The UTC Music Department will present “An Evening of One-Acts”, directed by Perry Ward, in the UTC Fine Arts Center, Roland Hayes Concert Hall, 752 Vine St., Nov. 2-3 at 7:30 p.m. The performance will include Giovanni Pergolesi’s “La Serva Padrona,” Mozart’s “The Impressario” and Ned Rorem’s “Fables." A ticket will be required to attend these performances. Contact the box-office at the Fine Arts Center at 425-4269.
“The Perfect Wife” by American composer Seymour Barab is an adaptation of “La Serva Padrona” by Giovanni Pergolesi. Pergolesi’s work was originally an intermezzo intended for a three act opera seria. It is the quintessential intermezzo – a short, comic scene intended to be performed in between the acts of a larger, serious opera, with characters that are relatable to any audience, namely the cunning maid and her aging master. This performance features Brittany Fong and Jason Ryan O'Neal, with Connor Behrmann in the mute role of Vespone.
Mozart's “The Impressario” was the result of a contest sponsored by Emperor Franz Josef II between Mozart and Salieri, in which each composer was to write a short one-act work with five or fewer characters in his native language to be presented side by side in a “contest” performance. The winner would be chosen by the audience. Interestingly, during Mozart's lifetime, Salieri's work “Prima la musica, poi le parole” (First the music, then the words) consistently won over “The Impressario”. Performing this updated translation by Dorie Previn are Will Stetar, Taylor Anne Goode, C J Coffey, Kala Cisson and Leigh Wattenbarger.
Ned Rorem's “Fables” is a piece that is actually made up of five short operas which are based on a translation of Fontaine's Fables which were in turn poetic renderings of Aesop's Fables. It was originally commissioned and performed by the Music Department at UT Martin in 1971 and meant to be adaptable to a variety of performing forces, from a minimum of four to as many as desired. There are no vocally specific roles and this performers plan on using a more non-representational approach to each scene. The cast features Will Stetar, Connor Behrmann, Taylor Anne Goode and Sarah Chapman.
Perry Ward has enjoyed a diverse musical career as a singer, teacher, director and conductor. During a career that has spanned more than 30 years; he has performed with many major regional opera companies in the United States. For the past ten years, Mr. Ward has devoted his time to teaching voice and stagecraft for singers. He is a native of East Tennessee and holds degrees in voice and opera and, is a summa cum laude graduate of the Franz Schubert Institut in Baden bei Wien, Austria. His has several awards and achievements including a Puccini Foundation Grant, a William Matheus Sullivan Role Preparation Grant, and a Shoshana Foundation Award.
If guests have a disability requiring accommodations or require further information regarding this or any other UTC Music Department performance, call the Music office at 425-4601 or, see the Music Department website at http://utc.edu/music.