“It will be a night full of fun and entertainment for all who come,” said DMA student Matthew Clegg, of Midway, Utah, on the UNL Opera production of “A Wedding.”
Performances are Friday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 1 at 3 p.m. in Kimball Recital Hall. The opera will be directed by Hixson-Lied Professor and Director of Opera William Shomos. The orchestra will be conducted by Professor Tyler White.
Clegg, who plays the role of Luigi, says the opera “explores a wide variety of emotion, from comedy to tragedy as the different characters are showcased in the context of the wedding.”
The opera was composed by William Bolcom, who was in residence in the Glenn Korff School of Music in January as the inaugural appointee to the Ariel Bybee Endowed Visiting Professor of Opera.
The Ariel Bybee Endowed Visiting Professor of Opera fund sponsors visiting opera composers, opera directors and opera coaches to come to UNL from around the world. Bybee is a Metropolitan Opera veteran and UNL Professor Emerita of Voice, who now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Bolcom is an award-winning composer of cabaret songs, concertos, sonatas, operas, symphonies and much more. “A Wedding” was commissioned by the Chicago Lyric Opera and given its premiere performance in 2004. It is an adaptation of Robert Altman’s 1978 film of the same name.
“I hope audiences will be emboldened to laugh when they feel like it,” Bolcom said. “So many people treat going to concerts or operas as if they need to be on their best behavior, and the humor of ‘A Wedding’ shows two families at their hilariously worst.”
The curtain opens to find Rita Billingsley, the wedding coordinator, finalizing details for the reception. Billingsley’s obsessive-compulsive dedication to perfection will be hilariously derailed at every turn in the course of the day.
Two very wealthy families are being united in marriage: the Sloans, who represent the classic example of “old money” are an elite Chicago North Shore clan living in Lake Forest, while the Brenners, hailing from Louisville, Kentucky, are the stereotypical “nouveau riche”—loaded, powerful, but generally uncultured.
In the course of this madcap wedding day of Muffin Brenner and Dino Corelli of the Sloan family, nothing ever really gets fully resolved. But we’re left hoping that maybe, just maybe, Dino and Muffin will make it after all.
Jon Suek, a Master of Music student from Bellingham, Washington, who plays Dino, the groom, says it is an honest representation of what it looks like when people of two different social classes get married.
“It is a show full of great jokes, sexual tension, prescription medication addiction, alcoholism, true love and awkward family dynamics all set to music,” he said. “What could be more entertaining?”
Shomos said it was valuable to have Bolcom on campus working with students for a week.
“We really put him to work that week. It was great to hear Bolcom talk about the characters and his compositional choices that brought them to life,” he said. “It was also fascinating to enjoy all of Bolcom’s first hand knowledge about how this show came about.”
Bolcom also did a lot of coaching with the students in the cast.
“Just for them to hear from the composer’s mouth about how important the words are, I thought was one of the really big lessons,” Shomos said. “Bolcom was very insistent on clear articulation of the text. He also reminded everyone just how necessary it is to get every note right! He wrote what he meant.”
Clegg said having Bolcom here was an incredible experience.
“He knows so much about the historical context of the story as well as the intentions behind each character,” he said. “I was able to ask him specific questions about my character that gave great insight on how to portray him.”
Bolcom, who was a professor of composition at the University of Michigan for 35 years, enjoys working with students.
“It is such a pleasure to watch talented people develop,” he said. “All I did was open doors and show students what skills they lacked and help them acquire them. In the end, each student has to do their work.”
Katie Mersch, a DMA student from Overland Park, Kansas, plays Victoria, the wife of Luigi and the mother of the groom, who became addicted to morphine after the birth of her son, Dino.
“Audience members should expect to laugh at parts, but experience other emotions throughout, like the heartbreak of Luigi leaving Victoria alone with her addiction,” she said. “It was very insightful having Mr. Bolcom on campus to be able to directly speak with him about musical choices he made for the individual characters in the composition process of ‘A Wedding.’ He had much to say about our character's background giving us a deeper context to explore as we became more familiar with our role.”
Angela Gilbert, a senior music major from Ralston, Nebraska, plays Tulip, the mother of the bride, in her first opera role at UNL.
“This is the first opera that I have ever been a part of,” she said. “So far it has been a wonderful and rewarding experience. Working with Dr. Shomos has been incredible, and getting to meet and work with the composer was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I have really fallen in love with my character, and I can’t wait to see what the show becomes when it’s time to open.”
Shomos said his cast is up for the challenge that “A Wedding” brings.
“Bolcom’s music is not easy. It takes a lot of work,” he said. “It’s very logical, and it actually sounds much easier than it is when it’s done well, but he makes you work for it.”
Tickets are $20 adults and $10 for students/seniors. For advance ticket sales, contact the Lied Center Box Office at (402) 472-4747 or (800) 432-3231.