Scenes from Opera and Musical Theater event to showcase student talent in opera and musical theater singing and acting.
From Kiss Me, Kate to The Ballad of Baby Doe, students will tackle a range of music and acting in Friday’s Scenes from Opera and Musical Theater event at Glidden Recital Hall.
The event will start at 8 p.m. and feature musical theater and opera scenes put on by the performers, from freshmen to master’s. The event is presented by OU Opera Theater.
“(The scenes) draw on the entire spectrum of musical theater, be it opera or Broadway,” said Samuel Witmer, a senior studying voice performance. “It’s got something for everybody. It’s got the easy to listen to, accessible stuff like Shrek The Musical … and it has got the heavier stuff like Mozart.”
The show can be broken into two categories – love and life. The first part of the night focuses in on the dealing with and finding true love, said Lisa Foerster, the assistant director of voice.
“I Know It's Today” from Shrek The Musical opens the night and love section. Three freshman girls take on the role of Fiona at different times in her life and sing about the day of final rescue, Witmer said.
Witmer will take on a more operatic piece that comes from the opera The Ballad of Baby Doe, which is an American piece based on real events.
“It’s a beautiful duet scene were doing between Horace Tabor and Baby Doe, who becomes his wife later,” Foerster said. “It’s based on the silver rush in Colorado.”
During the scene, Witmer, who plays Tabor, hears a beautiful girl singing and it reminds him of “youthful passion” he has not felt in a long time, Witmer said.
Two fully-choreographed scenes from Kiss Me, Kate and Candide will take place. Brian Boehmke, a freshman studying theater, plays a role in both scenes.
In “Brush Up Your Shakespeare” from Kiss Me, Kate, Boehmke plays a gangster who finds himself on stage in front of an audience and must improvise a piece. “I Am Easily Assimilated” from Candide takes place in Spain where an old lady leads Boehmke’s character among others in a dance, Boehmke said.
The second half of the show switches into storylines about life rather than love.
“(The ‘Finale’ of Candide) is a really lovely piece talking about how we need to live simply, work hard and accept what is,” said Foerster.
Opera should not be intimidating, Foerster said. The performance is a chance to explore a different style of music.
“It’s just a really cool bunch of people getting together and making music,” Boehmke said.
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