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Opera Workshop: Church & State

Comedy, Chills and High Cs

From intense drama, to comic relief, to women singing high Cs!, Church and State, presented by the U of L Opera workshop on Nov. 6 and 7 at 7:30 pm, is a concert that has it all.

“You’ll laugh and you’ll cry watching the Opera Workshop perform pieces that explore a conflict between church and state,” says Director Blaine Hendsbee.

Every year the U of L Opera Workshop performs a program of operatic scenes in which Hendsbee chooses a central theme to showcase the wide gamut of skills involved. This year’s offering, Church and State, presents the emotionally chilling Suor Angelica by Puccini. It’s the story of a woman forced to give up her child at birth and serve in a convent. Sopranos, Jeanine Williams and Alyssa Durnie share the demanding title role in this gripping one-act opera, sung in English.

“But the concert s not all just doom and gloom and tears,” says Hendsbee and mentions the heavier pieces are coupled with lighter stories including Cosi fan tutte by Mozart, which takes a humorous perspective on romantic relationships and The Gondoliers and The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan. Other showcased scenes are drawn from The Dialogue of the Carmelites by Poulenc and Les Misérables.

“I love the emotional thrust of the Puccini opera. I love the history of the Carmelites piece and I love them equally and for all different reasons,” exclaims Hendsbee. “The audience will have lots of fun! Everything has been translated into English so they can capture the essence of the stories.”

With 25 singers and two pianists, the U of L Opera Workshop is a high quality program that is always growing. “The Opera Workshop provides a good foundation of training. We all help each other and get immersed in it. Now recruiters from all across Canada come to U of L to find exciting new singers for their graduate programs.”

Tickets for Church and State are $20 for adult, $15 for seniors and alums, $12 for students and can be purchased online ulethbridge.ca/tickets or through the U of L Box Office 403-329-2616.