Monteverdi Chorale collaborates with UW-Stevens Point students for opera production

Nine University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point music students have been invited to collaborate with Stevens Point’s Monteverdi Chorale for their upcoming Opera Classics production.

The performance will take place on Saturday, October 25, at 7:30 p.m. in Michelsen Hall of the Noel Fine Arts Center, 1800 Portage St., Stevens Point, and Sunday, October 26 at 4 p.m. in the UWSP at Wausau’s James F. Veninga Theater, 625 Stewart Ave, Wausau. Tickets are $25 for general admission, $5 for students and can be found at monteverdichorale.org.

Audiences are invited to experience the magic of opera as Monteverdi Chorale joins with the UWSP Opera Workshop for an afternoon of opera classics. Performances by UWSP soloists and UWSP Voice Professor Natalie Cummings, will be brought to life under the direction of UWSP Voice Professor Matthew Markham.

Reagan Conklin, a senior vocal performance major, is one of the students involved in this collaboration. “I'm singing on two pieces for this concert - both are in Italian. The first piece is a trio with my good friends Jess Workman and Ian Peot from Mozart's opera “Cosi fan Tutte.” The colors in our voices blend together so well. The second piece is a duet from Verdi's “La Traviata,” which in my opinion is one of the most beautiful tragic operas ever composed. It's called the “Libiamo,” which translates to “let's drink!” This piece is a very cheerful party song. My good friend Jaden Richards will be singing alongside me.”

“This experience greatly enhances my time at UWSP,” said Conklin. “It's hard to become an experienced, well-rounded vocal performance major without performing, and I'm grateful for the hard work that the voice faculty here at UWSP put in to finding us these opportunities. I've had the blessing of working with Opera Workshop several times as well as with CWSO and Monteverdi Chorale. The best part of these collaborative performances is seeing the joy it brings to the community.”

Find more information about UW-Stevens Point’s Music Performance degree at uwsp.edu/programs/degree/performance/.