麻豆影院

Ambition. Amor. Seduction. Betrayal. For CU鈥檚 opera singers, it鈥檚 all in a semester鈥檚 work. For some, it鈥檒l be a life.

Meagan Mahlberg聽(Mus鈥�08,MA鈥�11) knew bliss would come, and almost precisely when.

It was late fall and the 28-year-old soprano was preparing for her role in CU-麻豆影院鈥檚 spring production of Mozart鈥檚聽颁辞蝉矛 fan tutte. Group rehearsals had barely begun. Orchestral accompaniment was months away. But she鈥檇 done her homework and sensed already that her second-act aria would deliver a drawn-out moment of pure transcendence as scores of musicians reached full throttle and she drew out a high note in a hall seating thousands.

鈥淪he鈥檚 essentially asking for forgiveness from her fianc茅, maybe from God, maybe from herself,鈥� Mahlberg says of her character, Fiordiligi, a young lover losing a battle against temptation. 鈥淪he鈥檚 already realized she鈥檚 going to betray.鈥�

Dramatic, athletic, fantastic and, above all, musical, opera induces the immersive state of total engagement that drives Mahlberg. One of four singers enrolled in the 鈥檚 professional certificate program in opera and solo vocal performance, she鈥檚 already performed in more than a dozen fully-staged productions, including professional work in 麻豆影院 and New York.

鈥淚 am trying to make a life out of this,鈥� she says.

That鈥檚 not an easy thing to do.

Keith Miller聽(Art ex鈥�97), a former CU and professional football player who reinvented himself as an opera singer and has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, puts it this way on his website: 鈥淎 million-to-one to make it in professional football, two-million-to-one to succeed in opera.鈥�

Despite long odds, CU alumni voices sound in opera halls near and far. Mezzo-soprano聽Megan Marino聽(MMus鈥�08), soprano聽Christie Hageman聽(MMus鈥�10) and tenor聽John Lindsey聽(MMus鈥�11) all perform with major U.S. opera companies. Bass-baritone聽Ashraf Sewailam聽(Mus鈥�94,DMA鈥�08) has been called a 鈥渟tandout鈥� by聽The New York Times. Soprano聽Cynthia Lawrence聽(MMus鈥�87) 鈥� a bona fide star who performs at famous opera houses around the world 鈥� appeared with Italian tenor Luciano Pavoratti more than 70 times.

There鈥檚 no foolproof recipe for an opera career, of course. University training, talent agents and vocal contest victories are common ingredients. Many of CU鈥檚 current aspirants hope to join a major opera company鈥檚 young artist program, basically in-house troupes of early-career singers.

Competition is fierce. Singers apply to audition, which amounts to auditioning to audition. After the initial winnowing there can still be hundreds of singers vying for fewer than a dozen slots. The tryouts are brief and no-nonsense. In October聽Max Hosmer聽(MMus鈥�14), a tenor from California cast as Ferrando in CU鈥檚聽颁辞蝉矛, flew to New York for an eight-minute tryout.

Even success 鈥� a junior spot in a professional company 鈥� is just a start. Singers in young artist programs get short-term contracts and typically undertake duties far from the spotlight, as community ambassadors for the opera, for example. But there鈥檚 also the possibility of small roles and chorus appearances, and the incalculable benefit of being an insider.

Says Hosmer, 鈥淵ou never know when you might get a call 鈥� 鈥榃e need a Ferrando tomorrow!鈥欌��

Experience Counts

Training professional opera singers is one aim of the College of Music and the Eklund Family Opera Program, which helps support three campus productions each year. A broader goal, says program director Leigh Holman, is to provide music students with meaningful exposure to a major category of theater music. Many students will become teachers; to be good ones, she says, they need to know opera.

For the professional aspirants in the聽颁辞蝉矛聽cast, performing big roles in famous operas is vital currency in the job market. Opera companies want more than talent; they want singers intimate with specific roles in a small pool of popular operas that includes聽颁辞蝉矛 fan tutte.

鈥淢anagement will like to see that you鈥檝e done the role before,鈥� says Holman, a mezzo-soprano who sang professionally and directed Opera Colorado鈥檚 young artist program before joining the CU music faculty in 2007. 鈥淚t gives them confidence the singer has the goods to pull it off.鈥�

CU鈥檚 professional performance program offers young singers the extra benefit of helping them expand their repertoires as they await developments that can鈥檛 be rushed: The human voice doesn鈥檛 fully mature until the early 30s, in some cases later.

That鈥檚 one reason why聽颁辞蝉矛聽is a college favorite: It鈥檚 meant for young voices.

Mozart Meets Monroe

Mozart wrote聽颁辞蝉矛, a comedy about love and fidelity, late in his short life 鈥� he died in 1791 at age 35, the year after the opera鈥檚 debut. It became a fixture in the international opera cannon just before World War II, according to Nicholas Carthy, the music professor who conducts CU鈥檚 opera orchestras.

A veteran of the Salzburg Festival, in Mozart鈥檚 hometown, Carthy calls聽颁辞蝉矛聽鈥渢he ultimate ensemble opera,鈥� because all six characters figure prominently in the action and 鈥渆verybody gets to play with everyone else.鈥� It ends ambiguously, leaving a modernist whisper of doubt about the central tension鈥檚 resolution. Then there鈥檚 the music, he says 鈥� 鈥渢he most sublime鈥� that Mozart ever wrote.鈥�

Until March, CU had last performed聽颁辞蝉矛聽in 2004, in a traditional production set in the 18th century. Think velvet and white stockings. Holman, who directed the latest show, set the action in 1959, in a suave Rat Pack milieu intended to serve as a 20th-century analog to the risqu茅 18th-century original. For inspiration, she encouraged the cast to watch聽Pillow Talk, the Doris Day-Rock Hudson film, and聽How to Marry a Millionaire, which starred Marilyn Monroe.

