Verismo Opera Club

Viewpoint of Monastatosaximus the Caddy

My name is Monastatosaximus. However, when I met my golfer Sarastro, he immediately said, "That's too long. I'll call you Monastatos for short." I had no choice but to let that stick (it could be worse- in school there was this annoying rhythmic gymnast who kept calling me 'Toast')

I've been caddying for Sarastro a few years now, and let me tell you right now that I think he's the most terrible golfer the world has ever seen. The deal, however, is that I must caddy and live with him on his immense property until I turn 18 - which will be in exactly two months. Until then I have to: carry and wash his clubs, replace divots, rake the sand traps, chase after his errant balls and care for the greens. It's a thankless job but I can live with that because he also allows me to do my favorite chore: watch after his daughter, Pamina.

Pamina is the radiant light in this boring and annoying world of mine. She came to live with us three months ago and, despite being his daughter, keeps trying to run away from Sarastro. It's taken some time, but I think I've finally started to get on her good side. In fact, for the first time since she moved in she didn't throw her dinner at me or splash her drink in my face when I brought it to her. Maybe it's time for me to declare my love to her? But old man Sarastro doesn't seem too thrilled with the idea of us getting married.

I overheard him telling his friend that there's a new guy that he'd like to set up with his daughter. Apparently this new guy's a cheerleader or something. Ha! Who ever heard of a guy being a cheerleader? How lame. Waitaminute - Pamina is a cheerleader too. No...no it can't be?! That's why Sarastro wants to set them up? Because they both cheer?

Well, that won't happen because I'm going to tell Pamina before that stupid guy cheerleader gets to her. I'll show Sarastro. And that new guy. Nobody messes with Monastatosaximus! And I mean nobody...

Wait who's that running across the 9th green? It's Pamina! My dear, DAINTY LAMBKIN! I must chase after her and confess my love to her. I know a shortcut and I'll cut her off...

See Monastatos, er, Joachim Luis this Friday & Sunday - March 25 & 27 in Mozart's The Magic Flute. Reserve your tickets online.

Tenor Joachim Luis received an M.M. in Classical Voice in 2009 from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and a B.M. in Choral Conducting in 2007 from San Francisco State University. He is currently covering Monastatos in Verismo Opera's Magic Flute in Oak Park, IL.  Past operatic roles include: (CCPA) Bill in "A Hand of Bridge", The Leader in "The Tsar Gets His Photograph Taken", Apollo in "The Fairy Queen"; (SFSU) Pluto/Aristaeus in "Orpheus in the Underworld" and Nerone in "L'incoronazione di Poppea". 

The Joy of Being Tamino

Having first performed Tamino five years ago as an undergraduate student, it’s been a huge joy to come back to this brilliant score and dust off my Mozart chops. Mozart roles are notoriously challenging for tenors because of the high part of the voice in which the vocal line tends to sit, leaving little room to hide if you’re having a bad day! Singing anything by Mozart is always enjoyable, though, because of all the different emotional shades that color the music and give the singer freedom for nuanced expression in their performance. Tamino’s music in particular has an incredible range which makes it so much fun to sing, from the didactic and silly way he sings to Papageno, to the sweeping vocal lines he delivers while rapturously thinking about his love.

From a theatrical perspective, Tamino can be a surprisingly tricky role to perform. There are so many unanswered questions about this character: where did he come from? Where was he going just before the opera begins and what did he do to make that monster chase him (making for a very dramatic entrance that is never again referenced in the story)? And what kind of sap falls in love at first sight and is willing to risk life and limb over a picture??? All of these questions, mixed in with the fact that Tamino has to be part comic tenor, part hero, part romantic and you have yourself a pretty loaded character for an actor to develop!

Being a part of this production has been a delight. I only knew a few of the other singers going into this show and I’ve been extremely impressed with both the talent and the friendliness I’ve found in this cast. In an opera that relies so heavily on ensemble numbers, the spirit of the “team” really needs to shine through to fully bring the audience into this crazy new world. Anything less than total commitment on the part of the performer just won’t do. I think this production of The Magic Flute is really hitting it home and I can’t wait to see the delight on the audience’s faces when we open on Friday!

