FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saint Mary’s College Produces Two Operas for March
Media contact:
Gwen O’Brien
Director of Media Relations
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556
(574) 284-4579
February 15, 2011 (Notre Dame, Ind.)—The Saint Mary’s College Department of Music is proud to announce its production of two operas in one evening, The Old Maid and The Thief and The Telephone, both by Gian Carlo Menotti. The productions will be held for two nights, Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. in Little Theatre in the Moreau Center for the Arts.
Menotti came from Italy to study and live in New York, where he spent the rest of his life. It is said that after spending time in a small town, he was shocked by the gossip chain that spread malicious secrets. The Old Maid and the Thief reflects Menotti's view of this town and its inhabitants. The Telephone is about twenty minutes long, and has only two characters--Lucy, who is glued to the telephone, and Ben, trying to propose to her.
Every year, the music department puts on a staged piece, with the exception of doing a large musical every fourth year, where the department combines efforts with the theater program. Music and theatre collaborated to produce Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim last semester.
Dr. Laurel Thomas, chair of music department and director of both operas, said the department chose the operas based on the abilities of the current students and decided to forgo auditions.
“I always choose the opera or opera scenes based on the students in the department who are musically capable and interested in working hard on a production,” Thomas said. “In this case, I chose the works based on the students available, so there were no auditions, just invitations to be in the operas.”
Recruiting two males for operas produced at a women’s college wasn’t as hard as you might think. “We were so lucky to have fine male singers for Into the Woods, Josh Griffin and Lucas Miner, and asked them to be part of this production,” Thomas said.
The casts for both operas are fairly small, consisting of only eight cast members total.
The Telephone cast:
Ashley Biehl ’12, Lucy
Lucas Miner, Ben
The Old Maid and the Thief cast:
Ashley Stopczynski ’13 and Erin Marks ’13, Leticia in Old Maid (double cast)
Angie Schott ’13, Miss Todd (the old maid)
Joy Viceroy ’13, Miss Pinkerton (her busybody friend)
Stephen Lancaster, Bob (the vagabond)
Elizabeth Carian ’13, radio announcer
Sherry Klinedinst, one of the music department’s accompanists, will be playing the piano for both operas.
“I hope that people will enjoy the music, find the singing of high quality, but mostly, that they will be able to laugh and have fun,” Thomas said.
Tickets are free for SMC/ND/HCC students, $8 for Faculty, Staff, and Senior Citizens, and $10 for adults. Tickets can be bought on the Moreau Center for the Performing Arts website.
About Saint Mary’s College: Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., is a four-year, Catholic, women’s institution offering five bachelor’s degrees and more than 30 major areas of study. Saint Mary’s College has six nationally accredited academic programs: social work, art, music, teacher education, chemistry and nursing. Saint Mary’s College ranks among the top 100 “Best National Liberal Arts Colleges” in the U.S. News & World Report 2011 College Guide. Founded in 1844, Saint Mary’s is a pioneer in the education of women, and is sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Cross.