UNIPAC

Bastien und Bastienne / The Impresario CAST LIST

2010-05-04T10:38:00.000-07:00

Bastien und Bastienne
Directed by Joey Calkins
Bastien: Matthew Jay Romriell
Bastienne: Alison Nielson
Colas: Robert Jaramillo

The Impresario
Directed by Elizabeth Hansen
Mr. Scruples: Scott Peacock
Mr. Bluff: Kevin Smith
Mr. Angel: Joey Calkins
Madame Goldentrill: Clara Hurtado Lee
Miss Silverpeal: Mimi West

Auditions

2010-04-12T22:44:00.000-07:00

Bastien und Bastienne
and
The Impresario

Two Singspiele by W.A. Mozart
Sung in English
Conducted by Sean Rogers

Thursday, April 29th | 6pm to 8pm
Lehi Arts Building
685 North Center Street
Lehi
To make an appointment call: 801.842.6292 or email: unipac.auditions@gmail.com (or just show up).

BASTIEN UND BASTIENNE
Bastienne - Soprano
Colas - Baritone
Bastien - Tenor
DIRECTED by Joey Calkins

THE IMPRESARIO
Mr. (or Ms.) Bluff - Baritone (or Mezzo-Soprano)
Mr. Angel - Tenor
Madame Goldentrill - Soprano (Coloratura)
Miss Silverpeal - Soprano (Coloratura)
Mr. Scruples (The Impresario) - Spoken (CAST)
DIRECTED by Elizabeth Hansen (WGA award winner, Emmy nominee)
___________________________________
Rehearsals will begin in July in Midvale.
Performances are Friday and Saturday, August 13th and 14th in Lehi.

Facebook event page

An email from Michael McLean...

2010-04-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

Joey, Danica and Sean,
I just got a terrific report from a friend of mine who attended your production of THE GARDEN. I'm so sorry I wasn't there to cheer you all on. I didn't know it was happening, but want to thank you for the effort you made to share this with your community. I remember when I first played the recording of THE GARDEN for my wife years ago she said, "Well, Michael, you can die now." I understood what she was saying. I don't know if I'll ever be able to bear my testimony of Jesus any better than I was able to writing those lyrics to Bryce's melodies and Merrill's orchestrations.

Again, my gratitude and thanks to all involved.

Michael McLean

2010/2011 Season

2010-04-05T09:47:00.000-07:00

We are proud to announce our 2010/2011 season.

Mozart's
Bastien und Bastienne and The Impresario*
August 13th and 14th
Lehi Arts Building
Lehi, Utah
$12/$10
*Starring Joey Calkins and Clara Hurtado Lee

The Quest: A Decade of Song
Joey Calkins, Tenor and Sean Rogers, Piano
TWO PERFORMANCES
August 12th
Community Presbyterian Church
American Fork, Utah

August 19th
Frist Presbyterian Church
Nampa, Idaho
Free Concert

A Song fo' Momma (concert)
February 5th
Community Presbyterian Church
American Fork, Utah
$10/$8
Features Soprano, Valaura Arnold

A little bit of this, a little bit of that (concert)
February 12th (Date to be confirmed)
First Presbyterian Church
Nampa, Idaho
$8

Love, Hope, Peace, Abide
December 25th
Alpine Tabernacle
American Fork, Utah
Free Concert

Easter Celebration
April 3rd
Alpine Tabernacle
American Fork, Utah
Free Concert

An Evening with Shakespeare
May 20th and 21st
Community Presbyterian Church
American Fork, Utah
$10/$8

Stage Director Call

2010-03-09T13:38:00.000-08:00

We are currently looking for a stage director for our production of Mozart's The Impresario. The performance will be held mid-August (still working on securing a venue).

Those interested in being considered for this position should fill out the form labeled "Application - Staff," found here. This may be emailed to Joey at unipac150@gmail.com or may be "snail mailed" to
UNIPAC
% Joey Calkins
611 W Heather Street # 5
Midvale UT 84047

Please include a resume.

We are currently unable to pay for this position.

The Garden

2010-02-27T06:36:00.001-08:00

REMINDER:
Chorus rehearsal begins Sunday, February 28th (tomorrow) @ 7pm at the Alpine Tabernacle (110 East Main Street ~ American Fork,Utah) Music will be provided.

The Garden

2010-02-08T22:05:00.000-08:00

The Garden
by Bryce Neubert and Michael McLean

The Garden is an allegorical oratorio. As you may know an oratorio is a musical work on a sacred theme. In an allegory the telling of the moral or religious tale is figurative or symbolic. The "allegorical oratorio" has a "Barren Tree," "a ram," "a millstone," and a seedling as characters. We are introduced to these characters through their own arias (songs).

Later we are introduced to The Gardener. One who comes to help the garden grow and heal. The Landlord enters, tells the Gardener to "leave this garden." The Garden asks of the Gardener, how can we be healed? The Gardener tells the garden of "one with many names" who will come "like a most unusual rain."