Mark Donlin is performing in Mozart's Magic Flute this Friday and Sunday (March 25 & 27) at the Arts Center in Oak Park. http://www.verismooperaclub.com

Mark Donlin is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Master of Music Program where he was seen in “L’Elisire D’Amore” (Nemorino) and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (Flute). He’s also performed in the Chicagoland area with The Savoyaires (Cyril in “Princess Ida”) and with the chorus of Music of the Baroque. He has also been heard in Pennsylvania and New York City with The Erie Opera Theatre (Dancairo in “Carmen”), After Dinner Opera (World Premiere of Seymour Barab’s “License to Marry”), and D’Angelo Opera (Tamino in “Die Zauberflote” and the comic tenor roles of “The Tales of Hoffman.”) He’s very excited for the opportunity to be singing with Verismo Opera for the first time.

 

Queen of the Night playing Wii?

Only 3 days away! I have had such a wonderful time preparing for VOC’s production of the Magic Flute this past month that the time has just flown by (like one of Papageno’s cute little birdies)!  Cast as the Queen of the Night, my reaction to our very creative director’s concept of a sports-themed children’s adaptation was absolute delight.  I love opera “outside of the box” so to speak.  Don’t get me wrong, I am indeed still a sucker for the traditional operatic settings with elaborate costuming, sets, lights, etc.  However, sometimes a performer (and an audience) craves a new take on a beloved classic.

For me, this production of The Magic Flute is a breath of fresh air for my portrayal of the Queen.  When else would I get to play a Wii video game while spinning out some of the most difficult coloratura passages Mozart composed, or get to wear a Metallica t-shirt as part my matronly regal costume?  What a challenge and what fun!  I am positive my fellow cast mates feel the same.  Sitting through rehearsals, I have the privilege of watching and listening to some wonderfully talented performers make it all happen with hard work and dedication – and they are always unmistakably having tons of fun.   I mean, Tamino and Pamina get to shake pom-poms, the three Ladies have some pretty cool gymnast’s toys to play with, and Papageno plays a badminton match with his feathery sweetheart.  Who wouldn’t be having a blast?  I know the audience will love it just as much as we do.

This week, “magic” will certainly happen as we all put in our best effort and attention to detail with a big smile on our faces – well - the villainous Queen may not have a smile on her face, but I can assure you that I will certainly have a smile in my heart.  

See Sara Salas perform her role as Queen of the Night in Mozart's Magic Flute this Friday, March 25 & Sunday, March 27. Learn more at http://www.verismooperaclub.org.

“Capable of executing fiendishly difficult fioratura with accuracy…and able to spin a superb legato cantilena”, Soprano Sara Salas has charmed and impressed audiences in the United States and Canada with her engaging dramatic presence and captivating voice. 

Training the Dragon

Insight by Yasmeen Schuller, Managing Director of Verismo Opera Club and Parttime Dragon Trainer

As we were reviewing the playing cards of each of the characters, my husband, Bradley Schuller (also Artistic Director) and I joked that it would be funny to have a card with our rescue poodle-mix, Shakespeare in it. And then we remembered he dressed up as a dragon for Halloween last year. After rolling on the ground in laughter, we decided he needed to audition right away. Luckily, he had an "in" with the director, Aaron Hunt and he was on board to give it a try.

To provide a little background on Shakespeare, he is our first dog. We have always had cats but thought it would be a wonderful next step to adopt a rescue dog too. We both love animals and when we saw him jumping up and down at the shelter (trying to get our attention), well, it was love at first sight. Now, he is the cat whisperer/herder and a very important member of the Schuller family. He’s also way too smart for his own good. He will politely do a trick, take the treat, and spit it out if he knows/smells a better treat nearby.

So how did I train this dragon? Positive reinforcement and cut up hot dogs! When we enrolled Shakespeare in agility training, he took to it right away. They also taught us that beef hot dogs are the most effective training tool outside of patience and a smart dog. Dogs have a much more sensitive sense of smell and the right treat can make all the difference. Luckily he doesn’t mind hot dogs and doesn’t insist on Filet Mignon!

