For the first time ever, the Duke Wind Symphony and the Duke Opera Theater join forces and present “Shining Night, O Night of Love,” an innovative multi-sensory collaboration featuring many of the greatest and most popular operas ever written.
Conducted by Wind Symphony Conductor Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant, the ensemble will perform selections from “Carmen”, “The Magic Flute”, “The Marriage of Figaro”, “Tales of Hoffman”, “La Traviata” and others.
This semi-staged event, which will be sung entirely in English, will also include scene-setting projections and sound from Theater Studies faculty member Ethan Eldred.
The Duke University Wind Symphony, directed by Mösenbichler-Bryant, is composed largely of non-majors (both undergraduate and graduate) who wish to challenge themselves by performing the finest wind and percussion literature at a high level of artistry.
Duke Opera Theater, directed by David Heid, presents staged chamber operas, operatic scenes, and concerts across the Duke Campus. Many Opera Theater alumni have gone on to pursue careers in music, teaching, and performing in the U.S. and around the world.
We sat down with Heid to ask about the performance and what should viewers expect from this unique collaboration.
The performance includes a wide range of opera pieces. How were they chosen?
When Verena [Mösenbichler-Bryant, Wind Symphony director] approached me about doing a joint event, I was open in theory, but naively asked what music we could possibly present. I had no idea there were lengthy lists of operatic repertoire that had been re-orchestrated for wind symphony. We started with the material that existed for Wind Symphony and Singers in the operatic literature and then curated a program that was engaging and diverse for our audience while being appropriate for young singers.
Whenever I put together a student performance, those two issues are always paramount in my thinking: what can our students sing successfully and what will our audience find interesting and entertaining. In this case, we present beloved classics, lesser-known compositions and a good mix of comedic and dramatic works — yes, opera can be funny!
I would also like to add that the wind symphony orchestrations are miraculous. They are beautiful and colorful and really capture the essence and sound of the original orchestrations.
Can you tell us a bit more about the importance of this collaboration?
I think all collaborations allow us to combine resources and provide more opportunities than we could individually. Duke Opera Theater doesn’t have the budget to hire an orchestra, so we normally perform with piano. This collaboration with the Wind Symphony Orchestra gives our audience and students the chance to hear operatic repertoire with the full scope, color and excitement of an orchestra. The collaboration also allows the wind symphony students to experience some of the greatest and most famous operatic literature ever written.
Does the language in which the operas are sung matter?
Duke Opera Theater nearly always performs in English translation. It removes a hurdle to enjoyment for our campus community partners who might not have experience yet with the art form. It also allows the singers to focus more on the stagecraft required for operatic singing and less on foreign language diction and translation.
This collaboration also includes Theater Studies faculty member Ethan Eldred. How will his image and sound projections fit in?
This performance will be presented in concert format, with the Wind Symphony on stage and the singers performing in front of them. You can imagine that presents a very full stage! The projections will help create the atmosphere missing by not having any scenery. Ethan [Eldred] has done more though than just give pictures to represent our settings. He has created a moving, living environment that not only has motion but also sound to fill out the space. His ideas are truly magical.
Shining Night, O Night of Love: Duke Wind Symphony & Duke Opera Theater
November 21, 7:30pm
Baldwin Auditorium
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