A contemporary opera about finding love in the modern world will be performed at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point next month.
"Speed Dating Tonight!" will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 7-8, by students in the Music Department's annual Opera Workshop. Held in Michelsen Hall at the Noel Fine Arts Center, the show is appropriate for ages 13 and up.
A pre-concert lecture will be offered at 6:45 p.m. by the opera's director Susan Bender, professor of music, together with guest music director Jeff Watson, a freelance pianist based in Washington, D.C.
Sung in English and created by Iowa-based composer Michael Ching in 2013, "Speed Dating Tonight!" quickly emerged as the most performed new opera in the country, said Bender. She added that Ching wrote the piece especially for college-age voices and left room for flexibility.
The cast is structured differently than most operas, allowing the director to assign the roles of bartenders, wait staff and speed daters without being locked into particular voice types. For each role, keys for the parts they sing can be changed to suit the vocal range of the performer.
Additional students helped with the staging, lighting and promotion. It is a young cast, Bender said, with only three upperclassmen.
"It's a lighthearted and sweet show about finding love," she said. "It's a perfect show for our young group."
Tickets are $12 and may be purchased through University Information and Tickets in the Dreyfus University Center Concourse, by calling 715-346-4100 or at http://tickets.uwsp.edu.
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