Innovation. In the blog below, Maria details her initial experiences with Reiki (which she explains and defines in her own terms), a one-of-a-kind approach to operatic performance and how the pandemic led to unexpected personal and professional innovation and growth. - JM

By Maria Dominique Lopez

In the fall of 2019, I was in a trance-state while meditating. I felt a strong tingling in my palms and when I opened my eyes, I had a vision that a golden stream of healing light shooting out of my hands. The vision ended after a few moments, but the tingling never did. For months, I had no idea what this constant tingling in my hands meant, or why every time I touched someone in pain, their pain went away. After months of research, I decided to take my first Reiki course and I learned that I was already attuned by the universe and somehow had opened my own energy channels for healing. When I received my universal attunement to Reiki last year, I was so awed by the beauty, magic, and possibility of God’s Infinite Universe that singing completely lost its luster for me.

This is a problem when you’re a professional singer!

It seemed as though I’d found my true calling, feeling more authentically myself than I’d ever felt before. I was a healer, coming into my own, and it had nothing to do with music. I seriously considered quitting singing in favor of starting a full-time Reiki practice, but COVID-19 hit. Now that the opera industry is on life support, the universe made that decision for me—at least for the time being—but I digress. So many friends told me, “you can do both,” and I knew that they were correct. But, I just couldn’t see how I’d still feel authentic making music anymore. It’s no secret that the ratio of work-to-reward is toxically skewed in the music industry. Why put that much of myself into a singing career when the monetary reward is abysmal? The spiritual and emotional rewards so much greater with Reiki?

And then I talked to James Mowdy of Opera Innovation and Jonathan Morgan of DominantArts.Design and they literally changed my entire way of thinking about it. They encouraged me to not just “do both” and keep them separate, but to find unifying thread(s) and MARRY THEM!

In my Reiki practice, I work a lot on opening and balancing people’s chakras. Chakras are energy centers mapped throughout the body. Fun science fact: the endocrine system is made up of seven pairs of glands (adrenals/suprarenals, testes/ovaries, pancreas, thymus, thyroids/parathyroids, pineal and pituitary), all of which are located in the same areas as the seven main Chakras. Coincidence? I think not!

With our physical eyes, we can see the reality of what’s right in front of us - what is. But with our Third Eye, we can see what’s all around us - what can be. In short, the Third Eye helps us problem-solve.

For those unfamiliar, the Third Eye is the chakra that sits in the middle of our forehead, and it’s considered the seat of wisdom and understanding. We’re not talking about traditional college education or trivia knowledge here, rather, one’s openness to possibilities in a multidimensional universe. With our physical eyes, we see the reality of what’s happening right in front of us - what is. But with our Third Eye, we’re able to see what’s all around us - what can be. In short, the Third Eye helps us problem-solve.

I felt stuck with this dichotomy of Reiki versus music because My Third Eye was completely shut to the possibilities of a union between the two. James and Jonathan each challenged me to ask myself important questions - questions I might not have pondered on my own because I couldn’t see a workable solution. They helped open my Third Eye!

Sometimes, we all need a little help, a push in the right direction. Just because I’m a lightworker doesn’t mean I’m always enlightened! My Third Eye was closed to the greater possibilities, and I couldn’t have seen where this was all going without those nudges. After weeks of meditating and questioning, and hours of conversations with Jonathan about the unifying threads, I arrived at my epiphany.

#SingTheLight

I realized that in order to reinvigorate my love for music, I should infuse it with Reiki. Not only would I channel Reiki to myself, my colleagues, and the immediate performance space, but I’d also channel Reiki directly to audiences, hence Sing the Light. After all, music is transcendent and has the unique ability to touch the soul and soothe the spirit, as does Reiki, just in a different way. So instead of quitting music, I look forward to returning to live performance, and putting #SingTheLight into motion; when a concert goer buys a ticket to hear me sing, they’ll also be receiving group Reiki as an audience member.

As a Reiki Master, my mission is to help a new generation come to consciousness, ascending to their own universal calling. As an opera singer, I already transport audiences through beautiful music. Through #SingTheLight, my intention is to do both, elevating audiences through music while also helping them reach their next level of ascension, by singing group Reiki healing right into them.

Not only would I channel Reiki to myself, my colleagues, and the immediate performance space, but I’d also channel Reiki directly to audiences. After all, music is transcendent, and it has a unique ability to touch the soul and soothe the spirit, as does Reiki, just in a different way.

#SingTheLight - connecting with audiences on this quantum level - will change the way we experience live opera.

Together, Reiki, music and #SingTheLight will comprise my life practice as Ascending Arts. Personally, this feels like so much more than a new business, company or brand. Ascending Arts is the most authentic expression of who I am as an Artist as well as a Reiki Master, in practice every day. Welcome to Ascending Arts, it’s my honor to hold this space for you.

Visit Ascending Arts on Instagram.

Opera Nabi Q&A: LA-Based Startup Where Anime, Opera & Stickers Meet, Beautifully

Opera Innovation Q&A | Opera Nabi Founder Kristen Choi

OI: Could you tell us why this art form inspires and delights and how you arrived at the Opera Nabi small business concept?

OI: Who is your customer and why? For instance if I'm an opera lover but not a sticker aficionado, how would you sell me on the idea of collecting and using Opera Nabi creations?

OI: The opportunity to "sell" opera to people already interested in these art forms is obvious. What are your thoughts for perhaps nurturing a greater interest in opera through the Opera Nabi imagery and products you're creating?

OI: The Opera Nabi product line seems like a great new hobby. How are you approaching the holiday season? What are your business goals for the holiday?

OI: How has the Etsy platform and technology made the Opera Nabi business concept better and/or easier to access?

OI: What are your future plans for Opera Nabi? Have you considered special partnerships and collaborations with opera companies i.e. special sets for seasons or particular operas?

Ascending Arts: Creating Opera's First Group Reiki Experience

By Maria Dominique Lopez

With our physical eyes, we can see the reality of what’s right in front of us - what is. But with our Third Eye, we can see what’s all around us - what can be. In short, the Third Eye helps us problem-solve.

Not only would I channel Reiki to myself, my colleagues, and the immediate performance space, but I’d also channel Reiki directly to audiences. After all, music is transcendent, and it has a unique ability to touch the soul and soothe the spirit, as does Reiki, just in a different way.

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