Students participate in UFO summer productions
This year, more Utah State University students will be involved in the production of Utah Festival Opera’s summer season than ever before.
Michael Ballam, general director for Utah Festival Opera, said this season is going to be the best they have ever had, and he is very excited about it. The productions it will be doing are Verdi’s “Nabucco,” Bock and Harnick’s “Fiddler on the Roof,” Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly” and a musical version of L. Frank Baum’s famous novel “The Wizard of Oz.”
He said Sheldon Harnick, the author of “Fiddler on the Roof,” will be doing a literary seminar on his work and is also acting as a consultant to the director of the show. The show will be performed the way it was in 1964 – using a full-pit orchestra – and most students will never have a chance to see it like that again. Ballam said if people were to see “Fiddler” today on Broadway, they would be lucky if they used a dozen instruments instead of 40.
He also said their production of “The Wizard of Oz” will be good because the opera company has permission to use the score of the popular MGM film of it.
“We can all take a trip to the land of Oz, which is something we can all use at this time,” Ballam said.
Attending UFO’s shows is an opportunity that doesn’t come around very often, he said, and it is affordable for students. Students recieve a special discount, which is that they can get any ticket that hasn’t been sold at half price one hour before the performance starts.
“Students would have to travel half way around the world to experience something like this, and here it is in their own backyard,” Ballam said.
He also said that this season is the first time he’ll be teaching a class on campus for the opera company. It is a week-long program from July 9 to Aug. 9 called “Exploring the World of Verdi’s Grand Opera Nabucco.”
“Now there is a real correlation between what is happening on the hill and what is happening in the theater and the Dansante,” Ballam said.
He said a lot of USU students play major characters in the shows. The company will also have more USU students in the ensemble and the orchestra than it has ever had.
Joshua Johnson, a senior majoring in theater education, is going to be the props master at UFO. He will deal with all the hand props, the items the characters carry on stage, and all the set dressings, such as the furniture and curtains. He said this will be his second year working for UFO.
During the season at the opera company things get really busy, Johnson said. Because they run four shows at once he often has to work 12 to 13 hours a day. In the theater department however, students can take their time, because they only produce one show at a time. Also, at USU it is more of an educational environment; the students are learning and are expected to make mistakes. At the opera, however, it is a professional environment and the expectations are much higher.
“I’m really excited even though I know I’m going to be busy, and I think it’s going to be a fun time,” Johnson said. “We’re really doing some fun shows, and we’re really looking forward to it.”
Tamara Mumford, a senior majoring in vocal performance, said this will be her third season with UFO.
She said she will be part of the company’s young artist program. She will be performing in all four of the shows doing the chorus and small roles, as well as doing opera workshops and other performances for the
community.
Mumford said UFO is a great opportunity for young singers because they are able to work with coaches trained specifically to help singers learn new repertoire. And it is provided to the singers for free.
“We usually pay $60 to $150 an hour to work with coaches of that high caliber, so this is a really good opportunity,” Mumford said.
For more information on UFO call 750-0300 or go to www.ufoc.org.
-erina@cc.usu.edu