Can't believe college students would be interested in opera? Come witness for yourself. Hearing is believing!
At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 31, Omwake-Dearborn Chapel will resound as Catawba College students wow with songs from various opera scenes, including Mozart's "Cosí Fan Tutte" and "The Magic Flute," Puccini's "Gianni Schicchi," and even Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess." This free performance will include several selections in English, along with Italian, French and German selections.
"We're excited to bring this program to the community and are so pleased by the students' fearless enthusiasm," shares Kristopher Irmiter, an adjunct instructor of voice and opera at Catawba. "Because of their varied backgrounds and academic majors, every student brings a different level of experience and expertise to the class. All of them, however, have fully embraced the process and demands unique to opera performance.
"We know this maiden voyage of opera at Catawba will be a treat for all who attend."
Catawba students performing are enrolled in the inaugural semester of the Opera Workshop program at the college directed by Irmiter and Todd Geer, also an adjunct instructor of voice and opera. Students who participate in the workshop do so by taking it as a non-credit course that meets between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. each Tuesday.
By performing with no sets, minimal costumes, and limited props, the students will be able to demonstrate what they have learned about the demands of opera performance – "the complete fusion of music and drama through acoustic singing," Irmiter notes.
Students who will be performing on March 31 include Allison Andrews of Sherrills Ford; Dallas Banks of Lexington; Aubrey Barton of Salisbury; Sydney Berk of Encino, Calif.; Michelle Chaffee of Holly Springs; Jordan Clifton of Garner; Brittany Coley of Salisbury; Devonte Jura Davis of Charlotte; Sara Holcomb of Trinity; Michelle Lescure of Pitman, N.J.; Quinn McRae of Hendersonville; Zach McRae of Hendersonville; Patrick Moore of Concord; and Iliana Rivera of Burlington.
For more information about Opera and Catawba College's other musical offerings, contact the Music Department at (704) 637-4345.
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