Performers revive classical opera
By Jane Muhlstein
Most college students generally do not have great interest in the art of opera. This weekend a group of Santa Clara students are hoping to break that stereotype and draw a diverse crowd to enjoy a collection of opera music on campus.
"It's always good to experience something new and I think it's good to experience that with your own peer group," senior music major Jenny Martin said. "If it's something they find interesting, then it's probably something you can be interested in, too. It's good to have a broad perspective."
In an opening to their opera theater class, the group of music students is performing in the Music Department's Aria Showcase Friday night. The students are singing arias from various operas as well as several selections from musicals.
"The students are basically just practicing their craft and what it's like to perform in front of an audience," said director Nancy Kromm. The students, who have only been practicing together for two weeks, all take private voice lessons and have been preparing their pieces individually for about a month.
"Some have a lot of experience and some have less experience and it is a learning experience for all," Kromm said.
At the end of the quarter, the students will again perform together for an audience in their main opera.
"The cast that makes up the group is a talented group of people that has made this such a rewarding experience," Martin said.
The class is made up of music majors and minors hoping to share their passion with the rest of the Santa Clara community.
"Many people have a misconception of classical music. Not all of it is stuffy and hard to understand," senior music major Meghan McCormick said. "The show is very accessible to all viewers and I feel that anyone who goes will find that opera is not nearly as intimidating as they thought."
"There are pieces from musical theater, too, so it's more accessible," adds Martin, referring the inclusion of scenes from musicals, including Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Carousel" and Meredith Wilson's "The Music Man" in addition to the pieces from classical operas.
Other pieces will cover all styles of opera. "The show is a nice mix of classical to Broadway. Composers include Mozart, Gounod, Bizet, Lehar and Gillbert and Sullivan," McCormick said. It features music from such famous operas as "Carmen," "The Marriage of Figaro" and "Romeo and Juliet."
McCormick hopes that Santa Clara students will take this opportunity to better acquaint themselves with this genre of music which is often overlooked by the general public, especially people in younger generations.
"Most people who are not interested in classical music have not been properly introduced to it," she said. The cast of this week's Aria Showcase hopes that it will do just that.
Students from the opera theater class, with piano accompaniment by Josephine Lee, will be performing in the Aria Showcase on Friday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. in the Music and Dance Building's Recital Hall. Admission is $10 for the public, $8 for seniors, faculty and staff, and $5 for students.