O Pioneers! Opera a Joyful Challenge for Composer

By Kelly Bartling, Public Relations

When Tyler White embarked three years ago on a journey to connect with famed Nebraska author Willa Cather on operatic stage, he looked to the author's words to help turn themselves into melodies.

Three years after beginning to turn the first notes to paper scores and Cather's dialogues to operatic recitation, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Director of Orchestral Activities is in the final preparations of the first full-length operatic production of a Cather work, 'O Pioneers!', set to be performed Nov. 12 and 14 at the university's Kimball Hall.

White was challenged, he said, to find the right mix of conventional aria, duets, trios, operatic recitation and dialogue, set among the vast Nebraska plain, to portray Cather's work as beautifully as the novel itself.

"Part of the wonderful things about this novel, and one of the reasons it is so interesting, is that it suggests a lot of the kinds of drama that opera can be: The sweeping epic kind of music... at times comic and wonderfully domestic, and at times all-out full, intense tragedy," said White. "It moves through all those things, and one of the great challenges is in finding a musical 'language' that will evolve from one type of expression to another." Much as Cather's own words, which inspired White.

"My central inspiration was the really unique and beautiful and precious qualities of Cather's language and her narrative voice as a writer who's both very simple, but exquisite and extremely expressive," the orchestral director said.

Through two and a half hours of music and 17 scenes, White sets Cather's famous work to music in a way that he hopes will be entertaining and show honor to the Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

"I've intended all along for this to be an opera that can appeal to everyone since Cather is such an important cultural figure for the state of Nebraska and all of American literature. I've worked on creating this music in a sense that will seem to fit the character of Cather's words, sounding both unique and familiar."

Dean of the College of Fine and Performing Arts Richard Durst, who created the set, said the opera is significant as a cross-generational collaboration of Nebraskans.

"It brings together much of what Nebraska is all about: Our Nobel Laureate, and artists speaking about a work that is important to them. This is part of our heritage and history," Durst said.

The cast is led by veteran voice students Karen Hughes, who plays central character Alexandra Bergson, the daughter of Swedish immigrants struggling to farm the barren Nebraska plains. White describes Hughes' voice and stage presence as "warm and lyrical, with a lot of dramatic power." Leo Skeffington plays Carl, Dawn Pawlewski as Marie, Philipp Sultzberger as Emil, Travis Richter as Lou, Harold Barnard as Oscar, Jeff Keele as Frank, Bryce Weber as Ivar, Hannah Jo Smith as Mrs. Bergson and Paul Marchese as Amadee, use their voices to help capture the intense drama and strength of the roles in the novel-turned-opera.

Set design, which incorporates magically the vast, stark, openness of the prairie, is by Richard Durst, dean of the College of Fine and Performing Arts. Stage direction is by Willim Shomos, director of opera. Creating the set, lighting and mood is challenging, yet important in conveying the theme of 'O Pioneers,' White said.

"The staging itself is an enormous challenge but (Richard) Durst has done a fantastic job of creating the sense of presence and openness and space," White said. "It's difficult to establish a sense of breadth and the wonderful sense of these big plains but what the set does is zero in on a vanishing point through the stage effects." Lighting helps set the mood.

White said the opera is important not only because it is the first full-length operatic performance of a Cather novel, but because it is the first since Cather's copyright expired.

The staging of Cather mirrors a movement across the country of bringing great American novels to the stage, bringing contemporary playwrights and composers together to work on the classics, White said.

"My hope is that the audience walks away from this very moved, having experienced the novel on a lot of different levels, with a heightened awareness of the land and environment, brought into focus by the human drama," White said. "If we bring it off right, it will be a very powerful thing."

White, who will direct the student orchestra, has been interested in Cather's works since he, like Cather herself, moved to the Great Plains as a child. A native of Atlanta, Ga., raised in Manhattan, Kan., White was educated at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Cornell University. He has received commissions for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Chamber Symphony, St. Luke's Trio and other ensembles.