DAY ONE  
I made the mistake of having him off-leash. BIG mistake! He ran all over the auditorium and while it was a fantastic workout for me, he was not having a very balanced day. He struggled to listen and keeping his attention was very difficult. In addition to that, I hadn’t yet bought his hot dogs so he had dry biscuits as rewards. He wasn’t doing a very good job of engaging with the other actors on stage – more interested in hamming it up for the members of the cast sitting in the seats.

 DAY TWO
I brought him on leash, with a bag of cut up pieces of hot dog and immediately handed it to his fellow actor and new BFF, Tamino (Mark Donlin). Mark also walked Shakespeare up and down the aisle and had Shakespeare follow slightly behind him. This set the tone – now Shakespeare knows Mark can give him commands and holds the treat bag. We were a little too generous with his treats so he wasn’t entirely motivated by the end of the rehearsal.

DAY THREE
On a leash, bag of treats, bonding with Mark – Shakespeare was ready! Something magical happened – the more Mark withholds the treats, the harder Shakespeare will work for the treat. This is truly a magic combination. We’ve had some wonderful rehearsals and I am a stage mom for my little drama dog, Shakespeare. Ah, well, better that than a diva dog! Oh, and when he isn't performing? He is attentively sitting, watching, and enjoying watching the others perform. At his favorite parts, he sits up and wags his tail.

In preparation for the performance, Shakespeare has a busy schedule of napping, playing, attending dress rehearsal, and going to Yuppy Puppy in order to be groomed for the performance. He’ll have a nice, short cut and he’s always so happy the day he is groomed. I’m slightly nervous for him but at the same time, incredibly proud of the little 15 lb guy. He has come a long way from the streets of Chicago to Animal Care League to semi-famous local actor. Who knows? Maybe our future family-friendly shows will need a dog part written in to ensure Shakespeare graces the stage every year. Hmmm, Hansel and Gretel and their pet dog? Barber of Seville and his dog? Marriage of Figaro and his trusty sidekick?

Toi! Toi! Toi! Shakespeare Schuller!

See Shakespeare at his debut performances in Mozart's Magic Flute, Friday, March 25 & Sunday, March 27 at the Oak Park Arts Center.

Shakespeare Schuller is a 15 lb rescue poodle-mix making his stage debut as The Dragon in Mozart's The Magic Flute. When he is not acting on stage, Shakespeare enjoys visiting art fairs and local events as well as playing in the backyard, going for walks, and just hanging out.

 

 

 

Yasmeen Schuller, when she is not training dragons, is the Digital Marketing Manager at Becker Professional Education and Managing Director at Verismo Opera Club. Yasmeen and her husband, Brad live in Oak Park with their dramatic dog and four rescue cats.

 

Recent Feature in the Oak Leaves

Fun and games with Mozart's 'Magic Flute'

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/oakpark/entertainment/3109670,entertainment-west-verismo-031711-s1.article

March 17, 2011 

By DOROTHY ANDRIES Contributor

The Queen of the Night as a snowboarder? Pamina and Tamino as cheerleaders for Oak Park River Forest High School? You've got it right!

Sports are prominent in the Verismo Opera Club's production of Mozart's enigmatic comic opera, "The Magic Flute." The club's artistic director Bradley Schuller gives a heads up, when he declares "Expect the unexpected."

» Click to enlarge image

Mary Lutz, Maggie Reberg, and Amanda Runge during dress rehearsal for "The Magic Flute." | Suzanne Tennant~Sun-Times Media 

 

» Click to enlarge image

Mark Domlin, (left), and Aaron Wardell, rehearse for Verismo Opera Club's production of "The Magic Flute." | Suzanne Tennant~Sun-Times Media 

 

» Click to enlarge image

Sara Salas in costume as Queen of the Night in Verismo Opera Club's performanc of "The Magic Flute." 

 

» Click to enlarge image

Verismo Opera Club Managing Director, Yasmeen Schuller places wings on Grace Reberg, 12, during a dress rehearsal of Mozart's "The Magic Flute." | Suzanne Tennant~Sun-Times Media 

First of all, it will run 90 minutes with one intermission, considerably shorter than any downtown production of the full opera. And it makes no apologies for being family-friendly and even provides a moment when children can join right into Mozart's action.

