By Rebekah Weaver
A Raucous Evening of Opera at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah is filled with excellent music and silly jokes. I was a little concerned, as I’m not an opera expert—what would A Raucous Evening of Opera be? Would I get it? The answer is, you don’t need an in-depth understanding of Don Giovanni or Madame Butterfly to enjoy this great evening of fun.
A Raucous Evening of Opera includes two very short operas, The Stoned Guest by P.D.Q. Bach and Ages Ago by W.S. Gilbert. The director, Larry West, chose to present these two works as a play within a play — the show begins and ends with The Stoned Guest, and Ages Ago happens in the middle as a dream the characters are having.
The Stoned Guest
P.D.Q. Bach is the pen name of composer Peter Schickele. Schickele writes satirical classical music and presents the result as the work of the fictitious P.D.Q. Bach, a brother to the famous composer. The Stoned Guest is a parody that mocks many of the tropes of opera, such as everyone dying in the end, and while I’m sure it would have been funnier if I knew more about opera, it is still delightful.
Alyson Pinkleman and Val Tholen are very funny as the two leads and their sense of comedic timing is top notch. More importantly, they’re very talented singers. I genuinely enjoyed their precise, pure singing, and I didn’t have any trouble understanding the words, which helped me keep up with the story.
Ages Ago
Ages Ago is a satirical operetta that parodies elements from Brigadoon and Ruddigore. Again, while I’m not at all familiar with this genre, I still found a lot to laugh at. I’d particularly like to mention the performance of Becky Ludlow as both Rosa and Lady Maude. Ludlow is an excellent soprano, and I loved listening to her.
MacKenzie Cammack and Justin Ibarra are also standouts as MacMotherly/Dame Cherry and the Narrator. Cammack’s contralto is lovely, especially when paired with Ludlow, and Ibarra plays his part with infectious gusto.
The Big Picture
A Raucous Evening of Opera succeeds hilariously, based on the enthusiasm of the cast, who very obviously enjoy their own jokes, which made me like the show even more. The show also succeeds because of the clear talent of the cast — at times the plot lost me a little (to avoid this, I recommend reading the basic synopsis of the two operas before you go), but I always enjoyed just letting the voices of the cast wash over me. I thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful music they gave.
We also need to give a special shout-out to the crew who made this happen:
- Conductor Matthew Mainella, who plays a surprisingly big part in both operas and is quite funny.
- Music director Emily Williams, to whom I am very grateful for the beautiful art I got to hear (she also accompanies the show on piano).
- Harpist Elizabeth White, whose accompaniment added depth to the show
- Costume Designer Andrea Davenport, whose costumes help the audience keep track of what’s going on since some cast members play multiple characters.
- Lighting designer Hayden Phillips, whose work helps define scenes and added emotional complexity.
I’d recommend A Raucous Evening of Opera for anyone who likes good music and silly jokes. While there’s no objectionable content, I’d recommend not bringing young kids simply because they probably wouldn’t be able to keep up. But kids who are music buffs would love it. And you will, too! Go see it before the show ends.
Westminster College presents A Raucous Evening of Opera
Vieve Gore Concert Hall in the Jewett Center for the Performing Arts at Westminster College, 1840 South 1300 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84105
January 24-February 2, 2019, 7:30 PM
Tickets: $10 (free for Westminster students, faculty, and staff)
Westminster College Performing Arts Facebook Page
A Raucous Evening of Opera Facebook Event
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