Tickets for the performances, which are 8 p.m. Nov. 12 and 3 p.m. Nov. 14, are $14 for adults and $7 for students and children. Call the Lied Center Box Office at 402-472-4747 for ticket information.

Fall AACG Program Features Northern and Southern Silk Roads In China

"The Northern and Southern Silk Roads in China" is the topic for the fall Asian Arts and Culture Guild program at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12 in the Morrill Hall auditorium. This will be presented by Kam-ching Leung, who has visited both these routes in the Chinese Province of Xinjiang. His talk, with illustrations, will provide the audience an opportunity to see a region rich in culture but seldom visited by Lincolnites.

Today along these two main routes are the ruins of many cities, several of which were famous more than a millennium ago. Although traveling in this region now involves considerable time and money, the visitor is rewarded by being able to view renowned places along these roads of major historic significance. Some sites contain unique features, such as Neolithic rock carvings that stand in bold relief.

In addition to seeing landscapes having cultural importance the visitor is also aware of questions of cultural identity. The Uyghurs are the dominant ethnic group in Xinjiang, and evidence of the Islamic culture of the Uyghurs is common in Turfan, Kasi (Kashgar), and Ining, as well as in some of the older portions of the capital city of Urumqi. However, a significant number of Han Chinese are moving into traditionally non-Han areas, and such migration generates ethnic conflicts and political tensions.

Wind and Water at the Great Plains Art Collection

The Center for Great Plains Studies will present Wind and Water on the Land: Works By Karen Dienstbier, Karen Kunc, Christina Mcphee, Linda Meigs and Susan Puelz, from Nov. 8 to Dec. 12 in the Great Plains Art Collection, 215 Love Library.

An opening event will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Nov. 18, with artists' talks beginning at 7:30 p.m.

The exhibition and event are free and open to the public. The reception and exhibit are sponsored by the Friends of the Center for Great Plains Studies.

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Self-Conducts to Brilliance

Fans of passionate music and brilliant musicianship won't want to miss Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at the Lied Center for Performing Arts at 7 p.m. Nov. 14.

This performance, featuring violinist Naoko Tanaka, will include Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, K.492, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Concerto for Violin, Woodwinds, Double Bass and Percussion by Kurt Weill; and Serenade in B-flat Major, K.361/370a ("Gran Partita"), also by Mozart.

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra has a unique philosophy of performing. Every rehearsal and concert is performed without a conductor. Founded in 1972 by Julian Fifer, who remains president of the group, Orpheus was formed on the belief that music should be about an ensemble listening carefully to each other and melding to form a harmonious musical experience. The members believe that, by performing without a conductor, they retain the feeling of responsibility for the performance and, ultimately, the interpretation of the piece. Orpheus' unique rehearsal style incorporates numerous discussions of each work, where every member has an equal say on how the piece should be interpreted and performed, as well as all other decisions affecting the group including repertoire, seating arrangements, etc.

This unusual style is superceded by the orchestra's virtuosity. The words "precision," "vibrant" and "powerful" are often used to describe their music. Listeners become so caught up in the enchanting melodies of these world-class performers that suddenly performing sans conductor doesn't seem such a foreign concept.

Pre-performance talks begin in the Lied's Steinhart Room 55 and 30 minutes before curtain.

Tickets are $42, $38 and $34; half-price for students. Call the Lied box office at 472-4747 for ticket availability.

Sheldon Reinstalls Permanent Collection

The Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden is now presenting a complete reinstallation of the permanent collection. Consisting of six gallery spaces, the reinstallation features approximately 80 works from the permanent collection that further emphasize the diversity and also the unity of the history and development of American art represented in the Sheldon Art Gallery's permanent collection.

