DePauw Opera to Present Double-Bill by Puccini and Ravel

February 21, 2002

February 21, 2002, Greencastle, Ind. - The DePauw University Opera/Musical Theatre will present a double-bill of two one act operas, sung in English, each less than one hour long. Giacomo Puccini's Sister Angelica and Maurice Ravel's The Child and the Magic Spells will be performed February 28 through March 3.

For the four performances, Moore Theatre in the Performing Arts Center on the DePauw University campus, the audience will be transported back to the late 17th century where a woman who embarrassed her family by having an illegitimate child has been confined to a convent for the last seven years to cover up the scandal. She has had no news from her family about her child since her arrival there, but now finds out that the child has been dead for two years and her family remains unforgiving of her sin. This story of anguish and forgiveness is "Sister Angelica" (Suor Angelica), a one-act opera by Giacomo Puccini, one of the greatest names in Italian opera.

The second offering, The Child and the Magic Spells (l'Enfant et les sortilèges) is a lyric fantasy in two parts by Maurice Ravel. A little boy, who refuses to do his homework, throws a temper tantrum thereby destroying things in his room. What follows is a set of odd dreams, from a child's perspective, where unexpected things happen.

The shows “are both unique and compatible”, according to Leo Goeke, director of DePauw Opera and a DePauw music faculty member. “We are enjoying preparing these vastly different pieces with these young singers. The students in each cast have learned so much from the composers, whether it be the musical lyricism and dramatic passions of the great Italian composer Puccini or the often remote, whimsical and impressionistic music that Ravel provides. The audience is provided enjoyment from these directly rendered shows, because both stories are short and filled with a lot of activity and memorable musical moments."

According to Orcenith Smith, music director of DePauw Orchestras and conductor of the opera, “When one hears Puccini, the music is so inviting, one can be charmed right away. But bringing a performance of the Ravel to an audience takes a special group of musicians. The music is difficult to learn, but must end up seeming easily communicated. The DePauw students are doing an excellent job at this and bringing the stories to life."

Puccini composed Suor Angelica in 1917 using the libretto of Giovacchino Forzano, and its first performance was at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1918. Since the story takes place in a convent, all leading characters are female and the opera will be double-cast, with each cast having two performances. One of the women chosen for the role of Angelica is Carelle Flores, a senior music major from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

"I'm excited about this role," Carelle says, "because it has given me a chance to explore and portray a difficult character with contrasting and even conflicting emotions. I can't simply be happy or sad or excited. I have to feel so many other things, such as desperation, religion, motherly love, compassion, anger, and even hate."

Flores continues, "Angelica had an illegitimate child and became a nun by force, and upon the agonizing news that her baby died, she lost the only thing that gave her the courage to continue to live. She commits suicide by drinking poison, but shortly after realizes that she has committed a mortal sin. She begs forgiveness from the Virgin Mary (and the opera suggests she is, in fact, forgiven) just before the poison spreads and kills her. The horror itself is almost enough to make one be able to act the part, but the music sets the test and plot so appropriately that you almost don't need the words to understand what is happening."

l'Enfant et les sortilèges is based on a libretto by Colette, who originally devised the scenario as a remarkable combination of poetry, drama, and ballet entitled A Ballet for My Little Girl. Maurice Ravel, one of the most sophisticated composers of the early 20th century, asked for Colette's permission to change the central character in the story from a girl to a boy and composed this opera between 1918 and 1925. The story is set in Normandy in 1917.

As with Suor Angelica, the DePauw production will feature two casts alternating performance nights. The role of the boy will be played alternately by Amanda Sidebottom and Allison Larty in what is known as a "pants role," in which a woman plays a male character. Sidebottom, a sophomore music major from Mt. Vernon, Indiana, says, "The role of l'enfant has been the most challenging music that I have ever done. The Ravel opera is very different from the stereotypical opera; itís very bizarre and beautiful at the same time. Getting into the role of the wicked child has been a little difficult -- I wasn't the type of child that misbehaved purposefully -- so finding that mindset has been a challenge."

Playing objects that suddenly come to life has been an interesting experience for the students who are asked to assume the roles of fire, a cat, a bat, a screech owl, a tree, an armchair, a clock and a teapot. Robert Maril, senior music major from Oklahoma, is playing several of those characters. "This opera is a really challenging one to sing," he says, "but I think the show will be great, and it's a tremendous learning experience."

Performances will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday -- February 28, March 1 and 2 -- at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 3 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $7 for adults; children and students tickets are $4. For information call the Performing Arts Center box office, (765) 658-4827 or click here. You can read a lengthy Indianapolis Star write-up of the DePauw Opera by clicking here.

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