In addition to singing, the Three Ladies who attend the Queen of the Night will do rhythmic gymnastics. They were trained in gracefully manipulating ribbons, hoops and balls by Kate Nack, who competed in that sport during the Atlanta Olympics and conducted a workshop with the singers.

Bass on course

Sarastro, the high priest, is a golfer while his servant Monastatos is his club-carrying caddy.

The three knaben or children, will be baseball players, clad in Los Angelos Angels' jerseys. Those parts are usually taken by boy sopranos, but Verismo has cast girls instead. "They are about 12 or 13 years old," said Yasmeen Schuller, managing director of the production, "and they sound lovely."

All this whimsy is certainly in the spirit of the opera, since Mozart decked out two of his dearest characters Papageno and Papagena in feathers.

The audience will recognize many references to pop culture, Schuller continued, and everything will be tied together by a narrator, Chicago actor Matt Dyson, who will be dressed as -- no surprise -- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart himself, complete with white wig and 18th century garb.

"There are so many wonderful moving parts in this opera, that we have been working on it since November," Schuller said. This is Verismo's second production. Its first was "La Boheme," presented last August.

Experienced soprano

But what about the Queen of the Night, that soprano with that stratospheric range? That role is taken by Sara Salas, a recent graduate of the University of Nebraska, who has sung in Carnegie Hall and also has performed leading roles in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" and "Cosi fan tutte."

The cast includes Aaron Wardell as Papageno, Rebecca Prescott as Papagena, Mark Donlin as Tamino, Sarah McIntyre as Pamina, David Govertsen as Sarastro and Frank Glab as Monastatos. Mary Lutz Govertsen is First Lady, Maggie Reberg is Second Lady and Amanda Runge is Third Lady.

"We cast a wider net this time," explained Schuller. "We posted the audition notice on our Facebook page, on the websites YAP Tracker and Classical Singer. We were overwhelmed to receive over 100 requests for audition."

Auditions took two days, one in December and one in January. The result is not only what she describes as an excellent cast, but also high-quality singers covering each role. "Or," she added, "as they say in the world of sports, we have a deep bench."

"The Magic Flute"

By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, presented in English by the Verismo Opera Club at the the Arts Center, 200 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park. 7:30 p.m. Friday March 25 and 3 p.m. Sunday, March 27. $15 to $32 and are available in advance at verismooperaclub.org, at the Oak Park Visitors Center, or at the door. info@verismooperaclub.com.

Papageno from the viewpoint of cover, Seán Kroll

Hello! I'm Seán, the Papageno cover for VOC's 2011 Magic Flute. I've spent the past few weeks studying Mozart's music, polishing my interpretations, exacting my memorization, reviewing staging, and mouthing all the words throughout rehearsals. Sometimes being a cover can feel as though one is in a precarious position. Questions linger in the mind: "Am I really ready to go on in an emergency? Do I know all my stuff, or do I just THINK I know it and have a false sense of security? What if I miss my blocking? What if my colleagues hate my characterizations? What if I stumble and frustrate my fellow singers in their delicate scene, or  disappoint the director? What if I squash someone else's nuance by acting AT them rather than with them?". Fear can run rampant. It is ALWAYS the job of the singer to keep fear in check and replace it with calm focus, courage and any and all intelligence available; to be positive. How else can one have clarity of thought, ease of vocal production and presence in the moment, which are all so crucial for success? 

Monday was my birthday and my first time stepping in for Aaron in rehearsal. Would I disappoint my peers who have worked so hard to get each scene to it's highest level, keeping the goal of perfection always in mind? Will the director like me? And hardest of all, will I exceed my own expectations for myself? One question I often ask myself in order to gauge my own success: Did I push my own boundaries on a given day, and get a pay off which surprised even me, in return? We are, after all, the hardest on ourselves, are we not?  

