Selections from “Guys and Dolls” to “The Marriage of Figaro” can be heard being rehearsed from the quad of the Music Building Monday nights as students from the Opera Workshop prepare for the upcoming showcase next month.
The Opera Workshop was created in 2004 to teach aspiring performers the skills needed to be able to move, act and sing simultaneously on stage.
“It’s a skill that you need to acquire and this class is a place where students can not only perfect their performance but also get used to interacting with people on stage while singing,” Opera Workshop director Vicki Muto said.
Unlike the name suggests, Hedley Nosworthy, music professor and founder of the class, said the Opera Workshop is about much more than just opera. Throughout the semester the class experiments with a variety of performances such as operettas, arias and musical theater.
“You connect with the music better and really dive into the character you’re portraying,” Sedonia Murray-Cain, 29, music major said. “It’s a lot of multitasking. Many songs are in a foreign language like French, Italian or German and then at the same time you have to tell a story with your song and performance.”
Muto said the class is especially beneficial for music majors transferring to universities.
“We have noticed that students who have transferred in the last couple of years have said that this particular workshop was key in their development and helped prepare them,” Muto said.
She added, “In some cases it has made the difference between whether or not they got into the university.”
Although Anthony Moreno, 25, music major, graduated EC last spring and attends Cal State Long Beach, he continues to enroll in the class that, he said, is an invaluable resource.
“The class has helped me tremendously with what I’m doing now at CSULB,” Moreno said. “It has given me so much experience in solo performances and I’ve really become more comfortable with being on stage as a solo performer.”
Teamwork is an essential part of the class, Murray-Cain said.
“There is a lot more interaction in this class. We’ll work on scenes with multiple people and we all have to rely on each other. Everybody has to pull their own weight for a good performance, ” Murray-Cain said.
Outgrowing small classrooms that showcased these performers, the Opera Workshop performances now take place at the Campus Theatre.
“Even with that we have to do multiple performances so that everybody can get in.” Nosworthy said. “It’s become very successful.”
Taking place on June 6, the showcase begins at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $10.
