Lyric Stage at MC performers showcase Mozart during pair of one-act operas

Sarah Pigott, voice and opera adjunct in the MC Department of Music, said she hopes newcomers to opera will discover what makes the musical performance so entertaining.

Opera enthusiasts will have an opportunity to dive into a pair of one-act performances this fall that reveal much about a master composer’s personality.

Lyric Stage at Mississippi College’s opera ensemble will perform Mozart’s “Bastien und Bastienne” and “Der Schauspieldirektor,” at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1-2, in the Jean Pittman Williams Recital Hall in the Aven Fine Arts Building on the Clinton campus. Tickets will be available at the door.

Sarah Pigott, voice and opera adjunct in the MC Department of Music, said audiences will easily recognize Mozart in both performances.

“These operas are very true to his style,” Pigott said. “In ‘Bastien und Bastienne,’ you get a look at his early music, but you see the inklings of who he would become.

“‘Der Schauspieldirektor’ is very different from a traditional opera. There’s a lot of dialogue and only four musical numbers, but they are showstoppers.”

All dialogue will be spoken in English, while the lyrics will be sung in German.

Ainsley Marler, a junior voice performance major from Crystal Springs, considers Miss Silverspeal, her character in “Der Schauspieldirektor,” the most musically challenging role she has played.

“The hard part is not learning the notes, but being able to sing them at the tempo I need,” Marler said. “There’s also a difficult trio where I and two of my costars sing three different lines at once – all in German.

“It’s hard enough singing layered lines in English.”

Cez Anne Cariño, a second-year Master’s in Voice and Pedagogy student from Quezon City, Manila, will be performing in her final Lyric Stage opera. She will play Madame Goldentrill in “Der Schauspieldirektor.”

“I will be wearing the character of someone years ahead of me in biological age and ‘stage’ years,” Cariño said. “She’s an established opera singer, she’s lived her life on stage, while I have just begun and am working my way up to where Madame Goldentrill has already been.”

Ella McKenzie Goodin, a music education major from Gluckstadt, and Evangeline Martin, a freshman interior design major from Huntsville, Alabama, will each tackle the roles of Mr. Scruples in “Der Schauspeildirektor” and Bastienne in “Bastien und Bastienne.” They’ll swap characters on successive nights.

Each will be making her operatic debut.

“Bringing my vision of them to life has been such a joy,” Goodin said.

“I was delighted to have an opportunity to combine my talents and love for opera and musical theatre and challenge myself in this new endeavor,” Martin said. “We at Lyric Stage look forward to sharing Mozart’s stories with our audience.”

Pigott said audiences will find many of Mozart’s characters relatable.

“I hope they enjoy the musical aspects of the opera and the skills that it takes to perform them,” she said. “If they’re new to opera, I hope they discover what an entertaining experience it can be.”

Lyric Stage is the official home for musical theater and opera in the MC Department of Music. It is one of four music ensembles in the Department of Music.