Different people like different types of toppings and crust on their pizza. Similarly, people have different preferences when it comes to music. This semester the Southeastern Opera/Music Theatre Workshop offered the audience “Opera by the Slice: A Concert of Scenes and Arias.”
Unlike previous semesters when the workshop transported the audience to pirate ships, an Italian piazza and Victorian London, this semester Opera/Music Theatre conductor Charles Effler decided it was time to perform a smaller, more intimate evening of opera pieces.
“It’s something that I’d been thinking about for a long time, and this, for various reasons, was the right time to do it,” said Effler. “So I got the voice faculty involved. They chose the scenes. They chose the cast. I worked with them on the initial basic stuff, but then I shifted them over to the voice faculty and they finished doing everything else.”
The music faculty selected the pieces that were performed, determined the casting and coached the students through rehearsals. Some selections were based off of the songs students chose to audition with.
Effler noted that preparing for this semester’s Opera Workshop was unlike past semesters for several reasons. One major difference was that Effler was standing behind the singers while trying to conduct the orchestra and the singers.
“For me to conduct them without having any eye contact was hell,” said Effler. “It’s very stressful. I’m more exhausted after this than I am after conducting a three-hour opera in the pit when I can see them.”
The performers and conductor utilized visual cues such as placing a hand on a shoulder or watching the conductor’s stick out of their peripheral vision.
Allison Joiner, a graduating senior majoring in vocal music performance, performed “Steal Me, O Sweet Thief” from “The Old Maid and the Thief” by Gian Carlo Menotti. Joiner had performed the piece for her junior recital and used it to audition for the Opera Workshop this semester. The music faculty chose for her to perform the piece again as part of the workshop.
“It was a mix of emotions,” said Joiner. “It was a little bit of relief, and I was definitely fighting off the tears right before I went off stage because it dawned on me, ‘This is your last performance at Southeastern.’ I’ve learned so much over the past few years working with the Southeastern Opera Workshop. It’s been such an amazing experience.”
Joiner has appeared in Opera Workshop’s 17th Anniversary Gala, “Suor Angelica,” “South Pacific,” “Hansel and Gretel,” “Le Périchole” and “Sweeney Todd.” After graduating in May, she plans to attend graduate school for choral conducting, which she personally finds more fulfilling than singing solos on stage.
“I’ve been able to have so many roles here and have so much experience that whenever I go to grad school, it’s really going to help out a lot,” said Joiner. “I want to get my masters in choral and choir conducting. I get a lot more back helping others create music.”
Kayla Blanchard, a graduating senior in vocal music education, also intends on furthering her studies in graduate school. Blanchard has appeared in productions including “The Magic Flute,” “Pirates of Penzance,” “Cendrillon,” “It’s Only Life” and “La Périchole.”
Blanchard partnered with sophomore music education major Rachel Davis in the duet “Via resti servita” from “Le nozze di Figaro,” composed by W. A. Mozart. Blanchard appreciated the opportunity to be a part of the workshop during her final semester at Southeastern and to be able to perform with someone she had never worked with before.
“I was glad that I got to be a part of it,” said Blanchard. “It was a great way to finish because everybody did well. It was fun, and it was a great last show.”