By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Music lovers will have the chance to experience the future of opera when the College of Musical Arts stages its annual micro-opera concert Friday, Feb. 21 at 8 p.m. The performance in Bryan Recital Hall is free
The four operas, each 15-20 minutes long, were composed by Bowling Green State University students and are performed and directed by their peers.
“It’s nice to work with living composers,” said Lucas Lourenco, who has roles in two of the operas. “It’s nice to watch the show come to life.” Performers, he said, have a chance to help shape the piece in a way that’s not possible for established works.
For the composers, hearing their works can be a revelation.
“Amazing,” said Indigo Knecht after they saw their piece “Today” for the first time during a recent rehearsal. “I was speechless to see this. This is the first time I’m actually seeing it outside my head.”
The opera deals with the central character’s struggle with the internal demons of self doubt. Played by Brianna England, the character simply called Self, rises ready to face the world.
She gives herself positive mantras, Knecht said. “But then throughout the day she has these refractors who are pushing these negative thoughts on her and the reflector who’s holding onto those negative thoughts and gradually through the day she’s giving in to those thoughts.”
Knecht worked with director Tabitha Miner “to make sure to end on a note to suggest to reach out to people who are struggling.”
The opera was a collaboration with actor and musician Connor Long, Knecht said. They came up with the idea over coffee.
Knecht said this was the second script, they’d submitted for the production and the first to be staged.
“When I was a freshman, I saw these and thought ‘this would be amazing if I had this opportunity.’”
Knecht is now a senior majoring in composition. They write for a variety of ensembles. Last November their piece “free the black birds” was played by the Toledo Symphony Orchestra at the annual Student Composer Reading Session. That work for orchestra was written in memory of a teenager who died in 2017 after a long struggle with mental illness.
“Music is great thing to explore emotions,” the composer said. “Personally when I play music it’s very emotionally driven, so I choose topics that get me really riled up to say the least.”
Mickey Miller, a singer who is in the college’s doctorate in contemporary music program, is coordinating this year’s micro opera performances.
She was involved last year, assisting Hillary LaBonte with the coordination, as well as performing.
That was too much.
The process starts in summer when composers submit their proposals. During opera auditions early in the fall semester, singers will indicate if they are interested in performing on the program.
Performers tend to be graduate students or upper level undergraduates, Miller said. Rehearsals are held over the winter break, so housing for first year students is problematic. Also, the musical demands of the operas require a higher level of skill.
The four operas being staged Friday are:
- “Chanflín” composed by Pablo Gómez-Estévez and directed by Bailey Maxfield with cast Julia Gries, Lucas Lourenco, Alana Jones, Tabitha Miner and Megan Ahne.
- “Today” composed by Indigo Knecht and directed by Tabitha Miner with cast Brianna England,Laura Burger and Lucas Lourenco.
- “Time’s Tolling” composed by Emily McPherson and directed by Julia Gries with cast Carolyn Anderson Lachesis and Bailey Maxfield.
- “Even If I Forget” composed by Shawna Wolf and directed by Brianna England with cast Jhané Perdue, Julia Gries and Laura Burger.
Arranging the rehearsals around the performers’ schedules can be difficult. Many of those performing Friday were also in the chorus for the Toledo Opera’s recent production of “La Boheme.”
Miller enjoys seeing the collaboration among the composers and directors to help bring the new work to life.
Miner said this was a good opportunity to have a chance to direct “Today.” The senior majoring in vocal performance with a minor in dance has directed dance performances.
And she employs those skills to “Today.” As a dancer, she said, “I get to be in this piece and represent what goes on in her head.”
Dance has much to bring to opera, she said. “I love that it shows a lot more than just standing and singing. It gives a lot more visual effect.”
