23 singers play double roles in 2 comic operas
The University of New Mexico Opera Theatre will blend Mozart and Puccini in a comic romp next weekend. Twenty-three singers will play double roles in “The Impresario” and “Gianni Schicchi” from Friday through Sunday at Keller Hall.
Co-director Sam Shepperson of the UNM voice faculty chose the works because of their multiple roles. He’s double-cast some of the roles. One student will sing a role on Friday, while another takes the same part on Saturday.
“A lot of colleges do these as a double bill,” he said. “‘The Impresario’ has two really good roles for women.”
Premiered in 1786, Mozart’s “The Impresario” is about two women competing for the same opera role. One is a dramatic soprano, while the other is a comedic soprano.
“I have set it in New York,” Shepperson said. “They both are involved with the same man, named Angel. He says to the Impresario, ‘I’ll give you $10,000 if you just hire these ladies to sing.’ ”
One is older; the other is younger, and of course, they bicker.
“The older one is saying, ‘You don’t know anything about opera singing; you can’t sing.’ It’s really funny.”
The composer called it “a parody on the vanity of singers.”
Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi” is based on an incident mentioned in Dante’s “Divine Comedy.”
Members of a family from Florence travel to their uncle’s house only to find him dead.
“So they search for his will, and it’s been notarized, but nobody knows about it,” Shepperson said.
He left his entire estate to a convent. “They recruit Gianni Schicchi to play their uncle lying in bed. He dictates a new will. He ends up leaving it to himself.”
“It’s very funny; it’s about an hour long, with a really complicated score,” Shepperson said. “It’s very much an ensemble piece. The most famous aria, of course, is ‘O mio babbino caro’ (“Oh my beloved father”), one of the most famous in the repertoire.”