Following an introductory survey of 18th and 19th-century holdings, the remaining five gallery spaces are thematically organized, featuring the human figure, still life, urban landscape, pastoral landscape, and animal and plant life. Each thematic room has been selected to emphasize the stylistic diversity of artists who have worked throughout the 20th century, bringing into visual dialogue works of art from a variety of stylistic perspectives, and who have interpreted the human figure and the world around us in unique ways.

Although many of the most important works from the Sheldon Art Gallery remain on exhibit, among them Edward Hopper's Room in New York, Willem de Kooning's Woman, Mark Rothko's Yellow Band, and Richard Diebenkorn's Ocean Park Series, the different contexts in which they are exhibited offer an opportunity for a fresh view and interpretive experience.

In addition to the emphasis on stylistic diversity and subject matter, another major theme of the reinstallation of the permanent collection is the important contribution of photography to the history and development of 20th Century American art. Such photographers as Horace Bristol, William Henry Jackson, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, and Edward Weston are integrated into the aesthetic interpretation of the experienced world.

Vienna Piano Trio Concert Nov. 5 in Sheldon Gallery

The Vienna Piano Trio will appear in the Lincoln Friends of Chamber Music "End of the Century" series of concerts at 8 p.m. Nov. 5 in Sheldon Gallery.

The music reviewer of the Washington Post recently gave a typically strong evaluation of the Trio: "One of the world's leading ensembles of violin, cello, and piano." The BBC Music Magazine called their CD recording of Mendelssohn, "an unrivalled performance."

The Lincoln program will consist of the Mozart Trio in C Major, K.548, nine brief, but intense pieces for violin and piano and violin and cello by Webern, Haydn's Trio in E-flat Major, Hob. XV:29, and Dvorak's Piano Trio in E Minor, Op. 90, known popularly as "Dumky."

The Vienna Piano Trio concert will be preceded at 7:30 p.m. by program comments by UNL music professor, John Bailey. A reception will follow the performance in the Sheldon Great Hall.

Individual admission is $25 for adults and $5 for students. For more information, call 435-5454.

Army Tuba Quartet Performs Tonight

The U.S. Army Tuba Quartet from the famed U.S. Army Band (Pershing's Own), from Washington D.C., will perform at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4 at St. Paul United Methodist Church, 12th and M streets. Admission is free.

The Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will also perform at the concert. The UNL group will perform selections by Haydn and Gershwin, among others. The UNL Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble is directed by Craig Fuller.

Members of the U.S. Army Tuba Euphonium Quartet are Sgt. 1st Class Bob Powers and Sgt. 1st Class Don Palmire, Euphonium. Tuba players in the group are Staff Sgts. Jon Voth and Mike Forbes.

The Army Quartet's concert in Lincoln is one stop on their Midwest tour which includes concerts and masterclasses in Omaha, Seward and Lawrence, Kan., as well as the Lincoln events. Their concerts in Omaha and Lincoln are sponsored by the University of Nebraska School of Music and by Craig and Judith Fuller.

Theatrix Stages Death and the Maiden

Death and the Maiden, a play by Ariel Dorfman, will open the Fall Semester 1999 season of UNL Theatre's Theatrix program. Directed by undergraduate student Gregory Peters, performances are at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4, 5 and 6 in the Studio Theatre, third floor Temple Building.

Admission is $4 at the door. For more information, call the UNL Theatre Box Office at 472-2073.

Action in the play centers on an unarmed country, like the author's native Chile, emerging from a totalitarian dictatorship, exploring the after-effects of repression on the hearts and souls.

The production features Sandy Lemen, Michael Dragen and Jay Ryan The ensemble is directed by senior theatre performance major Gregory Peters.

Theatrix is a student-producing organization of the Department of Theatre Arts at UNL.

Chekhov's Three Sisters Opens Nov. 11

Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters, a classic of the modern theatre, opens Nov. 11 in Howell Theatre. The play is the thesis project for all five of the actors in the UNL Professional Actor Training Program leading to their Master of Fine Arts in Acting.

