By DAVID MORONES
Tiger Media Network
Fort Hays State University Music faculty and students are excited for the community to experience unconventional opera with “The Pirates of Penzance.” Associate Professor of Music Ivalah Allen oversees the production, which opens this weekend.
Students have been working and rehearsing the show for the past four months. Performers have incorporated heavier choreography and more acting than in past opera productions.
“It’s a funny opera,” cast member Sadie Biedenbender said. “It’s an operetta technically… there’s spoken dialogue, but it’s mostly singing.”
One of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most famous comedic operettas, “The Pirates of Penzance,” centers on a young pirate apprentice named Frederic who develops feelings for Mabel but encounters humorous setbacks due to miscommunication.
According to the English National Opera, Operettas are semi-controversial within the art world since they are considered a “lighter” type of opera because of their often satirical and witty themes and tend to be much shorter.
Cast member Jentre Smith says they love being a part of this style of opera.
“I think they’re great,” Smith said. “I think there should be variety in music; that’s how we get innovation.”
Performances will be at 7:30 pm Friday and Saturday and at 2:30 pm Sunday in the Felten-Start Theatre. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at www.forthaysarts.com. Doors open half an hour before the show.