Spring Break
UA to participate in national opera event
Jeff Sistrunk
Issue date: 9/17/07 Section: Life & Style
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Fans of opera, avant-garde theater and fine arts in general will have plenty to talk about on Sunday, September 23, when the UA music department presents a live simulcast of the Washington National Opera's rendition of Giacomo Puccini's La Boheme. Arkansas is one of 32 universities and high schools across the nation that will simulcast the event.
Students and local residents alike will have the opportunity to view the broadcast at either Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall on campus or the Center for Continuing Education auditorium beginning at 1 p.m. in Fayetteville Square, according to the official press release.
"We want to make this simulcast as accessible as possible for everyone," said Christopher Lacy, a current visiting professor of music at UA specializing in opera studies. "[So] we went with two venues. It is my hope that people who do not traditionally attend campus events will be tempted by the off campus venue."
Arrangements to secure the venues and outfit them for the broadcast began as early as July, Lacy said.
The new production of La Boheme will be the Washington National Opera's third performance to be presented in a simulcast format but the first to reach audiences nationwide. The company previously transmitted simulcast operas to several venues across the greater Washington D.C. area in 2005 and 2006. The traveling opera troupe, currently led by General Director Plácido Domingo, started out as a regional company in the D.C. area in 1956 but has since gone on to garner international acclaim through performances in over a dozen countries, according to the WNO's official site.
Lacy seems optimistic about the opera's potential crossover appeal. "La Boheme is a great 'starter' opera for people who traditionally know nothing of opera," he said. "It is full of instantly recognizable melodies [and] has a plot that appeals to a great number of people."
The traditional production of La Boheme centers on the trials and tribulations of four Parisian Bohemians, including the lead tenor and soprano, Rodolfo and Mimì, as they struggle to make sense of the world around them.
Lacy notes that, although the original opera was set in the 1800s, the WNO's new rendition is a "hip, updated production." He also points out that La Boheme was the inspiration for the popular Broadway musical Rent, a fact that could draw in even more of the uninitiated.
Depending on the success of the September 23 presentation, UA might participate in future events with the Washington National Opera, Lacy said. He hopes that individuals who are unfamiliar with opera can overcome the difficulties associated with the genre and learn to enjoy it.
"Opera is one of the richest theatrical experiences one can have," he said. "[And] modern productions with English subtitles, such as [the ones] we are getting from the WNO, serve not only the art form of opera, but the communities for which they are made available."
Students and local residents alike will have the opportunity to view the broadcast at either Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall on campus or the Center for Continuing Education auditorium beginning at 1 p.m. in Fayetteville Square, according to the official press release.
"We want to make this simulcast as accessible as possible for everyone," said Christopher Lacy, a current visiting professor of music at UA specializing in opera studies. "[So] we went with two venues. It is my hope that people who do not traditionally attend campus events will be tempted by the off campus venue."
Arrangements to secure the venues and outfit them for the broadcast began as early as July, Lacy said.
The new production of La Boheme will be the Washington National Opera's third performance to be presented in a simulcast format but the first to reach audiences nationwide. The company previously transmitted simulcast operas to several venues across the greater Washington D.C. area in 2005 and 2006. The traveling opera troupe, currently led by General Director Plácido Domingo, started out as a regional company in the D.C. area in 1956 but has since gone on to garner international acclaim through performances in over a dozen countries, according to the WNO's official site.
Lacy seems optimistic about the opera's potential crossover appeal. "La Boheme is a great 'starter' opera for people who traditionally know nothing of opera," he said. "It is full of instantly recognizable melodies [and] has a plot that appeals to a great number of people."
The traditional production of La Boheme centers on the trials and tribulations of four Parisian Bohemians, including the lead tenor and soprano, Rodolfo and Mimì, as they struggle to make sense of the world around them.
Lacy notes that, although the original opera was set in the 1800s, the WNO's new rendition is a "hip, updated production." He also points out that La Boheme was the inspiration for the popular Broadway musical Rent, a fact that could draw in even more of the uninitiated.
Depending on the success of the September 23 presentation, UA might participate in future events with the Washington National Opera, Lacy said. He hopes that individuals who are unfamiliar with opera can overcome the difficulties associated with the genre and learn to enjoy it.
"Opera is one of the richest theatrical experiences one can have," he said. "[And] modern productions with English subtitles, such as [the ones] we are getting from the WNO, serve not only the art form of opera, but the communities for which they are made available."
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