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11/6/2009

Rice Theatre, Shepherd School collaborate on upcoming opera
'The Threepenny Opera' runs Nov. 13-15, 19-21

BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff

When Rice Theatre decided to take a stab at "The Threepenny Opera," director Leslie Swackhamer was wise to bring in a couple of ringers.

Despite the level of talent and dedication that will be on display at Hamman Hall beginning Nov. 13, staging an opera is an extraordinary challenge for nonprofessional actors and technicians.

	JEFF FITLOW

The critically acclaimed Swackhamer was smart to call upon the Shepherd School's Christian Macelaru, temporary staff conductor, and Susan Dunn, lecturer of voice, to lend their talents to the production. Both seasoned opera pros, they said they were thrilled to have the chance to collaborate with the Visual and Dramatic Arts Department, even while they were also working on this weekend's Shepherd School Opera.

"What we're doing in this production is completely unique," Dunn said. "It's a collaboration with the outside community, departments throughout Rice and a whole variety of artists."

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Have an interest in the performing arts? Apply to Rice Macelaru added, "We all went into this not having any idea of what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised. A few people were really quite extraordinary and had good voices. And these aren't people who have trained all their lives for this. They're chemical engineering majors and community members who act or sing only at night."

That was a welcome challenge, Macelaru said. "Working on this production has helped me grow as a teacher. I found myself going back to -- and appreciating -- the basics and all the things that it takes outside of singing to put on a performance. How you prepare, what you eat, how well you listen -- these things really play into what the production will eventually be."

According to Macelaru and Dunn, the show is coming together nicely. Both said they are pleased with the progress the cast and crew have made.

"I'm particularly impressed with how everyone has been able to balance the opera with their outside lives," Dunn said. "Everyone has so many commitments. They are expected to get up and go to work or go to class, get their work done during the day and do a fabulous performance at night. That's quite a stretch emotionally and physically, but they are all doing wonderfully."

JEFF FITLOW

Macelaru said that in addition to the chance to collaborate with Rice Theatre, he was drawn to "The Threepenny Opera" because of composer Kurt Weill's music and dramatist Bertolt Brecht's storytelling ability.

First performed in 1928, "The Threepenny Opera" was inspired by John Gay’s "The Beggar’s Opera." Brecht and Weill’s creation is a savage, biting commentary on capitalism and modern morality. It's a musical satire about the outlaw Mack the Knife in which love, sex, murder and theft all become tactics for survival in a society spinning out of control.

"Everything is crazy and, in a way, ugly, but beautiful-ugly," Macelaru said. "Whenever Brecht has the darkest and creepiest message, Weill turns it sublime with his music and vice versa. Everyone who leaves the performance will whistle the opening number for days." That number most already know – it's the same "Mack the Knife" made popular by Louis Armstrong and, later, Bobby Darin.

Winner of three Tony Awards, "The Threepenny Opera" revolutionized musical theater by overcoming superficiality and mere storytelling in favor of presenting ideas. Weill’s acidic harmonies and Brecht’s piercing texts created a transformation that inspired such subsequent hits as "Cabaret," "Chicago" and "Urinetown."

Performances will be in Hamman Hall at 8 p.m. Nov. 13 and 14, at 2 p.m. Nov. 15 and at 8 p.m. Nov. 19-21. Tickets are $10 for general admission, $8 for Rice faculty, staff and alumni and $5 for students. Tickets are available in advance by calling 713-348-PLAY.

A free reception will be held opening night at 7 p.m., with a preshow talk by German Consul General Roland Herrmann and Christian Emden, associate professor of German studies.

For more information, visit www.arts.rice.edu.