Music, Theater Offer Opera Classics

The Westmont Theater and Music Departments, which won three national awards for the 2013 co-production of “Pirates of Penzance,” combine forces for “An Evening of One-Act Opera Classics” on Jan. 30-31 at 7 p.m. and Feb. 1 at 3 p.m., all in Porter Theatre. Tickets, which cost $15 general admission and $10 students/seniors/children, can be purchased by calling (805) 565-­7140 or online at www.westmont.edu/boxoffice.

John Blondell, Westmont professor of theater, stages the operas that are directed by Celeste Tavera, adjunct professor and Music Drama Workshop teacher. The evening includes “La Serva Padrona” (The Servant Turned Mistress), an opera buffa by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, a libretto by Gennaro Antonio Federico composed in 1733 and “The Old Maid and the Thief. A Grotesque Opera in One Act,” composed by Italian-American composer Gian Carlo Menotti to his own libretto in 1939.

The operas feature singers Wendy Kent, Robert Huff and Matthew Maler in “La Serva;” and Emmalee Wetzel, Serena Lee, McKenna Kleinmeier and Walter Dyer in “Old Maid.” “The singers have beautiful voices,” says Tavera, a Metropolitan Opera National Council winner who has taught voice at Westmont for nine years.

Two separate, live orchestras, conducted by Michael Shasberger, Adams professor of music and worship, accompany the singers. Designers include Westmont professors Yuri Okahana (scenery), Miller James (costumes), and Jonathan Hicks (lighting).

“The operas couldn't be more different,” says Blondell. “Where ‘La Serva’ is bright, comic, and whimsical, ‘Old Maid’ is more overtly psychological, and emotionally and musically demanding. We have worked hard to present the rich detail of each opera, and to unify them in such a way that creates a vivid and compelling evening of great music theater. The student performers are doing a fantastic job, and the theater and music faculty hope that this will be just the beginning for an exciting tradition of opera at Westmont.”