The opera鈥檚 plot revolves around a scheme by two young men, Ferrando (Hosmer and聽Michael Hoffman) and Guglielmo (James Held听补苍诲听Frank Fainer) to test the fidelity of their lovers, the sisters Fiordiligi (Mahlberg and聽Rebecca Kidnie) and Dorabella (Rebecca Robinson听补苍诲听Megan Schirado).

Prompted by Don Alfonso (doctoral student聽Luke Williams), an old man who doubts woman鈥檚 capacity for fidelity, Ferrando and Guglielmo falsely report that they鈥檝e been called to war. As the sisters rue the situation, the men return in disguise and try to seduce the other鈥檚 girlfriend. A spunky maid, Despina (Nadya Hill听补苍诲听Sara Yoder), stokes the girls鈥� latent interest.

CU has tended to stage operas in their original time and setting. But in the spirit of fun and to broaden opera鈥檚 appeal, professional companies today often opt for anachronistic productions 鈥斅�The Marriage of Figaro聽set in a Trump Tower, for instance, or聽Rigoletto聽in Al Capone鈥檚 Chicago. Holman, enchanted by the popular culture of the 1950s, decided 2015 was as good a time as any to try a Sinatra-era聽颁辞蝉矛.

The approach can disappoint traditionalists, she says, but it can also win new fans for an old art form that is, at core, a play with live music.

鈥淲hen you set it close to the present day, it becomes more tangible and more relatable,鈥� says Mahlberg. 鈥淚t demonstrates that the stories that take place in opera take place anywhere, anytime.鈥�

Team Sport

An opera is a massively collaborative undertaking involving scores of faculty, students and staff, including the director, conductor, stage manager, voice coaches, set and costume designers, singers, 46-person orchestra and many others. Holman says producing three operas a year is like 鈥減lanning three daughters鈥� weddings.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 theater and music, orchestras, language, costumes, acting all mixed together,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 big.鈥�

In the latest聽颁辞蝉矛, all but one role was double-cast 鈥� two singers for each character 鈥� mainly to provide more students with experience. This had the extra benefit of ensuring the show could go on in case of unforeseen events. Only the role of Don Alfonso, the philosopher-instigator, was performed by a lone singer, Williams. The role requires a deep voice 鈥� he鈥檚 a bass-baritone 鈥� which can be hard to find. The scarcity works out in his favor: 鈥淪omeone always needs a bass.鈥�

Singers do a lot of early work alone or in small groups and are expected to have memorized their lines and learned their songs before they begin rehearsing the action. Hosmer uses flashcards. Williams translates into English all the dialogue his character hears (as well as what he says). Many sing in the shower, though not always opera.

All the singers have studied foreign languages, typically Italian, German or French, perhaps Russian, too, another opera favorite. They analyze the story鈥檚 historical context and the origins of the text (libretto). They know respiratory anatomy, the subtleties of larynx, vocal cords and windpipe.

鈥淚n the process of doing what鈥檚 necessary to pull off the opera,鈥� says Mahlberg, who designed and sewed her favorite audition dress, 鈥測ou find that you鈥檝e learned so much about everything else.鈥�

Separately, the orchestra rehearses the score. There are tens of thousands of individual notes to play in聽颁辞蝉矛聽and countless instrumental combinations to coordinate. The first violinist鈥檚 portions run to 90 pages.

鈥淥n young hands, it can be very wearing,鈥� says Carthy, who conducted professional聽颁辞蝉矛聽productions at Salzburg. 鈥淚t really is a tribute to the people in the orchestra that they can do it.鈥�

Before the Macky Auditorium curtain rose on March 13 for the first of three public performances, the singers and the full orchestra had rehearsed together about half a dozen times.

Off Stage

Except for the professional certificate students, performing in operas at CU is extracurricular work. Life off stage goes on.

Some singers take classes, or teach them, or both. Many in the cast have part-time jobs, often as singers. Mahlberg, Williams and others perform on Sundays in a church choir. Hill, a master鈥檚 student, sings in her father鈥檚 Grammy-nominated jazz band and plays violin as a substitute in the 麻豆影院 Philharmonic. She also keeps up with an interest in computer programming. Hosmer had gigs lined up with the Colorado Repertory Singers and a role in an April production of Verdi鈥檚聽Tosca聽at the Townsend Opera in Modesto, Calif., his hometown.

Over Thanksgiving break, on a Cape Cod beach, Williams proposed (successfully) to girlfriend and fellow opera singer Siena Forest, a resident artist with Minnesota Opera. Carthy went a step further 鈥� during the December break, he got married, in Vienna.

And, of course, the singers audition.

At 6:30 one October morning, Hosmer awoke in the New York borough of Queens to begin warming his voice for a 10:30 tryout in Manhattan. Through Airbnb he鈥檇 rented a room in the apartment of two sisters. They were still home. He鈥檇 warned them of the ritual to come.

Hosmer began with a few minutes of humming and lip trills, then moved on to a series of exercises emphasizing vowels and consonants. He warmed the middle of his voice, then ranged low and high.

Afterward, he stepped into a dark charcoal, pinstripe Jos. Bank suit and hopped a Manhattan-bound Q train. He put ear buds in and zoned out.

In a sixth-floor hallway at Chelsea Studios, a rehearsal space, he took a seat on a folding chair and awaited his turn.

A door opened. He heard his own name.

It was a 48-hour trip. These were his eight minutes.

Photography by Glenn Asakawa