Staging an opera: behind the scenes

Pam North, Central City.     Bringing each year's opera offerings from initial concepts to brilliant realities is a complicated process, with drama all its own.

The Central City Opera House Association, founded in 1932 as a means of preserving the Opera House, has originated a number of hallmark traditions since its first production that year. It was one of the first opera companies to perform operas in English. It casts performers according to type of character rather than just on voice alone, resulting in the roles being played with more dimension by performers who fit the parts as well as having superb vocal talents.

It places emphasis on stage direction as well as music, so that productions have more dramatic intensity rather than the “stand and sing” mode of presentation that was standard in the 1930s. All of these elements combine to sweep the audience into the dramatic intensity of the performance, and to make them feel that they are piece and parcel of the whole scenario.

Opera roles fall into three levels. The first are the leading roles, filled by the principal artists (full-time professional opera singers). The next levels include the secondary roles and the chorus, parts sung by apprentices and studio singers. Apprentices have more experience and polish than studio singers, and they also will understudy the principal roles in the event that a principal artist cannot perform.

Apprentices and studio singers are in all of the season's productions. Principals generally perform in only one opera, but sometimes, when roles are especially numerous in that season's productions, they can take on double roles.

Pelham “Pat” Pearce, Artistic and General Director, selects operas one to two years in advance. He casts them either with performers whose work he knows and respects, or he calls agents in New York City for possible candidates, and then travels there to audition the hopefuls. Apprentices and studio singers must apply to audition.

Auditions are held in Denver, Chicago, and New York City, and from these come the performers selected for secondary roles and the  chorus. The process is highly competitive: approximately 1,000 applications are received, from which 500 performers are invited to audition, and only 28 are ultimately selected. Typically, these singers are in their twenties, working on their Masters Degrees in Opera Performance, and attend major music schools, such as Juilliard (New York City), New England Conservatory (Boston), or Curtis Institute (Philadelphia).

Principals are auditioned for specific roles; apprentices and studio artists participate in general auditions. When the process finally is completed, the selected cast members assemble at last to create the magic of an opera.

The singers, now chosen from the ranks of all the hopefuls who had auditioned  over the past few months, arrive in Central City, ready to learn their parts and to assume the specific roles for which they will be responsible.

The orchestra is comprised of a variety of musicians from the Denver area, many of whom are members of the Colorado Symphony, and others from around the world. Many return year after year to perform. Conductors and stage directors usually are of national reputation, and a different pair are involved with each opera.

Set directors, those known to the general director for their excellent work, are hired to create the sets that impart the particular ambiance so important to the mood and magic of each production. The sets are built either in a Denver studio or out-of-state, and then trucked in. Sets are the single most expensive element of a production.

Many costumes are rented from the Malabar Costume House in Canada. Large opera houses usually create their own costumes, and regional companies such as Central City's often do. Wig and makeup designer Dave Bova customizes for each performer the effect necessary to bring the character to life.

After working his magic he leaves the rest in the capable hands of  Janetta Turner, Head of Wardrobe, and she and her crew handle all of the individual costume fittings, often artfully adding beading, laces, and other temporary embellishments to enhance the basic costumes already provided.

Lighting Director David Jacques oversees all the operas. The stage crew are all union members, mostly from Denver, and they handle the myriad carpentry, electrical, and lighting details, also attending to backdrop, props, and endless other technical chores.

The 16 ushers are college students, some local and most not. Housing is provided for them in several of the local historic homes owned by the Central City Opera Association. The students fulfill other tasks as well, such as acting as music librarian, gardener, or public relations assistant, operating the switchboard, and maintaining and cleaning the Opera House.

With all of the basic ingredients of talented performers, directors, technical workers and so on in place, all become intensely focused on the monumental task of coordinating and blending all the individual elements into seamless, polished productions destined to delight the opera aficionados who soon will pour into the Central City Opera House.