The Man comes, suffering under a heavy burden. The Garden laments his suffering. They wish they could help Him somehow. The Gardener expresses his thoughts. "I cannot east his burden. I cannot stop his hurting. Could we be truly worth such grief and pain?" The Landlord taunts the Man. "You're not the only one who is your father's son. Give up and call it done. There is no need to suffer longer." The Man declares, "I never understand such anguish, but I'm not here to do as I wish. No my will but Thine be done!"

The Garden is healed. The audience is left with a feeling of contemplative peace as the soloists and the choir join together to "debrief," as it were, the audience. "We have come to tell a story, we have come to sing the words, and we hope within these melodies the meaning has been heard. And perhaps someway together, it will help us be prepared, to receive the greatest gift of love that ever will be shared." "There's a chance this story told this hour will echo through our bones in the moment we most need it when we're searching for what's true and we try to comprehend the love He offers me and you....He becomes our hope through the gift of the ultimate sacrifice. He is Jesus Christ. He is come to save us all..."

We invite you share this Easter Sunday with us as we celebrate the life of Him who came "to save us all."

The performance will be held on Easter Sunday, April 4th @ 7pm at:
Alpine Tabernacle
110 East Main Street

If you are interested in joining the choir for this magnificent, please contact Joey at unipac150@gmail.com. Rehearsals will be held on Sunday evenings at the Alpine Tabernacle from 7pm to 8:30pm beginning February 28th until the performance. There will be tech/dress rehearsal on Friday, April 2nd as well.

Concert Tonight!!

2010-02-06T06:22:00.000-08:00

Concert Tonight

Community Presbyterian Church
75 North 100 East
American Fork, Utah

@ 7:30

Tix are $8 and $14 for couples.

Perfomers:
Karl Christensen, Tenor
Larry Gee, Piano
Christopher Holmes, Baritone
Clara Hurtado Lee, Soprano
Jacquelyn Mouritsen, Mezzo-Soprano
Nathan Oler, Cello
Jenny Pierce, Soprano

From the Director's Desk:

2010-02-03T13:46:00.000-08:00

With our concert this Saturday (Feb. 6th @ 7:30 pm at the Community Presbyterian Church in American Fork) underway we are now getting ready for our Easter concert. We are doing Michael McLean and Bryce Neubert's The Garden.

The chorus will be open and will begin rehearsals on Sunday, February 28th at 7 pm at the Alpine Tabernacle. We will meet every Sunday until the performance on Easter Sunday, April 4th. (That's FIVE rehearsals.) There will be a Tech/Dress Rehearsal on Friday April 2nd.

Those interested in being a soloist should contact Joey at unipac.auditions@gmail.com. We have 6 solos spots for men available. (A mix of tenors and baritones.)

For more information on the choir please contact Joey at unipac150@gmail.com or 801.842.6292

From the Director's Desk:

2010-02-02T07:33:00.000-08:00

We are pretty stoked about our first ever Chamber Concert. This Saturday at the Community Presbyterian Church in American Fork (Utah). It'll be an awesome concert. With lot's of talented musicians. Tickets are available at the door or you can reserve your tickets by calling 801.842.6292 or emailing unipac.shows@gmail.com.

Community Presbyterian Church
75 North 100 East
American Fork, Utah

Saturday, February 6th @ 7:30

Tickets: $8.00 or $14.00 for couples

From the Director's Desk:

2010-01-23T16:34:00.001-08:00

With Easter fast approaching we are busily working our collective tails off to get our Easter concert underway. This past week we were able to secure the rights to perform The Garden by Michael McLean and Bryce Neubert. We are very excited. This is a great work and perfect for Easter.

The chorus will be open. Rehearsals for the chorus begin on Sunday, February 28th in American Fork (We are still negotiating with the owner of the rehearsal building, so I'll hold off on announcing the location until it is confirmed.)

Solo auditions will be announced at a later date. However, keep in mind, soloists will be chosen before chorus rehearsals begin on February 28th. More details will be coming early in February. In the mean time, don't forget our upcoming concert of opera, art song, lied, and broadway favorites on February 6th at the Community Presbyterian Church in American Fork (75 North 100 East).

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

2010-01-17T08:56:00.000-08:00

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

The Utah/Idaho Performing Arts Company is proud to announce their upcoming concert of opera arias, art songs, and even some Broadway hits! The concert will be held at the Community Presbyterian Church (the church used in the movie Footloose, starring Kevin Bacon) in American Fork, Utah.

The concert will be accompanied by Larry Gee on the piano and will feature Nathan Oler on the cello. Performers for this concert are Karl Christensen, Christopher Holmes, Clara Hurtado Lee, Jacquelyn Mouritsen, and Jenny Pierce.

This concert is a perfect date night for you and that special someone.

Single tickets are $8 and $14 for couples. To reserve your tickets call 801.842.6292 or email unipac.shows@gmail.com.

Community Presbyterian Church
75 North 100 East
American Fork, Utah

Easiest parking entrance is on Church Street. (Apollo building - across the street from American Fork Historic City Hall.)

