Dominic Piacentini
A & E Editor
It’s the battle of the sexes for Wooster’s voice program this spring. Both vocal studios, under the direction of Dr. Carrie deLapp-Culver and Susan Wallin, will be producing shows focusing on the relationships between men and women. Both performances will include songs from a hodgepodge of musical genres and shows. Wallin’s students will perform musical theater pieces, while deLapp-Culver’s students will belt out their best opera notes.
Emily Faber ’15, a member of Wallin’s vocal studio, says, “all of the songs will include lines like “‘I hate men,’ or ‘Woe is me cause I can’t get a girl,’ but the songs and styles are very contrastive.” The pieces also vary in time period. There will be songs set during the turn of the twentieth century and also tunes from musicals set during a more modern world like “Rent.” Wallin selected songs that connected with her theme and distributed them. Faber, content with her own musical choices, praises Wallin’s ability to mix and match her students’ voice styles. There will be chorus numbers, solos and duets that all relate back to relationships between men and women.
“This will be different than your typical musical because there are completely different storylines behind your characters that you have to be thinking of — you’re not just one character,” Faber adds. “We have to change characters and emotions from song to song. It’s very interesting to not be in a set zone with your character. It’s a challenge, definitely, but it’s fun too.” This musical theater review will give the audience a taste of many genres and styles and will prove the capabilities of the school’s voice department.
The classical and modern combine for deLapp-Culver’s vocal studio. deLapp-Culver’s opera workshop is a class offered for credit in the music department. The course prepares the participating students for an end of the year concert, which will consist of different scenes from multiple operas featuring the relationships between men and women.
Anne Briggs ’15, another vocal studio student, notes that, “My characters share a lot of the same emotions but they manifest themselves differently based on the trials in each character’s life.” The contrasts between the pieces give the singers a plethora of emotional interpretations to explore. Briggs encourages students to give opera a chance. She says, “Opera is a shrinking art form which is sad. You don’t even have to love opera. You can just be interested in opera — or you can love it as much as I do and want to do it all the time.”
The performance will feature both 18th century Mozart and 20th century Barber. Briggs believes that the differences in time periods are very beneficial to both the performers and the audience. She explains that, “The way society reflects on whatever topic is being discussed is very apparent in the music that is written. For example, the difference between the Mozart and Barber pieces is that Barber is going to talk about all the nitty gritty dirty details, and be very rough and raw. It’s not going to gently caress everything. While Mozart does have risqué moments, for our time period they’re a little more demure and sarcastic.”
Wallin’s “Battle of the Sexes — Musical Theater Review” will be performed March 3 in Gault Recital Hall at 6:30 p.m. Faber encourages students to come, guaranteeing, “there’s some music that will be new, but there are also songs that everyone will know. You are going to like at least one song — definitely. There are some very good singers, especially the seniors. It will be a really cool experience to see what we’re capable of.”
DeLapp-Culver’s opera workshop will premiere later this semester on Saturday, April 27 at 7:30, also in Gault Recital Hall. Briggs encourages everyone to attend, saying, “if you have never seen any kind of opera before or opera scenes, this is a great way to test your boundaries and see if you like that kind of musical style. It’s great music.”