On March 10, I had the pleasure of attending UBC’s Opera Tea Series at the Old Auditorium. My prior exposure to opera, outside of this MUSC 326A class, was from seeing a few performances with my parents as a child. I recall struggling to sit still through the long productions, being the antsy child I was. Perhaps biased by these childhood memories, I went to this Opera Tea Series expecting to have a similar experience. However, I was proven quite wrong.
I walked into the auditorium, was greeted by members of the UBC Opera Ensemble clad in tuxedos and extravagant dresses, and took a seat a few rows from the stage. The first performance was an aria called Or sai chi l’onore, from Don Giovanni by Mozart. It was a lovely introductory piece, and I was surprised when the next performance was swiftly introduced just a few minutes later. I soon realized that this entire event would be comprised of many short performances, by a variety of performers. This differed from the long narrative driven productions that I remembered watching as a child.
I was thrilled when I read that Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen was on the program. Growing up, it was one of my favourite pieces to play on the violin. I’ve always adored its provocative and playful melody, and I was excited to see it as a live opera for the first time. I was surprised to see the entire UBC Opera Ensemble join the stage for the piece, forming a scene around Carmen (played by Jillian Clow). The piece began with a short musical introduction on the piano, followed by Carmen singing her aria coyly as she swayed across the stage. I was captivated to see this union of song and stage production, with the singers fully dressed in costume and acting as well. While I had always loved Habanera, I discovered a new perspective to the piece by experiencing this visual element in combination with the song. It made me gain a newfound appreciation for opera productions and the way they bridge various mediums of performance into one.
I was delighted to see that the Opera Tea Series showcased a wide variety of opera performances – with singers of all tones and performance groups of varying sizes. For example, there was a piece called Old Man River from Showboat by Jerome Kern, sung by a quartet entirely of tenors, intermixed with other performances of arias sung in soprano. The diversity in performances allowed me to appreciate each style of singing for its own unique qualities.
Asides from Habanera, another performance I enjoyed was a piece called Battle of the Dolls from Les contes d’Hoffmann by J. Offenbach. It was a whimsical piece which featured two female soprano singers, who played the part of two dolls clumsily competing with each other. Their songs and movements were frantic and childlike. Every now and then the dolls would slowly crumple and wilt – at which point, two men would come frantically running on stage and wind the dolls up to bring them back to life. It was a very foolish yet entertaining piece, and it contrasted interestingly with the arias and more ‘serious’ pieces that preceded it.
Overall, I enjoyed this Opera Tea Series event and it instilled in me a new affinity towards opera performances. I can gladly say that it has changed the perception of opera that I grew up with!