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Gregory Gerbrandt will sing the part of Marcello in La Boheme. This is a shot of Gerbrandt in last year’s production of Pagliacci.
Opera Fort Collins is bringing Puccini’s much-celebrated opera La Bohéme to the Lincoln Center at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 22 and 2 p.m. Aug. 24. Tickets may be purchased at www.lctix.com, in person at the Lincoln Center box office at 417 W. Magnolia St., or by phone at 221.6730.
For the first time ever, OFC’s production will feature singers who have gone through Colorado State University’s Apprentice Artist program, which began last year and operates in conjunction with the Masters of Music program.
“They can get a degree while they’re getting stage experience,” OFC Artistic Director Todd Queen said.
The program was created to make opera in Fort Collins more attractive to prospective singers from out of state.
“We thought it’d be great to get a program together where we could search on a national level,” Queen said. Queen said it worked, with student singers coming all the way from New York to be a part of the program. Although apprentices are guaranteed singing experience, it’s no certainty that they’ll be able to perform in big stage productions—they have to earn it like everyone else.
“It’s pretty competitive,” Queen said. “They really have to be the best of the best to be on the stage.”
This year, two apprentice artists made the cut for La Bohéme , Deven Shaff, who will play the part of Schaunard, and Tracy Kaufmann, who will play Musetta.
In preview of the event, the Reader’s Cove Bookstore, 1001 E. Harmony Rd., will host the second Opera 101, on at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14. The event is open to the public and will feature singers from the production that will sing major arias of the opera.
Opera may be making further and unexpected inroads into the Fort Collins community in the form of opera nights that could appear at Avogadro’s Number in September. Rob Osborne, owner of Avogadro’s, said logistics are still being worked out but that there are good chances that the venue will debut a regular opera night, called Arias at Avo’s, with featured singers performing by invitation only.
If they do happen, Osborne said that Sunday, Sept. 28, will likely be the inaugural day of the opera sessions. If you’re not into opera, it may still be worth a trip to see if froth-topped pint glasses will withstand piercing soprano notes, or whether they’ll shatter in the hands of unexpecting patrons, prompting the debut of plastic cups during Arias at Avo’s.
For the first time ever, OFC’s production will feature singers who have gone through Colorado State University’s Apprentice Artist program, which began last year and operates in conjunction with the Masters of Music program.
“They can get a degree while they’re getting stage experience,” OFC Artistic Director Todd Queen said.
The program was created to make opera in Fort Collins more attractive to prospective singers from out of state.
“We thought it’d be great to get a program together where we could search on a national level,” Queen said. Queen said it worked, with student singers coming all the way from New York to be a part of the program. Although apprentices are guaranteed singing experience, it’s no certainty that they’ll be able to perform in big stage productions—they have to earn it like everyone else.
“It’s pretty competitive,” Queen said. “They really have to be the best of the best to be on the stage.”
This year, two apprentice artists made the cut for La Bohéme , Deven Shaff, who will play the part of Schaunard, and Tracy Kaufmann, who will play Musetta.
In preview of the event, the Reader’s Cove Bookstore, 1001 E. Harmony Rd., will host the second Opera 101, on at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14. The event is open to the public and will feature singers from the production that will sing major arias of the opera.
Opera may be making further and unexpected inroads into the Fort Collins community in the form of opera nights that could appear at Avogadro’s Number in September. Rob Osborne, owner of Avogadro’s, said logistics are still being worked out but that there are good chances that the venue will debut a regular opera night, called Arias at Avo’s, with featured singers performing by invitation only.
If they do happen, Osborne said that Sunday, Sept. 28, will likely be the inaugural day of the opera sessions. If you’re not into opera, it may still be worth a trip to see if froth-topped pint glasses will withstand piercing soprano notes, or whether they’ll shatter in the hands of unexpecting patrons, prompting the debut of plastic cups during Arias at Avo’s.
