Area college singers collaborate on major opera production at TCU

A fully-staged production of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" will be April 23-25 in Ed Landreth Auditorium at TCU.

Fort Worth, TX

4/9/2010

Four universities within Tarrant County decided last year to make their voices heard by merging their finest vocal talents. TCU, Texas Wesleyan, UT Arlington, and Tarrant County College will debut the resulting collaboration, the Tarrant County Opera Project, this month with Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.”  

Performances are scheduled April 23-25 in Ed Landreth Auditorium on the TCU campus. The cast not only includes young talents from these four local colleges but also additional singers from the community including 85-year-old George Stephens, a TCU alumnus, and a TCU parent. There are 66 singers in all.

The fully-staged production is underwritten by TCU and will also feature the TCU Symphony Orchestra and TCU choirs.

The young singers from Texas Wesleyan, UTA, and TCC have been given an opportunity to perform onstage in a full production with orchestra, an element currently not available to them on their own campuses while TCU has the opportunity to program a large cast opera … providing an expanded experience for TCU singers and an opportunity for the TCU Symphony to play a full-length opera from the standard repertoire.

The production, performed in the English version by Andrew Porter, is directed by Richard Estes (director of Opera Studies at TCU) and conducted by Germán Gutiérrez, with chorus master, Maritza Caceres.  Sets were designed by Wade Giampa.  

Performances are April 23 and 24 at 7:30 p.m. and April 25 at 2:30 p.m. in Ed Landreth Auditorium.  General admission only—Adults $10, Seniors $5, FREE to students, faculty and staff of all colleges and universities in Tarrant County.

Faculty collaborators for the Tarrant County Opera Project are:  
•    Texas Wesleyan University—Julie McCoy and Jennifer Carr  
•    University of Texas at Arlington—Soo Hong Kim
•    Tarrant County College—Patricia Bedford
•    Texas Christian University—Richard Estes