USU Opera fights the ‘fat lady’ stereotype
Perhaps more than any other performance art, opera has long gotten a bad wrap as being the most boring way to spend three hours, with the universally recognized exception of watching “Titantic.”
If you’ve been an opera naysayer in the past, it might be time to get over the stereotype. Opera really is wickedly great entertainment (with an emphasis on the wicked): Strauss’s “Salome” features a striptease, a beheading and two murders; the title character from Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” sleeps with over 1,000 women and, at the end of the play, is pulled into hell by a talking statue and the heroine of Donizetti’s “Lucia Di Lammermoor” gets thrown into a forced marriage, goes stark-raving mad and murders her husband.
A dull night it is not.
As for long? Well, if you can get through “Lord of the Rings,” “Lawrence of Arabia” or, heaven help us, “Gone with the Wind,” you’ll be right at home at the opera. In fact, if you have the pleasure of watching a particularly good rendition of Puccini’s “Turandot,” by the time the curtain drops, you might be wondering why the fat lady started singing so early.
Having put aside a few of those operatic misconceptions, it’s probably OK to let the secret out: Utah State University has opera. I know, it’s crazy; but last Thursday through Saturday, the USU music department put on a splendid production of composer Bedrich Smetana’s comic opera “The Bartered Bride.”
While the plot is relatively simple and has less death and sex than other operas, it qualifies as a true saccharine delight and laughable pleasure that just fits the price (which, if you haven’t heard, is free for USU students).
The plot revolves around two young lovers, Marenka and Jenik, who want to marry, but are forced apart by a capitalist matchmaker and some misguided parents.
Overall, the performances were splendid and the costumes and minimalist set excellently portrayed the pleasure of small town bohemian lifestyle. While I’m not saying I saw any Pavorottis in the performance, the singers were extremely capable and made the whole event a delight. The only real downside of the production was that it wasn’t advertised as well as it should have been.
In a typical academic year, the opera wing of the music department performs two to five operas with a number of aria performances throughout the year.
So, the next time you see an add for the USU opera performance, take a risk and take a seat – afterall, the fat lady is waiting.
Matt Wright is the Diversions
editor at the Utah Statesman. Comments and questions can be sent to him at mattgo@cc.usu.edu