Student talents soar in 'Semele'

When the School of Music announced its intention to present Benjamin Britten's "The Turn of the Screw" as its spring opera, many students were disappointed. Not because of the quality

PREVIEW
	Semele Tonight, Friday and Sunday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 8:30 p.m. McIntosh Theater, School of Music

of the work - Britten's operas are well-known and respected within the world of contemporary opera, but because the opera contains a cast of merely six characters. With an opera department of more than 100 singers, the School of Music did not give its students the needed opportunity to practice their talents. The experience of performing in an opera is one of the main reasons why students come to this University, and that opportunity was being denied.

In response to the limited scope of performance opportunities, a group of students assembled and decided to present their own show. Michigan Opera Works was instituted, and "Semele," the Baroque opera by G.F. Handel was chosen as the premiere performance of the new opera company.

"Semele" tells the story of its title character who is expected to marry the god Athamas, even though she has been having an affair with Jupiter. When her sister, Ino, and Jupiter's wife Juno become involved the situation, the scene becomes a mess because Ino is actually in love with Athamas.

In hopes of breaking the ties to Jupiter, Semele asks Somnus, god of Sleep, to lay a sleeping spell on her sister. Unfortunately, Juno has dressed herself as Ino, and Somnus places the spell on the wrong woman.

What makes this production of "Semele" significant is that is the first-ever opera production at the University to be entirely produced by a group of students.

Organizing Michigan Opera Works were Music senior Hugo Vera and first-year Music graduate student Darlene Patterson. The group received funding from the Michigan Student Assembly, the Year of Humanities and Arts and the Music Student Government. SKR Classical Records agreed to co-sponsor the event.

"When we decided what show we were going to do, we realized we needed a director with experience, so we began asking the voice teachers at the music school," Vera said.

The response was mixed. Some faculty members were entirely against the idea; others were very receptive. Among those who commended the students were professors Martha Sheil, Frieda Herseth and George Shirley, the world-renowned tenor and University professor. Shirley stepped up to help the students, and offered his services as director for the opera.

"I have great respect for the students for their desire to do this," Shirley said. "There's been a lot of work required of everyone involved. The students have had to do all of this in addition to their normal load of academics."

"Their dedication has been exemplary; their commitment to the project has been stunning," Shirley added. "This opera is very difficult; the demands are very prodigious. It has been a great educational experience for them."

While Shirley is very open to the idea of a student-run opera, the demands for organization, money, faculty support and leadership have been inhibitors preventing such a production from being assembled.

"This sort of production hasn't been encouraged in the past because of (the student's) normal workload. Most singers here at the School of Music sing much more now as students then they will at concentrated moments in their professional careers," Shirley explained.

"It's very commendable that the students took it upon themselves, but I think there should have been a committee chosen for the selection process of the opera," said Lorna Haywood, professor of Music.

"We wanted to provide students with the experience of putting on an opera. We didn't want to just sing in the opera, we wanted to work behind the scenes as well. We wanted to work in the production aspects and we wanted to involve people from other departments - lighting and set design ... acting," Vera said.

David Gordon, first-year Music student and assistant director for "Semele" said that the student presence was more than just on-stage.

"A production such as this also gives those involved a very clear idea of the demands involved with presenting a piece of theatre. Aside from our faculty director and vocal coach, every task involved with this production was performed by students. This includes design, publicity, ticketing, accompaniment and production crew," he said.

Vera also said that "Semele" also gave undergraduates more performance time as well.

"Although the School of Music does provide opportunities to perform, undergraduate students really don't get much stage time," Vera explained.

Michigan Opera Works is composed of music students from all years in school. From first-year vocal performance to doctoral composition students, the opera is well-represented by many talented individuals.

"From a musical standpoint, this production offers the opportunity for singers and instrumentalists to work on an entire piece, rather than excerpts," Gordon said. "It also gives some of the younger singers their first exposure to a full opera from the inside out. For the more experienced singers, it is a chance to perform an entire role that might not otherwise be available."

Students were not without their difficulties in the presentation of this Baroque opera.

"Baroque opera is difficult to perform. We even had (Music Prof.) Edward Parmentier give a lecture to the cast about the music of the opera and its era," Vera explained.

"'Semele' is different than other Baroque operas because Handel intended it to be performed as an oratorio. It wasn't meant to be staged."

Vera also mentioned how the theater's atmosphere adds to the character of the performance.

"We're pleased to be able to perform the opera in the McIntosh Theater, because of its intimate setting. At the time when Baroque opera was first performed, large-scale opera houses didn't exist," Vera said.

With musical direction by Music doctoral student Tania Miller, the accompanying orchestra is entirely composed of students as well. The group of 13 musicians is highly regarded as being the best of their field. "The small Baroque orchestra that has been assembled is amazing. They're really good," Vera said.

The students now are seeing their efforts come to fruition.

"Everyone got heavily involved in helping out and making this a reality. It's great to see this dream become a reality," Vera said.

Semele plays tonight and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 8:30 p.m., and Sunday at 8 p.m. Tickets are free, but reservations are required by calling 763-2697.

04-15-98