The production previews for students only at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 11, and opens to the general public Nov. 12. A performance has been added for 3 p.m. Nov. 14 and the Nov. 13 performance cancelled to avoid conflicts with the NU vs. KSU football game. Additional performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 16-20. Tickets may be purchased by contacting the box office at 472-2073.

Three Sisters is a poignant story of character and relationships, exploring the gap between hope and fulfillment in the existence of three provincial sisters, Olga, Masha and Irina, and their brother Andrei, and the complex individuals who people their lives. Chekhov does not reveal the provincial town where the Prozorovs live, but its spiritual identity seems to be "Exile."

Playing Olga, Masha and Irina are M.F.A. actors Sasha Dobson, Amy Rafa, and Amy Johnson, respectively. Moira Mangiameli plays Natasha, the wife of brother Andrei, and Kristopher Gordon Kling is Lieutenant the Baron Tusenbach, also both members of the M.F.A. acting class. These graduate actors perform the roles in the production in partial fulfillment of their graduate degrees in acting. Besides the usual preparation that an actor goes through prior to a performance, the actors are required to do extensive research into the time period, the playwright, other productions of the play, and other topics assigned by advisers. A written thesis is required that journals the acting process and includes the extensive research.

Fine and Performing Arts Program Addresses Multiculturalism

Artist Diversity Residence Program Announces Spring Schedule

The Artist Diversity Residency Program, coordinated by the College of Fine and Performing Arts, brings artists of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds to the UNL campus and Lincoln community to address issues of multiculturalism, equity and human justice.

The program focus is to improve cross-cultural understanding where art is a point of departure, not the primary focus. Artists relate to classes in a broad variety of disciplines from journalism to business to humanities to social sciences to the arts.

Artists for the Spring 2000 semester will be scheduled by early December. Please submit your requests by Nov. 15. The artists will be scheduled on a first-come, first-serve basis. Contact the program by Nov. 15 if you are interested or would like more information.

Spring 2000 artists and their availability are:

o Flo Oy Wong, Jan. 24-Feb. 2: Chinese American visual artist Wong has been an ADRP participant for four years, coming from Sunnyvale, Calif., to share her drawings, paintings and textile works influenced by her family's immigration stories. Wong goes beyond the immigrant issues to emphasize that hers is an American story. This artist is a certified and experienced classroom teacher. She has given presentations in classes in AgLEC, English, Textiles, Journalism, Teachers College, University Foundations, and others. There is a Website and 18 minute Video available to prepare students for Wong's presentation - http://www-class.unl.edu/adrp/.

o Nena St. Louis, Feb. 14-18: St. Louis grew up in Lincoln and has a unique perspective based on experiencing racial discrmination in the midwest. Her parents were leaders in the civic rights movement, first in Kansas City, and then in Lincoln. This playwright and actress now lives in San Francisco. She has given presentations in Teachers College, Architecture, art & art history, University Foundations, sociology, English and music. She relates very well with students in discussing what it means to experience discrimination.

o Linda Anfuso, Feb. 21-March 10: Anfuso, a visual artist, storyteller and poet, is a member of the Mohawk Nation who lives in New Hampshire. Her presentation centers around contemporary perceptions of Native Americans and issues important to the Native population today. She is also a successful entrepreneur. She has given presentations in business, journalism, English, sociology, Law, AgLEC, textiles, and others. Anfuso has a web site and a 30 minute video available to use for preparation and/or follow-up - http://www.class.unl.edu/adrp/ .

o Louise Robinson, March 20-24: Louise Robinson is a founding member of "Sweet Honey in the Rock." This vocalist now leads the group "Street Sounds," an a cappella quintet that performs traditional, contemporary and original music that embodies the rhythms, history and the influence of Mother Africa on world music. She has performed in numerous musicals, and currently lives in California. "Street Sounds" performed at the Lied Center in 1998. This is her first work with the Artist Diversity Residency Program. Robinson can work in classes in English, University Foundations, Music, Teachers College and others.

