Over-the-TOPera

The music department will be hosting its third Over-the-TOPera, an opera that mixes comedy and satire with dramatic pieces, on Saturday, Feb. 6.

The show is produced by professors and their students who have an impressive background in vocals and performance.

Gayla Blaisdell, associate professor of voice and opera, is the coordinator of the concert. She produced the concert with the idea that it should be humorous and fun to watch.

“Opera is not the stereotypical stuffy, old-fashioned, boring kind of thing that a lot of people think it is,” Blaisdell said. “Opera is actually very dramatic and passionate and funny.”

Michael McCormick, senior vocal performance major, has been singing since the age of three and will be performing in the upcoming concert.

“It’s not just geared toward people who love opera… some of the [songs] are very moving, some of them are funny, some of them are serious,” McCormick said. “People love to see musical theater shows, or operas, or movies. It’s all really relative in my mind… everyone should be able to go and experience a little bit of opera.”

Aly Henniger, senior choral education and vocal performance major, has had years of experience; her first choir performance was in the sixth grade.

“It’s a perfect opportunity for people to get a taste of what opera is, and it’s done in a really good way,” Henniger said. “There are so many comedic moments in it and it’s short, so for anybody who hasn’t seen an opera before, it’s a good way to introduce them to it.”

The vocal students have been preparing arias, self-contained expressive solos, to perform at Over-the-TOPera with the help of their professors.

“They bring their ideas, we work with it, perfect it and we kind of make it fun,” Blaisdell said.

Bonnie Blanchard, senior vocal performance major, has been performing since she was 12-years-old.

“I will be channeling my Sicilian roots, and I’m going to be playing a really sassy Italian lady who is basically like, ‘Love? Eh, whateva,’” Blanchard said. “Your body is your instrument, so I just love being able to move. I love being able to become a different character and a different person that the music calls for, because in that little three minute slot, you’re a completely different person.”

The concert is a fundraising event that raises money to support larger productions that the music department puts on.

All of the money raised by ticket sales will go towards the Opera Scenes workshop that happens in April.

“It’s really our only fundraiser for the opera department, and the productions we put on are pretty amazing,” Henniger said. “We volunteer and the teachers volunteer their time too. A lot of teachers have set aside time to help us actually stage our arias or help plan costumes.”

The music professors and their students are both proud and excited to be able to showcase what they’ve been working on for the past couple of months.

The concert includes several performances by students who have worked to tailor their arias and stage look for this event. The show will be decorated with stage props and, occasionally, people with whom vocalists will interact with during their performances. There will be skits that take place between performances courtesy of Over-the-TOPera’s host, Victoria Nightingale.

“Victoria is a character that we invite every year. Victoria is a made up character that one of our voice faculty members plays. This is the third year in a row, so people know who Victoria is,” Blaisdell said.

Some students have an especially long-standing relationship with the character.

“Victoria Nightingale and I go way back. I met her when I was 12-years-old … even then she was just as encouraging and bombastic and competitive,” Blanchard said. “Victoria has a big personality and even bigger hair. And her clothes are always on point. She’s basically a comedian in opera form.”

Josh Johnson, senior choral education and vocal major, has been involved in vocal performances since he was in kindergarten after his dad, a music teacher, made Josh a part of one of his shows.

Johnson is looking forward to have the opportunity to perform his aria in a scene in the context that he imagined for it and to do it in front of an audience.

“It would be nice for other people to see what we do and see how good our program is,” Johnson said. “As well as the kind of quality that the music department and the voice performance professors put out and how much they drive for excellence in their students.”