BYU Opera Theatre presented “American Ghost Stories” — a three-part opera performance showcasing a variety of themes ranging from historical to spooky.
"No Ladies in the Lady’s Book," "The Face on the Barroom Floor" and "The Medium" were performed for the audience Feb. 15 through Feb. 22. Students auditioned in December and began rehearsals in January.
Shea Owens, the director of the BYU Opera program, shared some of the challenges in preparing for opera roles.
“It’s such a terrific experience for them, because they have to be disciplined,” Owens said. “They have to chart out their time, they have to learn an operatic role that’s musically challenging and then after preparing music, they coach it with the opera coaches.”
Sam West, a student in the BYU music program, played the role of the bartender in "The Face on the Barroom Floor" and Toby in "The Medium." He described the role of the bartender as “complex,” but his role as Toby seemed to be even more difficult.
In the opera, Toby is living under the roof of a medium who is scamming people out of their money. He appears to be a troubled person, but his level of innocence is questioned throughout the opera.
“Toby was really hard to do,” West said. “It was kind of hard to inhabit that character and sit in that. As you saw, Toby's a mute; he can’t speak.”
This unusual role was difficult for West because this character had no lines. Logistically this proved challenging since West couldn’t connect his blocking to lines. He instead focused his preparation on how his movements connected to others’ lines and made sure he stayed present in the moment.
West reflected further on his experience in opera.
“I think all of the stories that we tell in this set of operas are just people that don’t communicate well and have a lot of trauma that they haven’t worked through yet,” West said.
Owens shared more on the complexity of setting up these scenes.
“It takes a lot of preparation, a lot of work on their own, but then they also have to work in a group,” Owens said. “It’s like a really concentrated group project. We’re learning the staging, we’re learning acting skills, we’re learning how to work with other people, to rely on them, to react with them so there are a lot of benefits intellectually, socially and spiritually.”
Audience members were impressed by the performance. Emmeline Sevey, a vocal performance major, was inspired by the actors’ abilities.
“From a performer's perspective, I could see that the technique required for these songs is insane,” Sevey said. “They’ve obviously been working really hard on it.”
Sevey appreciated how everything was set up.
“It felt very professional. The costumes and the set were all stunning. I think it was very engaging the whole time.” Sevey said.
Owens expressed the enjoyment he felt watching the students he has worked with finally perform.
“There are little nuances that they add to the character,” Owens said. “It’s really gratifying to watch them get more comfortable with it.”
