UNL Opera wins 6 awards at Waterford Festival in Ireland

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Music Opera production of Frank Loesser's "The Most Happy Fella" won top marks at the Waterford International Festival of Light Opera Sept. 21-30 in Waterford, Ireland.

Co-directed by Ariel Bybee, associate professor of voice, and James Ford, associate professor of English, the production featured 50 students, crew and pit musicians from the School of Music.

UNL's "Most Happy Fella" won the Waterford International Trophy as the top overall production of the festival, the first American winner in the Festival's 49-year history. UNL also took home five additional awards:

* Best Male Singer: William Shomos, associate professor and director of UNL Opera
* Best Female Singer: Anna DeGraff of Lincoln, undergraduate voice major
* Best Choral Presentation: "Abbondanza" by Thomas Gunther (graduate student, Muscatine, Iowa), Jake Bartlett (graduate student, Creston, La.) and Adam Fieldson (sophomore, Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
* Best Musical Director: Tyler White, associate professor and director of orchestras
* Best Sets: Laurel Shoemaker of Lincoln, as adapted by Will Cover

"Jim (Ford) and I went to the stage when it was announced that we won the award for best set," Bybee said. "All the cast, crew, family and friends were sitting together. When we came on stage for the second and third awards, they were shouting louder and louder. By the time they announced that we were the first place winners, everyone was screaming. It was too much fun and so exciting."

John W. Richmond, director of the School of Music said he was pleased with UNL's showing in Waterford.

"This is a tremendous affirmation of the ongoing growth and development of our opera productions, of course, but it also speaks to the deepening of our programs in voice performance, choral performance, orchestral performance, theatre, and on and on," Richmond said. "Opera is a wonderful convergence of so many art practices. That our production of 'The Most Happy Fella' won this international competition is a source of tremendous satisfaction and pride for our entire school."

Jim and Rhonda Seacrest, longtime patrons of the UNL School of Music, made this tour possible through a gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation. The Seacrests also made a separate gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation that created the UNL Opera/Chamber Orchestra, now known as the Philharmonia.

Richmond said the opportunity to put UNL students and faculty before this international competition simply would not have been possible without the Seacrests' generosity and enthusiasm.

The Seacrests also sponsored the UNL Opera's 2002 trip to Waterford, where "The Bohemian Girl" won four awards, including best operetta.

The next UNL opera production, Mozart's classic "Cosi fan tutte," opens Nov. 8 and runs Nov. 9 and 11 in Kimball Recital Hall. For more information, visit www.unl.edu/music/news/081Cosi/081CosiFanTutte.shtml.

CONTACT: Mike Edholm, School of Music, (402) 472-6865