Great Scenes from Great Operas @ CIM 4/15/10


There’s more to opera than just standing on a stage and singing. Of course, acting is almost as important as singing, but still, one has to have stage presence, be able to finagle a period costume (with all it’s inherently strange accoutrements) plus move around through a stage setting and handle props, remember lines and be able to spontaneously overcome an unexpected glitch somewhere, which is almost certain to happen at some point.

The students in the CIM Opera Program benefit from appearing in three fully costumed and staged productions during each school year. One of these will be a complete opera, while the other two are acts or scenes from a wide variety of operas, dating from the first such composer, Claudio Monteverdi, who died in 1643, right up to operas written within the last ten years.

Of course, these productions utilize students at all phases of their education, from teen-aged true freshmen to 20-somethings working on their doctorate. It’s amazing what these students are able to grasp and absorb, so that all the necessary ingredients come together to form a whole. Consequently, overall productions might at times be a tad uneven, but by next year, everything will be different all over again.

Three times last week, the opera students, under the stage direction of David Bamberger, with the nimble-fingered music director John Simmons providing accompaniment at the piano, and wearing wigs and costumes designed by Alison Garrigan, presented scenes from twelve operas (Porgy and Bess had two separate scenes).

The programs were double-cast, demonstrating the growing strength of the program, whether the scene portrayed was very dramatic, such as Werther or Otello; the slightly comedic Postcard from Morocco or Così fan Tutte; and the coloratura show-stopper from The Tales of Hoffman. A major surprise was the ensemble Finale from La Vie Parisienne, which featured thirteen of the female students in a joyous and very well-done dance-line – yes, indeed, none other than the Can-Can! Who knew? Opera gets blamed (unfairly, I think!) for a lot of things, but this time the credit for this captivating invention must surely belong to this delightful French comic opera that dates to 1866¸ composed by Jacques Offenbach.

For information regarding next season’s opera programs, visit the web-site: http://www.cim.edu. or call 216-791-5000, to be added to the mailing list.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz, who writes: My most recently published book is Ardenwycke Unveiled (e-book and trade paper). Cerridwen has another contemporary romance from me, But Not For Love, currently available only as an e-book, but perhaps will be in print later this year. I hope to soon get around to completing some of the 30+ incomplete books in my computer!

By the way, Cerridwen has also accepted two of my short stories in their Scintillating Samples (complimentary reads) area: Song of the Swan and Unexpected Comfort. I love photography as well, as you can see here. Occasionally I teach writing workshops and sometimes do editing or ghostwriting on a free-lance basis. But over and above everything else, there's always been the writing. I can't imagine my life without it.