Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / April 17, 2003, edition 1 / Page 20
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I Page 20 •Thursday, April 17, 2003 Show review A & E The Pendulum Comic opera students give A+ performance Semester workshop came to the stage in Whitley Auditorium Sunday afternoon 44 Don’t be frightened, it’s only poetry. —Andrew Frace as Bunthorne in ‘Patience" 99 Bree Sherry Reporter The opera workshop class performed scenes from “The Marriage of Figaro,” “The Magic Flute” and “Patience” Sunday in Whitley Auditorium. The students show cased what they have been working on in class this semester. The performance began with director Hallie Coppedge introducing Mozart’s “The Maniage of Figaro.” Andrew Frace as Figaro was wonderful, as well as the rest of the singers who performed five songs from this opera. Their characters were very well defined with clear relationships to one another. Whitley was a good setting for the show, as the characters were able to make the set ting very real using few props. The stu dents’ voices carried the show, leaving little need for extravagant scenery. It was obvi ous the class focused on operatic singing; they projected their lines well and their tonal quality was evident. The costumes were exquisite. They were authentic period costumes that displayed attention to color and detail. The quality of these elaborate outfits was detracted by a few costumes of obviously modem clothes. The director’s decision to costume the boys in lacrosse uniforms for “Patience” could have been reconsidered as well. Although these uniforms fit the characters and were very humorous, they were too modem and clashed against the rest of the authentic looking costumes and set pieces. All but one of the songs was in English making the show more enjoyable for the audience, as they would not have under stood many of the humorous moments. One song was done in Italian because “it was too beautiful to take out of its native lan guage,” according to Coppedge. Coppedge’s narration through the scenes was good; it allowed the class to perform parts of each show without having to focus on making sure enough pieces were pre sented so the audience understood the plot. The narration told the audience what hap pened in the scenes that were not seen. Ashley Hunter gave a memorable per formance in “Patience,” playing the part of Lady Jane with over-exaggerated emotions and facical movements that set her apart from the rest of the chorus. Frace and Michael Daly, who played the leading men in “Patience,” were also hysteri cal. Freshman Amanda Taylor used the oppor tunity to show off her beautiful voice. Everyone in the show was well cast, and the blending of their voices filled the auditori um. The power of the voices from the girls in the chorus was amazing and left audience members wishing there were more than two or three scenes throughout the performance. Tackling three plays was an ambitious task, but it went over well, especially in the ensemble piece, “Patience.” The students used a variety of pieces, comical characters and scenarios to make the performance move quickly. The audience was rolling in their chairs with laughter. While the purpose of the class was to “introduce the public to opera,” according to Coppedge, perhaps if the class presented a complete opera instead of a few scenes from three, the audience could really become connected with the actors. However, the audience seemed to love the show. Rating: The students should get an A+ for great stage presence and comedic per formance. Contact Bree Sherry at pendulum@elon.edu or 278-7247. Want to assume a leadership role on campus? Join The^iidulum executive^aff. We are now accepting aj^^^Konsfor openings as News Editor, Assistant News Editor, Opinion^^fjkg^j^^ and Business Manager. Come to Moseley 233 today and pick up an application. Be part of the award-winning Pendulum and report on what matters to the Elon community.
Elon University Student Newspaper
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April 17, 2003, edition 1
20
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