The voice students of Dalhousie鈥檚 Department of Music are taking to the stage again, this time offering an evening of opera excerpts. 鈥淔or the Love of Opera 鈥� Take ll鈥� will be held at St. Andrew鈥檚 United Church this Saturday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m.
The event is a true showcase for the voice program, featuring students from all years, performances by the voice faculty, and accompaniment provided by the collaborative pianists from each voice studio. The event is also a key fundraiser for the music department鈥檚 annual opera workshop.
Jonathan Macarthur, who graduates this spring with a BMus in Voice Performance, will not only be one of the night鈥檚 many performers, but also co-produced and directed the show with fellow voice student Matthew B茅asant. This is the first time that students have taken on this sort of leadership role for the event.
The show will open and close with rousing ensemble numbers, but in between there will be a vast array of arias, duets, trios, and even a sextet from Mozart鈥檚 Le nozze di Figaro.
The art of performance
The numbers have all been semi-staged by student directors. Mr. Macarthur feels this element helps the audience understand the story and challenges the singers to really embody their character. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to get up and sing an aria in recital form, but quite another to get up and sing it with the character you鈥檙e singing to on stage with you!鈥� he explains.
This means, in Mr. Macarthur鈥檚 case, that he鈥檒l have the full French regiment on stage
with him. (Well, some semblance of them anyway.) His aria, 鈥淎h Mes Amis!鈥�, comes
from the opera La Fille du R茅giment by Donizetti.
In it, his character Tonio is overcome by excitement at being in love, and sings enthusiastically to his comrades so that they might revel with him. He is so overcome, in fact, that he spouts out nine high Cs 鈥� a huge feat for any young tenor, and one
which Mr. Macarthur doesn鈥檛 take lightly. He describes the high note as 鈥渢he pinnacle
of a tenor鈥檚 range,鈥� and admits that singing it nine times in one piece 鈥渁lways feels
like a gamble.鈥�
In a music world inundated by auto-tune, we can still count on opera to keep the excitement in live singing.
The extremes of emotion
Soprano Lauren Estey, a fourth-year vocal student, has fun working on her aria 鈥淎dieu notre petite table鈥� with Mr. Macarthur as her director. 鈥淗e is so creative,鈥� she says, 鈥渂ut I like that he kept the interpretation simple, and true to the music.鈥�
The aria is sung by the title character in Massenet鈥檚 opera Manon. 鈥淚 love Manon as a
character because you get to watch her develop from girl to womanhood,鈥� explains Ms. Estey, 鈥渁nd the aria I鈥檓 singing is sort of the transitional moment.鈥�
So what can the audience expect on the big night? 鈥淭hey can expect what you always expect with opera, which is to laugh and cry - both extremes,鈥� promises Ms. Estey. 鈥淚f you鈥檝e never been to an opera, this is a great place to start,鈥� adds Mr. Macarthur. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all the exciting bits of different operas thrown into one night!鈥�
For the Love of the Opera - Take II
Saturday March 24, 7:30 p.m.
Saint Andrew's United Church, Halifax (corner of Coburg and Robie)
Tickets $15 / $10, available from the Department of Music office and at the door