The Elm Student Newspaper
Mozart and Menotti brings operatic variety to campus; Holdren and Clarke astound audience with performance
Danielle Porter
Holdren and Clarke performed selections
from Mozart and Menotti's works this past
weekend.
Christina Vouros, Elm photographer
Is it possible to murder an inanimate object? Senior Don Holdren nearly answered this question on February 3 and February 4 in Tawes Theatre. The theatre took on a concert hall ambiance as Holdren and sophomore Catharine Clarke sang several selections of the operatic works of Mozart, as well as the opera buffa one act The Telephone by Gian-Carlo Menotti.
Dr. Garry Clarke provided piano accompaniment for the show. Both Saturday and Sunday performances were crowded to near capacity with students, faculty, and family.
Pieces from Mozart's most popular operas were selected and performed in chronological order, ranging from 1786 to 1791.
Holdren and Clarke's program began with a selection from Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro entitled "Cinque, dieci" ("Five, ten"), a duet by Figaro and Susanna before their wedding.
Two pieces from Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio[Harem]) followed. "Welche Wonne, welche Lust" ("What bliss, what rapture") was performed by Clarke, and Holdren sang "In Mohrenland" ("In a Moorish land").
Both sang the duet "La' ci darem la mano" ("There you will give me your hand"), from Don Giovanni. It featured several shifts about the stage as the main character of Don Giovanni was alternately spurned and accepted by Zerlina.
Cosi fan tutte's "Una donna a qindici anni" ("At fifteen a woman") was sung by Clarke. The final pieces of Mozart included three from Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute). Holdren gave his rendition of "Der Vogelfanger bin ich ja" ("The birdcatcher am I"). Both he and Clarke then performed two duets: "Bei Mannern, Welche Liebe fuhlen" ("A man who can feel love") and finally "Pa-pa-pa."
All seemed to enjoy the first half of the program. One freshman commented, "I found the music and singing to be very moving. They have an ability to express emotion and make the audience feel it, without having to know the Italian or German languages."
Senior Dennis Wilson agreed. "I'm not an opera fan, but I loved it."
Menotti's The Telephone was performed in English. Its characters, Lucy and Ben, provided comical romantic entertainment. Ben (played by Holdren) wants to ask Lucy (Clarke) to marry him. However, he has to leave on business, and the telephone continually rings, interrupting his proposal.
With various aspects of physical comedy, Ben's attempts to get her attention are played out in Lucy's apartment with the use of a deck of cards, flowers, a kazoo, a whistle, a Buddha idol, and the near slicing of the telephone wire by a desperate fiancé with scissors. Desperate to speak with her, Ben rushes to the train station, and finds the nearest telephone booth to pop the question. Ben is finally able to have Lucy's full attention, and she agrees to be his wife. He promises to call her everyday while he is away.
Jillian Fletcher commented, "They are the most promising young opera singers on the Eastern Shore. Don and Catharine have a wonderful knack of acting while they sing, so you can follow the action even if the language is different."
The soprano and baritone have been rehearsing the show since last semester.
Clarke said, "The program was a no-brainer. Mozart is a wonderful composer with so much to choose from - we just hit the top ones. The Menotti opera was selected because of all the various directions it can be taken."
Holdren said, "The added bonus of the staging was that it was possible to make faces at family and friends in the audience."
Clarke added, "At first we were worried about the staging since we are so close to the audience. Speech is not all that loud, and it's very controllable. However, a high C at five feet isn't something everyone enjoys.
But it all turned out well."Telephone Director Mindy Beers was full of praise. "They did a fantastic job, and it was nothing that I did. Everyday they came in and tried out different things - like today Don cradled the phone like a baby during the performance, which we had never rehearsed. They're amazing people and performers."
300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, Maryland 21620 | 410-778-2800 | 800-422-1782