Virginia Opera Visits Bucknell

On May 5th, Bucknell was treated to an excursion into the world of opera. Students were enthralled when Alice from the storybook fantasy invited us into the "Enchanted Opera Forest". The Virginia Opera singers vanquished all fears of opera being only for adults or people whose ears can stand high screeching sounds.

Opera is a combination of scenery, costumes, a voice and acting that brings our imagination to life, as the singers proceeded to demonstrate.

The performance began with soprano, Katherine Darius as Alice in Wonderland, chasing a rabbit and becoming stranded in the forest. She runs into Popageno - the famous bird-catcher from Mozart's "Magic Flute" -- who invites her to stay and become his Papagena. The couple use pantomime and song to communicate beautifully.

Next Alice meets Jennifer Lowekamp, mezzo-soprano, who wants to sing songs and play games with her. The famous fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel, has been put to music by Engelbert Humperdinck. Hansel and Gretel sing together in a touching duet called "Angels To Keep Us Safe."

Daniel Olson, the baritone we met in the beginning as Papageno, returned to the stage and recruited help from the audience. As the zany Figaro, the Barber of Seville, he entertained the audience as he shaved our fifth grade friend. The students were delighted. Gioacchino Rossini composed fun-loving operas.

After Figaro, our versatile baritone became "Don Giovanni" from another Mozart opera. But this time the light-hearted comedy ended with a terrible tragedy. If you ever get a chance, you might want to experience this one for yourself to find out what happens.

Just in case students thought it was impossible to understand opera when the words were in another language, the cast helped us to learn a few phrases in French. Amazingly we were able to sing along with the French responses in no time. Bizet's "Carmen" offers the perfect vehicle for our interaction. Then Mr. Olson sang the famous aria, the toreador song, from this opera.

And finally all three rendezvoused for an entertaining rendition from "The Mikado of Japan" by Gilbert and Sullivan.

We can not forget the importance of two other members of the team---- the pianist, Karina Azatyan, and the technical assistant, Corey Bernstein

Ms. Darius, Ms Lowekamp, Mr. Olson