Indianapolis Opera Ensemble Brings Figaro to DePauw Thursday

March 3, 2007

March 3, 2007, Greencastle, Ind. - The Indianapolis Opera Ensemble will visit the campus of DePauw University to preesent a condensed version of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, Thursday, March 8. Free and open to all, the performance will take place in the Performing Arts Center's Thompson Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m.

The Indianapolis Opera Ensemble, a resident company of the Indianapolis Opera, presents opera to students throughout the state of Indiana through a variety of educational programs. This presentation of The Marriage of Figaro is a semi-staged production with a modern setting. The program will consist of excerpts from the opera interspersed with narration by the ensemble’s tenor, Basilio. While the original language is Italian, the program will be presented entirely in English.

Six vocalists from across the United States comprise the Indianapolis Opera Ensemble:

• Jenny Searles, soprano, holds a bachelors degree in vocal performance from Butler University and a master of music degree from Southern Methodist University. She continued her vocal studies at Indiana University, where she worked on a performer’s diploma.
• Angela Keeton, mezzo-soprano, is a graduate of Indiana University's School of Music, with both a bachelors and a masters degree in vocal music performance.
• Both Nathan Bick, tenor, and Samuel Spade, baritone, hold masters degrees from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
• Rachel Copeland, soprano, is currently a doctoral student at Indiana University. Copeland graduated with a Bachelor of Music Education degree in choral conducting at Baylor University, where she also received her master of music degree in vocal performance.
• Scott Skiba, baritone, earned both his bachelors and master of music degrees in voice performance and opera theater from Oberlin Conservatory, and will soon complete his doctorate in vocal performance at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
• Coach/Accompanist Dana Jones Milan is currently a doctoral candidate in vocal accompanying and coaching at the University of Illinois.

The Marriage of Figaro, written in 1786, was the first of three collaborative works with librettist Lorenzo da Ponte. The original play, by Beaumarchais, was banned in Vienna due to the satirical representation of aristocracy. After having been presented with the play by Mozart himself, da Ponte removed all political references and created an Italian libretto in just six weeks. Emperor Joseph II approved the libretto, initiating the composition of one of opera’s most beloved comedies.

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