Resonanz Opera has busy schedule

The voices of Resonanz Opera singers will be ringing out this summer during a busy schedule that includes performances in Lake, Geauga and Summit counties.

In its second season, Resonanz is bringing operas to audiences in communities ranging from Mentor to Russell Township to Sagamore Hills.

Although Resonanz operates from a business address in Mentor, the organization has succeeded in attracting singing artists from throughout the United States.

“We’ve had applications (for the 2018 season) from 25 states and accepted (performers) from Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, New York, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, California, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Tennessee,” said Heidi Skok, founder and president of Resonanz Opera.

The opera group quadrupled its enrollment of singing artists with its 26 performers in 2018, and nearly tripled the size of its high school internship program with eight singers.

“Resonanz is the only program in the country that allows high school voices to sing not just in the chorus, but also casts them in smaller roles on the operatic stage alongside professional and emerging professional singers,” Skok said.

All of the singing artists and high school interns will receive expert tutelage and guidance from Skok, who performed as a mezzo-soprano with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and has served on the voice faculties at a variety of colleges and universities.

Resonanz Opera seeks to set itself apart from other vocal training and development programs because of its focus on the overall wellness of its singing artists.

“What one is thinking is of paramount importance to a singer’s ability to perform at their peak, and that is why we have mindfulness at Resonanz Opera,” Skok stated on the organization’s website. “We like to start our days meditating together with mindfulness. With this type of meditation, we learn to just quietly observe our thoughts, and we learn strategies to handle those observations, whether they be positive or negative. Yoga adds to our daily routine by stretching our bodies, strengthening them and keeping positive ideas in our minds . ... With this provision of wellness tools, a singer can be open to embrace each day of the program as well as their character on stage.”

This year, Resonanz Opera’s summer schedule is comprised of three threeweek sessions.

During the first session, which ran in May and June, Resonanz performers participated in rehearsals, voice lessons, coaching and master classes every day at the Lawrence School in Sagamore Hills. The group also performed Act II of “Tristan und Isolde” and Act III of “Rigoletto,” according to Resonanz’s website.

The second session for Resonanz Opera began July 2 and extends through July 22. Throughout this stretch, the company will do its daily learning and training at Andrews Osborne Academy in Willoughby. Resonanz will perform the operas “The Medium” and “Suor Angelica” at 7 p.m. July 20, at Mentor Amphitheater, 8600 Munson Road; 7 p.m. July 21 at Lawrence Upper School, 10036 Olde 8 Road; and 2 p.m. July 22 at Andrews Osborne Academy, 38588 Mentor Ave.

To wrap up the summer, Resonanz Opera’s third session takes place Aug. 6-26 with daily rehearsals, lessons and classes for singing artists at Fairmount Center for the Arts in Russell Township. Performances of “The Magic Flute” are slated for 7 p.m. Aug. 17 at Mentor Amphitheater; 7 p.m. Aug. 18 at Lawrence Upper School; and 2 p.m. Aug. 19 at Fairmount Center for the Arts, 8400 Fairmount Road.

Other performances scheduled include Resonanz Opera at Wildwood, set for 6 p.m. July 18 and Aug. 15 at Wildwood Cultural Center, 7645 Little Mountain Road in Mentor; and Resonanz Opera at Fairmount at 2 p.m. Aug. 25 at Fairmount Center for the Arts.

Resonanz is hoping that its summer performances draw not only opera purists, but also people who have not been to one before. Skok said that Resonanz is working to defy the stereotypes of opera being a form of entertainment that is stuffy and only appealing to upper-class patrons.

“Opera is theater sung to music,” she said. “It’s physical theater in a more classical form.”

Resonanz strives to make opera “very accessible” to people from all walks of life, and the company uses supertitles at its performance to translate what is being sung in foreign languages, Skok said.

Skok founded Resonanz in 2009 in Albany, New York, before moving the training and production company in 2017 to Lake County, where she was born and raised.

Since its debut in Lake County, Resonanz has formed partnerships with the city of Mentor, Fairmount Center for the Arts, Lawrence School and Andrews Osborne Academy. The opera company also has received financial grants from the Lake County Visitors Bureau and the Cleveland Foundation.

While Resonanz Opera has become well known on a national basis, one thing Skok wants to improve upon is building name recognition for the group in Lake County.

“We need to get more people in Lake County to know about us,” she said.

SUBMITTED Resonanz Opera members take a break from their busy rehearsal and performance schedule for a group photo.