FYI: Opera offers international music and voices

Mezzo-soprano Erika Rodden, left, playing a male role, and tenor Kevin Adamik performed in the recent CIM production of Mozart’s "The Clemency of Titus." Both will be singing at the March 31 FYI: Opera program. Photo by Leigh-Anne Dennison, CIM

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An international blend of music and voices will be presented at the FYI: Opera program on Tuesday, March 31, at 7:30 p.m. at Westlake Porter Library, 27333 Center Ridge Road, when singers from three countries will perform arias from French and Italian operas.

David Bamberger, artistic director of opera at the Cleveland Institute of Music will narrate the program which includes music from Donizetti’s "The Elixir of Love" and Massenet’s "Werther." The CIM voice students, who will sing various arias are: mezzo-soprano Erika Rodden and tenor Kevin Adamik (Americans), soprano Kristen McConnell (Canadian), and soprano Charlotte Ushela (Peruvian). Accompanying the singers at the piano will be John Simmons, musical director of CIM’s Scenes Program.

The magnificent music of these operas elicits emotions from opposite ends of the spectrum. Bamberger describes "Elixir" as “deliciously funny” and "Werther," sometimes called the saddest opera, is a heart wrenching story. The March 31 program will include the noted Letter Scene from Massenet’s "Werther."

The Westlake-Westshore Arts Council has sponsored the FYI: Opera programs for over a quarter of a century and offers them FREE to the public.

The March 31 FYI: Opera is an inviting sample of CIM’s April program, which will cover a wide range of “Sensational Scenes from Sensational Operas,” in styles as varied as Mozart’s effervescent comedy "The Marriage of Figaro" and great romantic works such as Verdi’s "Simon Boccanegra." Performances are Friday and Saturday, April 17 and 18, at 7:30 pm, and a Sunday matinee, April 19, at 3 pm.  Information and tickets for CIM’s production are available at cim.edu/events/onlinetickets.php or call 216-791-5000.