The annual Opera Scenes concert will take place Friday and Saturday, Nov. 21 and 22, at 7:30 nightly in LeBaron Recital Hall.
Opera Director Charles Wood pointed out that this year’s opera ensemble is the largest yet, with nearly 20 singers ranging from freshman through graduate level.
“With a cast this large, we will be performing two large finales,” Wood noted. “One from The Barber of Seville and one adaptation from Kurt Weill’s Street Scene.”
Ensemble members include Logan Anthony, Alexandra Austin, Dezmond Cole, Grace Conner, Mattie Crisp, Stacy Daniels, Blane Freeman, Miles Jenkins, LeeArron Klosterman, Garrett Lenzie, Jason McClure, Chelsea Orr, Calliope Pettis, Rachel Pickering, David Pohler, Caitlyn Reynolds, Krysten Richards, Laura Thomas and Jacob Wooten.
In all, the concert will feature selected scenes from a variety of operas that cover more than 200 years of music history, featuring operas by composers such as Mozart, Bizet and Rossini, as well as more-recent compositions by Kurt Weill and Gian Carlo Menotti. For the first time, the concert will include a scene from Vincenzo Bellini’s opera La Sonnambula, which will be performed in Italian.
Wood is looking forward, as well. “As soon as this concert is finished, we will audition for our production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, which will be performed in April,” he said.
Opera Scenes will be accompanied by pianist Laurie Middaugh. This concert is free and open to the public.