I was DELIGHTED to have had the chance to sing Mozart onstage as my birthday gift. I came home that night completely exhilarated, full of adrenaline and endorphins. Then the rest of my week came to mind. How would I manage to get any sleep and wake up at 7 AM the next day to do it all again?  I know one tenor who cannot sleep until 4 AM, hours after the final curtain on a performance night. The rest of us, well, we have our little tricks for getting Zzzzs. As many of you know, sleep and sufficient calorie intake are crucial to any successful performance, practice session, or rehearsal. Calibrating just the right amounts of energy and mental focus can pose a challenge to the young singer just beginning to work it all out.  

Our director has done a marvelous job in staging a show virtually free of a fourth wall. This is a very engaging, animated, gregarious and interactive Papageno, one I expect everyone will enjoy. Audience members are in for a for a very unconventional, liberated, but family friendly treat.  

I myself had a blast on Monday, let's hope my fellow artists felt the same. This Thursday will be another ball game, or should I say, badminton game. The Papageno & Papagena union scene has some of the most intricate stage work for the character, and is certainly the most athletic. My personal goal is for three consecutive badminton hits in a row this week, among others, of course. Wish me luck!

Verismo Opera Club's production of Mozart's The Magic Flute is March 25 and 27 at Oak Park Arts Center. To reserve your tickets, visit http://www.verismooperaclub.org

Rising star Seán Kroll has been hailed as “…a showstopper” (Saint Petersburg Times). The talent of this bass-baritone encompasses a variety of growing repertoire, over 25 roles. Recent operatic credits include Bartolo (Le Nozze di Figaro), Cinderella’s Prince and the Wolf (Sondheim’s Into the Woods), Don Alfonso (Cosi fan Tutte), Dulcamara (L’Elisir d’Amore), Leporello (Don Giovanni), Melchior (Amahl and the Night Visitors), Sam (Trouble in Tahiti), Zuniga (Carmen).

 

Hula Hoop on the El

As I was sitting on the El this morning with my hula hoop, ball, and ribbon, I was pondering all of the opera roles I’ve prepared for and how every experience is so different.  For this adaptation of The Magic Flute my preparation has been largely focused on the staging.  The 3 ladies of the night in this production are rhythmic gymnasts.  So we use our ribbons, balls, and hula hoops throughout the entire show.  The challenge is to not only make it look like we have done this before, but also to make the movements mean something.  There are endless different variations of possible movements, but the key is to make them meaningful. To help the audience understand why we are bouncing a ball or twirling a ribbon it has got to have some sort of meaning behind it.  For me, making the movements meaningful requires a lot of practice.  The more times I repeat a movement, the more I can understand why my character would make that movement. My favorite part of being a rhythmic gymnast is, by far, the ribbon.  I become transfixed by how it moves and how graceful it is at the slightest twitch of my wrist. 

In the process of the show we are getting to crunch time. There are11 days until opening night so we must have all of our music learned and start making all of those movements come without even thinking.  This part of the production process is always the most intense.  You spend a lot of time with the people you are working with, which in the case of this production is a fantastic experience!  Emotions are high, people are working hard, and a lot of time is spent on the smallest of details.  I love it!  You become completely immersed in the process, score, staging and collective vision that has been created by the bringing together of singers, director, and score. This time, the last couple of weeks, for me, is the best part of performing opera.  

See Amanda as the Third Lady in Verismo Opera Club's production of Mozart's The Magic Flute.

Mezzo-Soprano and Wisconsin native Amanda Runge is very excited to debut with Verismo Opera Company in one of her favorite roles!   Amanda received her Bachelors in Music from the University of Southern California, and then she traveled to London where she got her Masters in Music from Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Rebecca Prescott's Thoughts on Papagena in The Magic Flute

Papagena is the quintessential commedia dell arte comedienne character.  First,  the comedienne’s name is the feminization of her male counterpart’s name.  Second, the comedienne is dressed in the same style as her counterpart.  In our current production I am dressed as a badminton player (get it? Badminton plays with a ‘birdie’ and Papageno is a ‘bird catcher’,) that is the same color scheme as Papageno and same hat.  The only difference is that I am dressed in a skirt, since I am the girl.  And finally in the commedia tradition, the male clown is not too bright whereas the female is the bright one out of the two. 

