Muses make beautiful music at the RAC
Group brings opera highlights to town Sept. 12
TEXARKANA, Texas — Muses will soon flock to Texarkana to share the timeless beauty of opera.
Such muses are The Muses Creative Artistry Project, the Hot Spring, Arkansas-based performing arts organization that’s made a habit of sharing song and dance at Texarkana’s Regional Arts Center.
They’ll delight a socially-distanced crowd at the RAC on Saturday, Sept. 12, starting at 7 p.m., with the program “Opera Classics ‘Plus,’” a show that combines classical works of opera with musical theater favorites.
The show is a cabaret of sorts with numbers from “Carmen,” “Rigoletto,” “La Traviata,” “The Magic Flute,” “West Side Story” and much more, including such beloved songs as “Habanera,” “Flower Duet” and “Maria.” Composers range from Mozart to Verdi, Sondheim to Bernstein, Strauss to Rossini and more.
“This is a type of programming that we do on a regular basis. It varies in the content, and it also varies by performer,” said The Muses General Director Deleen Davidson about opera cabaret, which does “the best of” in a way that showcases the voices of performers and also suits the cast.
“I would say our cast is half have probably performed in Texarkana before, or maybe slightly less than half, and then the other half are new to us this season or rotating through,” Davidson said.
The program includes a lot of new music with a different configuration.
“But it will be something very familiar to audiences who love good music. They will recognize the gems and the pearls that they want in a ‘best of’ kind of show,” Davidson said, noting one of the works that’s traditional and familiar to opera lovers is the quartet from
“Rigoletto.”
The number features soprano, alto, tenor and bass.
“It’s extremely difficult but beautiful in performance. The Muses have never done it on one of our programs before, but this particular group of singers is really well-suited to that,” she said. “So that’s one kind of gem we’re going to be doing, the quartet from ‘Rigoletto.’”
A “Magic Flute” excerpt is also on tap. The Muses performed the entirety of that Mozart opera for their last visit to Texarkana. Also, look for The Muses to perform numbers from “Les Miserables,” which should please the audience.
Expect to hear numbers performed in English, French, Italian and German with a cast of 20. This year’s principal performers are soprano Davidson, soprano Keely Futterer (from Dover, Arkansas), mezzo-soprano Max Potter, mezzo-so
prano Erica Schoelkopf, tenor Nicholas Huff and baritone Stacey Murdock.
“Keely comes from a musical family,” Davidson said about that Natural State native, Futterer, who’s been performing all over the world.
Her appearance, in a sense, is because of the worldwide pandemic, which has widely affected the arts and led to the cancellation and postponement of so many shows.
“The only reason we’re able to access her right now is because most of the organizations around the country have canceled all of the opera bookings for these wonderful performers, so they’re basically in essence stuck here at home,” Davidson said.
The show is titled “Art Heals,” connecting to the idea that art, in times such as these, can be healing for humanity. “It feeds and nourishes a certain part of us, which can only be reached through the arts,” Davidson said.
With COVID, the way the cast moves around will be different with more space between performers and the audience. They’ve practiced their own form of quarantining to stay healthy, Davidson said.
Distancing and face covering guidelines will be in place for the audience at the Texarkana performance.
(Tickets: $30, or $10 with student ID. More info and tickets: Call the Perot Theatre Box Office at 903-792-4992 or visit TRAHC. org.)