By Elizabeth Reichert
University Relations student writer

Students in the UW-Superior Music Department's Opera Workshop not only are learning about opera but also are experiencing it. They will perform scenes from classic operettas, operas, and musical theatre such as "Beauty and the Beast" and "Old Maid and the Thief" at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20 at in Thorpe Langley Auditorium in Old Main.

Vocal performance majors Crystal Toner and Arielle Lammar said that Opera Workshop benefits them in many ways, inside and outside the classroom.

"It broadens my horizons for learning different characters, different accents - preparing us for different things we're not used to," Lammar said.

The scenes help Toner prepare for operas later in her career. "I think it really prepares you for next year when you do a full-scale opera," she said. "You have to stay in character."

These scenes also help students learn the fundamentals of staging, performing, and becoming and staying in character. 

"My favorite thing is just learning and getting into character and being someone else," Lammar said. "I don't have to care about what people think."

Dr. Vicki Fingalson, professor of voice and opera, agrees that these scenes are an opportunity to teach students about opera in a hands-on manner.

"Singers have to learn how to communicate," she said. "This is one of the best ways to learn how to do that in their medium, singing. It is essential. They cannot succeed in the profession if they don't have the skills."

In addition to those students performing, the opera scenes benefit those who attend as well.

"Hopefully, they see and hear a genre that is maybe new to them and maybe like it," Fingalson said. "It's meant to engage an audience, creating a connection and sharing the art form in a positive way with the campus."