When the curtain rises over the Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall at the start of “The Pirates of Penzance,” it’s easy to become absorbed in the story of Frederic as he celebrates his 21st birthday and the end of his apprenticeship to a band of pirates. You’re probably not thinking about how, just moments ago, the singers were backstage warming up their vocal cords while a violinist practiced that tricky phrase one last time.
As you watch Major-General Stanley’s wards dance across the stage, you don’t imagine that hours earlier Melanie Kohn Day, director and producer of Virginia Commonwealth University Opera, was surrounded by curling irons and wigs as the pirates flipped through stuffed costume racks, and the crew checked lights and ensured all the show’s props were in place.
You’re definitely not thinking about how these students didn’t just have to learn the music and movements to arrive at this performance, but also skills that transcend it, such as audition techniques, a variety of accents and how to file taxes as a professional opera singer. You might not realize that you are looking at the company with the longest-running tradition of full-scale opera productions in Virginia.
You’d be forgiven for these oversights because, after all, that’s the point. You’re here to enjoy a show. But the months-long preparation by this team of opera professionals and undergraduates balancing work and school and life? It’s worth taking note.
A photo essay capturing the semester-long process of putting together an opera. Originally appeared on the VCU home page.