UNM Opera Theatre students are getting into the Halloween spirit as they rehearse a variety of opera scenes for three performances in Keller Hall that start Friday.
“Tales from the Opera Crypt,” directed by Sam Shepperson and Leslie Umphrey, explores a range of historical and contemporary influences. The opera scenes are inspired by work from Shakespeare and Mozart, as well as Broadway musicals, “Sweeney Todd” and “Into the Woods.”
“A lot of them are war horses in the opera world,” Umphrey said. “I love the dark elements that we’ve brought out.”
The scenes stem from operas such as Georges Bizet’s “Carmen,” Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and Gian Carlo Menotti’s “The Medium.”
Some are performed in foreign languages, including Italian, German and Czech.
Kristin Ditlow, a pianist and vocal coach, said she has worked extensively with the group of 20 students over the past few months, creating exercises to help them memorize words.
“I’ve had a lot of work in Europe, so I’ve learned these languages along the developing stages of my career,” she said. “When we chose some of the repertoire to go with our theme, I suggested some fairly wild languages, Czech being one of them.”
As performers aren’t hooked up with microphones in the recital hall, they have to work to project their voices, Shepperson said.
“It’s all acoustic,” he said. “That’s one of the things that’s different about opera from musical comedy and theater.”
Umphrey said it’s fun to watch the students grow and evolve to make the characters their own, especially those who have never done opera before.
Michaela Bateman said she has enjoyed the process of learning what opera is.
“I’ve grown up doing musical theater,” she said. “But I think (the production) was a great gateway to be introduced into this world of opera.”
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Bateman, who is double-majoring in music and music education, is performing a solo in the opening scene of “Into the Woods.” She said she auditioned for Cinderella “on a whim” after registering for the Opera Theatre class.
“I love that the cast is all different ages and skill levels,” she said. “I find that I can talk to the grad students really easily and ask them for advice about things.”
Ty Cox, who plays the role of Sweeney Todd, is pursuing a master’s degree in music performance. He said the meat pie scene in “Sweeney Todd” is among his favorites because he can play a character unlike himself.
“It’s so maniacal and twisted,” he said, “and in my daily life, I’m not that person at all.”
His partner in the production is first-year graduate student Connor Murphy-White. Mrs. Lovett in “Sweeney Todd” is one of her main roles. For Murphy-White, singing opera has brought comfort and happiness to her life, she said.
“I feel most at home on stage,” she said. “When I step onto the stage with all of my peers, we’re really living these scenes together.”
She said she hopes her work motivates people to take voice lessons or become a musician.
“I really want the audience to go away with this joy that music is alive,” she said. “Opera is not a dead art form, it’s something that’s thriving.”
The performances will take place in Keller Hall at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $10 for general public, $8 for seniors and $6 for students, faculty & staff
Jenna Stoff is a reporter for The Daily Lobo. She can be reached on Twitter @JennaStoff.