It is typical commedia storyline for the male clown to be on a constant prowl for his female counterpart.  In Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Papageno is motivated throughout the entire opera to find and wed a sweet little wife.  During his quest, Papageno is promised that his Papagena will come to him, only upon completion of a series of tasks and one of those tasks is to not say a word to anyone.  Of course, since he isn’t the brightest character in the acting canon, he can’t keep quiet.  Papagena, being the brighter of the two, is able to manipulate Papageno, beat the system, and end up happily together.  

In conclusion, I am impressed with how brilliantly Mozart wrote the characters in the The Magic Flute so consistently within the commedia tradition in creating the three main stock character roles: servant, master, and innamorati.  And it is a joy that under Aaron Hunts’s direction and understanding of commedia style, I can play Papagena in the commedia tradition with a modern twist. 

Rebecca will be playing Papagena in Verismo's upcoming production of Mozart's, The Magic Flute. Learn more: http://www.verismooperaclub.org

Rebecca Prescott, a rancher’s daughter from Jerome, Idaho, is a Master of Music graduate of Roosevelt University, where she studied with Richard Stilwell. Onstage she has played Desdemona in Shakespeare’s Othello, The Governess in The Turn of the Screw, and Yum-Yum in The Mikado. Ms. Prescott just completed the North American Tour of the Broadway Musical How the Grinch Stole Christmas, playing and singing Grandma Who.

It’s all about “The Players” Aaron Hunt's Insights as Director of Magic Flute

Last Saturday we began “staging rehearsals” for Verismo’s production of The Magic Flute. “Staging rehearsals” are those dedicated periods of time when the stage director gives specific movement to the artists who will be portraying the characters in the piece. And every director has their own style of handling this very important, but potentially tedious installment of the process. Some directors ask their artists to move about according to what feels right to them in that particular moment, and then use those organically created physical moments to shape something that matches the arch of the scene or makes the most desirable stage picture. On the opposite end of the spectrum are directors who know exactly what they want in every single second, and spend “staging rehearsal” time conveying “the how,” “the why” and “the when” to the assembly. And then we have all of the possible combinations in the middle of these two notions, shaped, as I mentioned in my previous blog, by the background of the opera director. An opera director who comes from a dance background might start with “stage pictures,” or certain shapes of artists placed to make a certain point or suggest a mood. An opera director from a more musical background might be more concerned with how an artist is physically placed according to the vocal and/or ensemble components required by the upcoming music. And an opera director from a classical acting background may want to start with the internal motivation of the character, to create movement that feels congruent with the needs and wants of the character in question. But whatever the director’s technique for staging a piece, she or he is as dependent as we all are for oxygen upon the “buy-in” and “willingness to play” of the artists who will be living in the skins of the characters set down by the authors and composers.

In my experience I have used many different directing techniques in order to create the piece floating around in my imagination, dictated by the age and experience of the artists at hand, and sometimes by the span of time a particular production affords for preparation. And I hope that I am able to effectively meld together my various disciplines during my process, and draw on what is necessary to achieve the desired effect. But my favorite way to work is to begin with what I call a “rough block,” which is to tell the artists where I want them to enter the stage, at what points in the scene I would like for them to land at which particular spots on the stage, and finally when I want them to leave the stage, and in what direction. In this way I create basic traffic patterns which tell me pretty quickly if I have missed a step in my imaginings of the arch of a scene. In the case of our Magic Flute, which is highly athletic as we meld the worlds of sports and music, there is also a good bit of choreography thrown into the mix. And here again, I have roughed this out for our artists, so they know generally what I am looking for during a particular section of music.

And then the real fun begins as we start to “run” what we have “staged.” If “The Players” are willing to have fun and try things, I can quickly see what works with the stage picture and the particular scenes’ placement in the arch of the show. Most importantly, we are ending up with movement that is organic to the particular artists, which will always look better, funnier or more poignant because these movements are natural to “The Players.” And what the director is really praying for in these situations is that “The Players” will do too much, that the director will actually have an opportunity to say, “cut that back just a bit.” Because this is SO much easier for the director than finding a way to pull something out of an artist that doesn’t seem to be coming naturally or quickly for them.

