When you think of the opera genre, you would usually picture a one-man or woman show that goes on for hours. That’s not the case with the two operas, “Maid Turned Mistress” and “Dido and Aeneas.” These operas are each one act and combined they last roughly two hours with an intermission in between. One is a comedy, while the other is a tragedy. Both are family-friendly shows in English.
The Maid Turned Mistress
“A classic romantic, precursor to a modern musical that involves sung dialogue, contemporary musical comedy, that revolves around the story between a rich bachelor, his maid, and silent yet comedic butler,” Director Bruce Cohen said.
The first opera of the night is this light-hearted and comedic story that involves comedic actions by the silent butler, played by Antonio Parra.
When asked what kind of line the silent butler would provide Parra said, “If the money wasn’t good, I’d be long gone,” which perfectly described his character.
The plot of this opera is for the maid to convince the bachelor to marry her instead of someone else while her partner in crime, the butler, helps her with her big plans.
Emma Clark, who plays the maid, said her favorite line to sing is: “You mean sir, I’m only a servant, and must take whatever handed, simply do as I’m commanded…. Although not well connected, I want to be respected no less than a lady, a gentlewoman, an aristocrat!”
Music director and conductor Robert Gehrenbeck said that the music in the opera fits well to the comedic side of the show.
“The use of dynamics helps build up the energy, and helps engage the audience into the story that is portrayed on stage,” Gehrenbeck said.
One of the main challenges for this opera is its shifting tempos. At times, the sung dialogue is only given a single chord, and the actor is reliant on the next chord to know if they are on the correct pitch.
Dido and Aeneas
“This opera is based on a myth that involves both love and tragedy, but the love is doomed when Aeneas abandons Dido, while Dido later dies from betrayal,” Cohen said.
Cora Schutte, who plays the spirit, said, “Dido has been a great experience, from the catchy songs to the great relationships formed through this dramatic and delightful opera.”
Unlike “The Maid Turned Mistress,” this opera is more than one character and involves a whole ensemble that blends perfectly together creating a tense and joyful atmosphere. “Thus on the fatal banks of Nile weeps the deceitful crocodile,” sang Dido, played by Genevieve Paur, in the final duet.
The music, as described by Gehrenbeck is, “Complicated yet engaging music that takes elements of English Folk music. It has five dances and although it is an older music style, it is really fun music that the audience can understand.”
The same challenges apply to the first opera where the actors are reliant on a chord and only by the next chord played will they know that they are in the key while singing their lines. Along with the music, the choreography was created by Barbara Grubel.
“I met with the musical director, but in notations and visioning, and tried to resemble what the music is visually saying,” Grubel said. “My inspiration was watching a modern dance production of Dido and Aeneas and improvising dance moves in my kitchen.”
This process was collaborative between herself, Gehrenbeck, Cohen and the students involved who added their choreography to the opera.
The full cast has been working on this since they auditioned during the fall, the whole cast came in a week early from the winter break to learn the music and script. This opera production features the collaboration between the dance, theatre and vocal students.
While Grubel and Gehrenbeck have been mapping out the music before winter break, researching a ton on this opera, which is inspired by the baroque era of music, where the rhythm is prominent and is modeled on dance courtly.
Don’t forget about the wonderful and hardworking students who work backstage for costumes, lighting and on-stage making sure the props get moved accordingly before the curtain rises or the next scene starts. Everyone has been talking positively amongst the cast, crew and directors about the play and everyone has been working hard to convey both operas on the stage for the audience to enjoy and feel the emotions that the whole production is portraying.
