Vocal Performance students in the SUU School of Music performed an Opera Showcase at the Heritage Theater Friday, March 29. The showcase featured music by the great songwriter Andrew Lloyd Webber, and many of the songs were from well-known musicals such as The Phantom of The Opera, Cats, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
The selections for the evening were performed to feature one or two students at a time, with some numbers also including singing and dancing by the entire company as an ensemble.
As is the case with many vocal performance groups in post-secondary settings, the majority of the group was female, but this did not stop the group from having a dynamic, moving performance. The men of the company seemed very much up to the challenge, portraying a wide variety of roles from Pharisees to the Phantom of the Opera.
Every number performed by the troupe was beautifully sung and memorable, but the finale was arguably the showiest and most dynamic. The group came together to sing “Song of the King,” a song from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat written in the style of an Elvis Presley rock hit.
Zach Pollman, a community member that attended the event, stated that he “thought they were going to do an Elvis Presley bit when they walked on,” but was pleasantly surprised when he realized that it was still a song written by Webber.
The event was very well attended, particularly by members of the community as well as students and faculty supporting their friends and students. The songs were accompanied by the SUU orchestra under the direction of Dr. Xun Sun, and the entire event was directed by Professor Carol Ann Modesitt.
Story by: Hannah Ashcroft
accent@suunews.net
Photo by: SUU Marketing
