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Joseph Desota, director of the Washburn Opera Studio, welcomes guests to a performance of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.” The show was performed April 6 in the Neese Gray Theatre.
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Lilia Potter (left), freshman music performance major, and Trenton Barnecott (right), junior music performance major, perform their act along with singing. Potter played the role of Pamina and Barnecott played the role of Papageno.
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Raffaelo Cipriano, director of Washburn Orchestra, guides the opera group throughout the act. They played background instruments for the actors during the performances.
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Attendees laughed while they performed “The Magic Flute.”
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Polly Ayala (right), sophomore music performance major, talks about her daughter Pamina with Hayes (left). Ayala played the role of Queen of the Night and mother of Pamina in the act.
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All the cast listen to Joshua Jensen (Sarastro), sophomore vocal performance major, and support Pamina to find her true love. Sarastro was a wise ruler during the act.
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Koby Kirk (left), freshman music performance major, plays Monostatos and tries to scare the daughter of the Queen of the Night (right). Panina tried to escape but was stopped by Monostatos during the act.
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Kirk (left) and Barnecott (right) try to unite and act as brothers. At last, Monostatos is cast into darkness.
On Saturday, April 5, the Washburn University department of music and theatre performed “The Magic Flute” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at Neese Gray Theatre from 7:30-10 p.m. Around 300 people were present in the theatre to watch this act.
Lilia Potter, freshman music education major, portrayed the role of Pamina. Potter discusses her preparation for this character.
“I spent a lot of time studying,” Potter said. “A lot of time just sitting with my score, reading through my parts. I watched a lot of productions to learn how I wanted to create my character on my own. And honestly, it’s hours and hours and hours in a practice room.”
Teagan Kimble, junior music education major and violinist, appreciated the performance. She found it rewarding to support live singers, which made the experience enjoyable. Kimble also explained the rehearsal process for a performance like this.
“It’s a lot of watching the conductor,” Kimble said. “Everyone has to be in the same queue, but as long as you know we’re looking at the conductor, they can follow us. The opera studio rehearses year-round, and then the orchestra learns the parts during the semester, and then the choir joins in, for their laugh … And then, everything comes together.”
Nehemiah Hayes, freshman music education major, played the role of Prince Tamino and found singing as the most rewarding part of “The Magical Flute.” Hayes explains preparation for his role in this act.
“Honestly, the acting aspects came easily to me, but the singing was a lot, and it’s a different part of my voice than I’ve used before, so that probably took the most preparation,” Hayes said. “There wasn’t really any part of Tomino that I thought was challenging. It was just a lot of fun at the end of the day. As a performer, the magic flute was an amazing experience for me.”
The Washburn department of music is holding scholarship auditions. To schedule an audition or for more information, email [email protected].
Edited by Stuti Khadka and Morgan Albrecht.
