Tonight, Tufts gets classy. Fifteen talented singers of the Tufts Opera Ensemble will present an evening of staged opera scenes at 8 p.m. in Distler Hall.
Tonight's performance draws from Mozart's "Cosi Fan Tutte" and "The Magic Flute," Gian Carlo Menotti's "The Medium," Jacques Offenbach's "La Perichole" and Leonard Bernstein's "Candide," for an evening of laughter, melody and drama.
"The Magic Flute," one of Mozart's most famous works, is set in ancient Egypt and follows lovers Tamino and Pamina, as well as Tamino's sidekick Papageno, in their quest to escape from the wrath of Pamina's mother, the Queen of the Night. Tomorrow's scene is the quintet from Act I, which features three ladies who try to convince Papageno and Tamino into rescuing Pamina under the set of complex and bizarre circumstances.
Soprano Julia Torgovitskaya, a junior, plays the first lady in the quintet.
"It's really a fun scene," she said. "The three ladies are mystical creatures and the first is the leader of the pack."
Also in the quintet are sophomore Claire Maiers as the second lady, sophomore Katharine Schimmer as the third lady, and freshman Jared Trudeau and sophomore Peter Moore as Tamino and Papageno, respectively.
"Cosi Fan Tutte," another Mozart favorite, is a classic opera buffa with disguised lovers, snappy situations and flirtatious arias. Ferrando and Guglielmo, two officers, decide to test their respective lovers, Dorabella and Fiordiligi, by pretending to go off to war and then seducing the sisters while disguised as Albanians.
The scene features senior Gena Gorlin as Dorabella, junior Stephanie Kreutz as Despina, junior Greg Kastelman as Ferrando, senior Chris Van Lenten as Guglielmo, junior Andrew Tung as Don Alfonso and Torgovitskaya as Fiordiligi.
The Act I finale occurs with the sisters believing their beloveds are off to war, so the scene is a sadder one.
"It feels like there's more going on as far as the character is concerned," Torgovitskaya said. "There's more of a process, an emotional transformation."
Also on the program is the spooky séance scene from Menotti's "The Medium," an hour-long dramatic modern work, and a duet and trio from "La Perichole" by Offenbach, an opera about poor Peruvian street performers. "The Medium" stars sophomore K.C. Hallett as Madame Flora, senior Samantha Karlin as Monica, Tung and sophomore Robyn Goodner as Mr. and Mrs. Gobineau and Kreutz as Mrs. Nolan. Hallett also sings the title role in "La Perichole," with senior Mike Grille as Piquillo and Van Lenten as Viceroy.
The Ensemble will wrap up the evening with some classic Bernstein.
"'Candide' is about this odd couple who have totally different visions of what they want in their marriage," said Kastelman, who plays the title role in two duets alongside Gena Gorlin's Cunagonde. "So they take refuge in an ideal ... and then hilarity ensues."
Director Carol Mastrodomenico has led the ensemble for eight years, and is pleased with the singers' progress this year.
"When the students audition, we base the scenes on what is appropriate on the voices we have," she said, "The most challenging part is doing so many scenes in the short time span."
Now in their second year performing in Distler, February will mark Tufts Opera Ensemble's very first fully-staged opera performance of Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas" with orchestral accompaniment. This is a much more challenging endeavor, said Mastrodomenico, "because members of the ensemble also do the tech. In this production, we will also have dancers."
Students are enthusiastic about tomorrow's performance as well as the Ensemble's expanding repertoire.
"It's fun to sing," said Gorlin of the role in "Candide." "It's like vocal acrobatics but it sounds really fun and pretty."
Torgovitskaya agrees that the show is in good shape.
"I feel great about it," she said.