Hello everyone,
What an incredible weekend of music
making! Two fabulous productions, presented by Opera at Morgan. For
many, Opera can be a bitter pill to swallow! Most operas are in a
foreign language, in languages that we Americans typically have not
studied, let alone mastered enough to understand in song.
Additionally, if you have attended Opera before, you know that the
productions can be very long, often lasting as many as three and a half
to five hours. This weekend's performances featured two one-act operas.
The operas had two distinct stories and two distinct musical styles.
However, each opera complimented the other. Both opera presentations
were only one hour in length with an appropriate fifteen minute
intermission. Vincent Stringer, artistic director of Opera at Morgan
was the director of Suor Angelica, with Dr. Lester Green at musical
director and conductor. Puccini's Suor Angelica is a story of sacrifices made for a life of piety. MFAC's own Dwight R.B. Cooke was the director of Devil & Daniel Webster,
which story was based around compromise of the soul or perhaps
compromise of one's integrity. Both productions were stellar, with
great movement on stage and singing from the casts. Of note was the
all-encompassing set for the operas, featuring a Black Madonna in Suor
Angelica sculpted by faculty member Blaise DePaolo. The set was
designed by Jeff Harrison and realized by recently hired Fine Arts
technician Scott Yuille. My only regret, as in our much larger
production of Porgy and Bess a couple of years ago, was that more
people were not in attendance. Unfortunately, we were competing with
the first warm weekend of this spring season. Additionally, Constitution
Hall presented a Tribute concert to Marian Anderson on Saturday
evening, where many potential Opera goers already were committed.
Despite these facts, many are still amazed at the talent that Morgan
continues to display. Whether via the choir, the band, theatre, or even
Opera, Morgan has an abundance of talent. We are all blessed to be a
part of the network, no family such as Morgan to regularly come together
to appreciate the finer things in life - Art, Music, and Theatre.
Hopefully, everyone will continue to tune in the Murphy Fine Arts Center
website to see what great production is next. Congratulations to the
entire casts, crew, and faculty that helped make these productions such a
success. See links below to video and photos from the Opera this
weekend. Enjoy!
Opera Video Link:
Opera Photos Link:
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