UNL Opera Wins at Waterford!

The UNL School of Music in the Hixson-Lied College of Fine & Performing Arts is pleased to announce that their UNL Opera production of Frank Loesser’s The Most Happy Fella won top marks at the Waterford International Festival of Light Opera in Waterford, Ireland this fall.  Co-directed by Ariel Bybee, Associate Professor of Voice, and her husband, James Ford, Associate Professor of English, the production featured 50 students, crew, and pit musicians from the UNL School of Music.

The production was competitive in nearly all respects.  Not only did UNL win the most coveted Waterford International Trophy (a beautiful and towering piece of Waterford crystal) as the top overall production of the Festival, but UNL swept many other categories of the competition, as well.  These included:

• Best Male Singer – Dr. William Shomos, Associate Professor and Director of UNL Opera
• Best Female Singer – Anna Degraff, undergraduate voice major
• Best Choral Presentation--The Three Chefs: Adam Fieldson, Jake Bartlett, Thom Gunther for their performance of “Abbondanza”
• Best Musical Director – Dr. Tyler White, Associate Professor and Director of Orchestras
• Best Sets -- Laurel Shoemaker, as adapted by Will Cover

Read what the Waterford press is saying about UNL Opera!

 

In praising these School of Music faculty, staff, and students, Dr. John W. Richmond, Director of the School, observed that, “This is a tremendous affirmation of the ongoing growth and development of our opera productions, of course, but it also speaks to the deepening of our programs in voice performance, choral performance, orchestral performance, theatre, and on and on.  Opera is a wonderful convergence of so many art practices.  That our production of The Most Happy Fella won this international competition is a source of tremendous satisfaction and pride for our entire School.”

Jim and Rhonda Seacrest, longtime patrons of the UNL School of Music, made this tour possible, and also made a separate gift that created the UNL Opera/Chamber Orchestra, now known as the Philharmonia.  Richmond said the opportunity to put UNL students and faculty before this international competition simply would not have been possible without the Seacrests’ generosity and enthusiasm.  “They are angels to us,” Richmond affirmed.

Professor Bybee finds no time to bask in the glow of this international achievement, however, as the next UNL opera production, Mozart’s classic Cosi fan tutte, is already in rehearsals feverishly preparing for their November opening.  Mark your calendars now for November 8, 9, and/or 11 to come to the Kimball Recital Hall on the UNL City Campus to see and hear what all  the international buzz is about.