Gala dispels opera stereotypes
Opera.
Visions of big-bosomed Vikings in horn-laden helmets and notes high enough to break the sturdiest glass are sometimes what comes to mind when one thinks of opera. And though popular culture is replete with stereotypes, Cindy Dewey, director of Utah State University’s voice program, said that this year’s Opera Gala will dispel the misconceptions.
“It’s a night of fun,” she said, “and everything will be sung in English.”
The Opera Gala, a free event held Friday, April 28, in the Performance Hall at 7:30 p.m., presents a series of scenes from various operas.
“Almost all [of the selections] are comical,” Dewey said. “The Mozart opera we’re doing is very recognizable.”
The event, designed to give more vocal majors a shot at the spotlight, is not the first of its kind. A similar event was held in 1996, Dewey’s first year teaching at Utah State University. Since that time, however, the primary focus of the vocal department and the USU opera has been full-length productions.
But because this year’s spring production, “The Ballad of Baby Doe,” offered very few lead roles, the gala was resurrected. Out of 35 female vocal majors, only four had the opportunity to have a lead role in “Baby Doe,” even with the production being double-cast. Because female vocal majors are more common than male vocal majors at USU, not getting a lead role wasn’t necessarily because of a lack of talent in the singers, but because they didn’t fit the characters, Dewey said.
“Sometimes a production is simply not right for a singer,” she said.
Six female vocal performance majors will be featured in this year’s gala. All of the vocalists were also in the “Baby Doe,” and worked on this project simultaneously.
Becky Foster, Lindsay Clark, Beth Bernards, Karlee Larsen, Joan Olson and Tamsyn Anderson will play various roles in the performance. They will be accompanied by piano major Keenan Reesor.
Two selections will be performed from “Hansel and Gretel” by Engelbert Humperdinck. One of the selections is a dispute between Hansel and Gretel.
“This is a retelling of the well-known fairy tale. Students will present two scenes. The opening scene where Hansel and Gretel, who are home alone, are alternately fighting and playing, instead of doing their chores, and the scene in the forest where the Sandman visits and they sing their famous ‘prayer duet,'” Dewey said.
Another selection will come from the “Merry Wives of Windsor,” based on William Shakespeare’s play.
“[In ‘Merry Wives of Windsor,’] Mrs. Page and Mrs. Ford have both received the same ‘love letter’ from John Falstaff. They plot their revenge,” Dewey said.
A scene from “The Telephone” by Gian Carlo Menotti, an opera about a man trying to ask his fiancee to marry him, but because of errors in the telephone line he uses, only succeeds in making her angry at him, will be performed as well.
“Lucy just can’t get off the phone. If only she knew that her boyfriend is going to propose, if he can ever get her to stop talking,” Dewey said.
“The Marriage of Figaro” by Mozart, is the sequel to “The Barber of Seville” and takes place during a single day. “In this brief scene, the Countess and Susannah plot to foil the Count, who thinks he is meeting Susannah for a secret tryst, but it will be the Countess who meets him in disguise,” Dewey said.
The one-act “A Game of Chance” will be performed in its entirety. Three women are each given a wish. One wishes for fame, another for wealth and the last for love. In the end, they realize they should have asked for all three, because none of them are happy.
“This event is for people who don’t know they like opera yet,” Dewey said.
The event is free to the public.
-limarc@cc.usu.edu