o Jeff Raz, April 3-14: Raz is a Jewish American theater artist and playwright from San Francisco. A clown, juggler and solo performer, Raz addresses issues of stereotypes with students, and draws them into the presentation effectively, resulting in an interactive session. Raz has been part of the Artist Diversity Residency Program for the last five years. A 25 minute video and a web site for Raz have been created by the ADRP to enhance his visit to schools. Used to prepare students for the live visit, these resources give students and teachers information and ideas for questions and reflection. Raz has worked in nearly every college on campus including Teachers College, Journalism, Arts and Sciences, Business, Fine and Performing Arts.

To request an artist for your classes, contact Lea Worcester, 472-9352 or lworcester2@unl.edu.

Rare Brass Rubbings Exhibition Nov. 7

The public is invited to a rare display of brass rubbings from 3-5 p.m. Nov. 7 at St. Mark's on the Campus, 1309 R St.

The free exhibit will feature rubbings loaned from a number of private collections, from Lincoln and elsewhere. The event is presented by the St. Mark's Committee on the Arts. Robert Stock and Quentin Faulkner coordinated the display.

Following the exhibition, at 5 p.m., St. Mark's will offer a special Choral Evensong, sung by Father Don Hanway and the choir of St. Mark's on the Campus. All are welcome to attend. The event is free.

During the exhibition, copies of "Doom or Bloom? Creative Christian Visions of the New Millennium" will be available for purchase. The juried collection of writings and art features works from a contest sponsored earlier this year by the arts committee. A special entry which could not be included in the publication because of its format will be on display.

For more information, call 474-1979.

OTIS O'SOLOMON of the Watts Prophets. The group will perform at the Johnny Carson Theatre Nov. 12.

Watts Prophets Bring Poetic Rap to Lied Nov. 12

The Watts Prophets, whose style is now considered the roots of rap music, will bring their powerful poems to the Johnny Carson Theater at 8 p.m. Nov. 12. This performance of Talk Up/Not Down is part of the Discovery! series of the Lied Center for Performing Arts' 10th anniversary season.

Richard Dedeaux, Anthony "Amde" Hamilton and Otis O'Solomon formed the Watts Prophets in the late 1960s. For 30 years they have worked as poets/performers/ambassadors for the community of Watts. With their unique style of spoken/sung/chanted verse, often accompanied by a jazz combo, The Watts Prophets create powerful performances that are suitable for all ages and races.

Prior to 1965, few Americans outside of Los Angeles had heard of the community of Watts - a section south of downtown L.A. that is home to many working-class African Americans. After the explosive confrontation between its citizens and the L.A. police force, called the "Watts Riots," Watts became a symbol of the anger felt by many African Americans.

In the wake of the riots, many Watts citizens began the process of rebuilding their community and their sense of purpose. This process of rebuilding included the Watts Writer's Workshop founded by Budd Schulberg (Academy Award-winning screenwriter of On the Waterfront). This workshop was intended to be an outlet for the local citizens to express themselves and their culture in a creative way. It was through the Watts Writer's Workshop that The Watts Prophets were born.

Dedeaux, Hamilton and O'Solomon formed The Watts Prophets to express their anger and feelings of powerlessness. Racism, poverty and violence were their reality and became the focus of their poems. Today, The Watts Prophets' music/poems deal with the same subject matter, but with a deeper wisdom that 30 years of living and working in Watts has given them. The Prophets bring to the stage the same energy that they have always displayed, but their message is now one of hope, not anger. The group's focus is to foster greater understanding of the African American experience and the perspectives of African Americans on issues that affect all of us. They also hope to awaken in their audiences a belief in the power of creative expression.

Tickets for this performance of Talk Up/Not Down, are $28; half-price for students.

Call the Lied box office at 472-4747 or toll free, (800) 432-3231 for ticket availability.