I was so delighted this past weekend to watch our artists really jump in and play! This “show-business” is no occupation for someone who is worried about looking silly! And our artists continually surprised and delighted me with their naturally funny sensibilities and unending invention. All of the moments that I had seen in my head, and scribbled about in my score and script, came to life ten-fold as the characters started to jump right out of our artists before our very eyes. And then there is the contagious energy when one artist finds a particular “moment” for their character, and this “moment” informs the response from the next character, and another new “moment” is discovered, almost unearthed, and so on, and so on…

Twice last Saturday I actually had to say, “I’ll need you to tone that down a shade. It’s just a little too much.” TWICE! YES!

When you are in the company of artists at the top of their game who are laughing and having a wonderful, creative time while staying focused on the goal of covering the scheduled scenes for that day’s work, well let me tell you that it is the kind of experience that will send you out of the rehearsal space “Singing In The Rain.” Or snow. Or sleet. Or whatever it is we’re having in Chicago at the moment, as The Winter of 2011 grinds on and on…

I can hardly wait for the next rehearsal! And to see your smiling faces at our performances on March 25^th and 27^th! Come spend time with our very special “Players.” You’ll be glad you did! 

Learn more about Verismo's upcoming performances of The Magic Flute.

Having appeared as Benoit/Alcindoro for Verismo Opera Club’s inaugural production of La Boheme, followed by acting as Narrator for Verismo’s The Passion of Puccini concert event in November, Aaron Hunt will take on the duties of Director for the company’s next outing, a family-friendly, youngster-focused, audience-participation production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. 

Magic Flute Insights on Papagena and Papageno by Theresa Egan (Papagena cover)

 
I adore comic opera and Mozart’s comic operas are second to none. He is a master at this genre and when Verismo Opera Club offered me the understudy forPapagena, I was thrilled to say yes. After all, I enjoy performing comic opera even more than I enjoy listening to it. The first person I told was my husband of course, but second on my list were my parents.

After the initial congratulations and excitement, they proceeded with the normal questions. What show is this? What is your part? How do you say her name again? My parents are incredibly supportive, but they are not opera goers (unless I am in the show of course) so I then set about telling them about my new role: the spirited, clever and extremely likeable soubrette that is Papagena.

So who is Papagena? Her part in The Magic Flute is small, almost tiny. She has a few lines of dialogue (which done right are highly memorable and entertaining) and of course there is the famous duet with Papageno. Her stage time is minuscule compared to the other characters. Although her part is small, her role in the story is gigantic. Papageno is searching for his other half, for his sweetheart throughout the show and without Papagena, his story ends in tragedy. Papagena’s presence at the end allows his story to end in comedy. The audience and Papageno adore Papagena because without her, the story wouldn’t end happily ever after. After all, isn’t the old expression, “a tragedy ends in a death, but a comedy ends with a wedding?” Her time on stage may be short, but her character is vital to the comic story. The bird couple of Papageno and Papagena are the highly comedic couple in the opera after all. They make mistakes and are flawed. The audience adores them because the audience sees themselves in them. She is highly important to the story, but who is she as a person? Papagena is the female answer to Papageno and so much more. She is playful, clever, spirited, real and above all, likeable. She tests Papageno’s faithfulness and inner character by appearing to him as an old woman first. If he can love her for what’s on the inside, then he is worthy of her. Of course the comedy of the opera creates some “sidenotes” about his true intentions, but the idea remains the same. Papagena is her own woman and acts of her own free will. She is simply charming and a wonderful little Soubrette role that is not so little after all. This is why I am proud to join the long lists of other Sopranos who happily proclaimed with song “Pa-Pa-Pa-Papagena!”

Verismo Opera Club presents Magic Flute March 25 & 27 at the Arts Center of Oak Park. 
Learn more at http://www.verismooperaclub.org  

Theresa Egan is currently working towards her Masters of Art in Vocal Pedagogy at Northeastern Illinois University.  She can be seen in their upcoming production as Rose in the The Secret Garden.