The Daily Campus

Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: Focus

Media Credit: Shaun Levy Fifteen vocalists performed in Sunday's spring performance by UConn Opera. The performance of American music was in four parts.

A full crowd was entertained Sunday afternoon when von der Mehden Recital Hall was transformed into the Capitol Casino/Hotel for "An Afternoon of American Opera," the spring performance of UConn Opera.

It was UConn Opera's final production of the 2007-08 season, and the four comedic acts were a fun contrast to what is usually expected of opera.

"The department chose to explore the emerging voice of American opera through the works of noted composers (Seymour) Barab, (Samuel) Barber, (Gian Carlo) Menotti and (John) Duke," said Constance Rock, director of vocal and opera studies.

Most opera amateurs almost certainly thought that some of the music was a little strange, because the songs weren't dramatic, heart-wrenching Italian arias. However, the performances by 15 vocalists involved just as much skill and humorously showcased the talents of UConn's opera students.

"An Afternoon of American Opera" involved the compilation of four acts that took place either in the casino, the lobby, a private gaming room, or the penthouse hotel suite. With a short intermission, the show was about two hours long, which seemed to fly by because of the funny, short acts.

"I'm not much of an opera guy, so it was nice that I didn't have to get completely involved in one boring plot," said Todd DiGiovanni, a junior at Eastern Connecticut State University. "I liked how there were different stories, it made it more interesting."

The four acts each had their own plot and characters, but all had something to do with the Casino/Hotel. The first act, "A Game of Chance" by Seymour Barab, was set on the casino floor as three young women ask the eternal messenger of Fate her dearest wish. Their wishes are for wealth, fame and a lover, and even though they all get what they wished for, they all end up dissatisfied with life. The moral of the comic opera is that we all want too much or little in life, and we should stay satisfied with what we have.

The second act, "The Telephone" by Gian Carlo Menotti, is about two lovers, Ben and Lucy, and Ben's struggle to propose to his phone-attached girlfriend. Ben has to go away and keeps attempting to propose to Lucy but the telephone, the awkward third party in their relationship, always rings at the crucial moment, sending Lucy off into endless, obscure chats. Ben tries everything, even telephonicide, but only succeeds in making Lucy angry. It ends with Ben ironically calling Lucy and asking her hand in marriage when he has to leave to catch his train.

The third act, "A Hand of Bridge" by Samuel Barber, is the most dramatic of the acts and, at nine minutes, it is also the shortest. Two couples intimately sit at a card table and fantasize while playing their customary game of bridge.

Lastly, the longest and most amusing of the acts was "Captain Lovelock" by John Duke. In this act, a tricky scheme that teaches an over-the-hill and scandalous woman that she doesn't need a strapping young husband.

All of the acts did a good job of balancing humor and drama while incorporating original morals.

"I think this performance really shows the progress that the voice department has made," said Caitlin O'Hara, a 4th-semester vocal performance major.

This is the second semester with the new music director Matthew Larson and stage director Gary Durham.



Contact Katie Hannafin at

Katherine.Hannafin@UConn.edu.

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