From the Director's Desk:

2010-01-06T07:08:00.001-08:00

Oh my! It has been WAY too long since I have posted anything. The Other Wise Man, overall, went well. (Pictures are forthcoming.) We hit a few snags the couple days before the performances. I'll mention two of them. (The others are typical "live theatre" things that go wrong.)

The first: One of the sopranos, singing the roles of Rhodaspes and Shibyah, had to leave for an out-of-town emergency on Friday afternoon. (That's Friday December 4th. The performances were the following Monday and Tuesday.) Thankfully, after several phone calls and emails, we ended up having the soprano who played those roles in the original cast (from 2006) fill them for this production. She cheated a little and put her music into a little book which she fixed up to look like it belonged there. (I've done the same thing. When I was singing the role of Bill in A Hand of Bridge, I put my music on the cards. Of course, so did the other singers.)

The other mishap...Well, I had the piano tuned on Wednesday and everything was fine with it during our music rehearsal on Friday night. Saturday afternoon during the first dress rehearsal, the pedals fell off. Well, we stuck a piece of wood under them (that was after trying to duct tape them back up, screw the pedal thing onto the piano...neither of them worked) and finished the run. For the second run we pulled out the other piano. An upright. Slightly out of tune. And, as was discovered a little later, had mouse droppings all over it. Thank you Purell.

We tried again with the grand (the one that was just tuned) by stucking another piece of wood and some other stuff under the wood and it worked fine. The pianist threatened the lives of everyone if they even touched the piano. I mean, why mess with something if it's working? We're not the government!

Ticket sales from this production were much less then we had hoped for. We had a lot of things we were competing with. Messiah concerts...EVERY performing arts organization in the area does a Christmas (er, Holiday) show and it snowed BOTH NIGHTS!!! I think next year we'll do a single concert. We'll try for Christmas (day) afternoon. A free concert. We'll see how it goes.

Currently we are getting ready for our next production. A concert titled, A little bit of this, a little bit of that. This concert will be accompanied by Larry Gee. And will feature many singers from all over the valley. My assistant and UNIPAC's General Production Director, Danica Yates, is producing this concert so that I can spend some time working on other things. (Like next season. I've got finish an English adaption of Bastien und Bastienne and get the orchestrations for it. And work on The Impresarrio. And my own personal pursuits as a playwright.)

I'll make sure Danica writes a little something about the concert.

Also keep in mind, we'll be holding auditions for soloists for our Easter Concert (The Garden by Michael McLean and Bryce Neubart) towards the latter end of February. The chorus will be open to anyone...keeping in mind we'll have just five rehearsals to learn the music. Chorus will be able to use music during the concert. Soloists will need to be memorized and will NOT be using microphones.

Thank you and God bless.

From the Director's Desk:

2009-12-04T08:43:00.000-08:00

We move into the theatre tonight! Wow, I can't believe it's finally here. I'm nervous, excited, anxious, desperately wishing it were Wednesday...(because then I can shave. I'm tired of eating my own hair. I've had a permanent hairball in the back of my throat for weeks now.)

From the Director's Desk:

2009-12-01T23:55:00.000-08:00

Tonight (well, it's 12:55 am on Wednesday, Dec 2nd...So I guess technically it should be last night...But I'm still awake, so it's "tonight" dang it!) we had our first run through with costumes. We found a couple trouble spots that need fixing (that was expected), but overall it went really well. Hearing people talk it sounds as though we'll have a good size audience both nights. (Which is very exciting.) I also discovered I don't know my music as well as I thought I did. I'll be working on that every waking moment from now until Friday!

From the Director's Desk:

2009-11-29T21:10:00.000-08:00

One week now until we open. Sheesh! Where has the time gone!?! The set is built. My assistant (author of the posts, From Behind the Curtain) and I stayed up waaaaAAAAAaaay past our collective bed times on Friday and Saturday nights to finish. The pillars for the temple (the Atash Dadgah) like awesome, as does the faux stone box which the fire pit sits on. (This "stone" box also doubles as the well in a later scene.)

Everything seems to be coming together. Now if I can only learn the roles I'm singing. Just kidding! They're simple enough. (Even though I am a tenor, not a baritone.)

From the Director's Desk:

2009-11-23T07:59:00.000-08:00

Wow...Two weeks from today is our first performance of The Other Wise Man. Where has the time gone?

So, I found out Friday night that Abgarus, the baritone in scene 1, has Swine Flu. Oh, excuse me...I mean the H1N1 Flu virus.... We blocked Scene1 on Saturday and with only two weeks to go until the performances, I felt it was in the best interest of the production and the cast to recast the role of Abgarus. (I'm keeping him on for the chorus and as the Voice...depending on how he feels as the time comes.) And now I am stuck singing the role. I'm a tenor!!! But thankfully, the baritone role of Abgarus was relatively easy to adapt...well, some what. I still have to sing a low A (I have problems singing a c sometimes!), but the low G's have been "altered" to an octave higher, which puts them right in my "mid-voice." Very nice for me.

Other then having just two weeks to learn this role, everything is going great. Costumes are coming together...Now if I can only get the bloody set built. Okay, it's just the "temple" for scene 1. I just need to fine the time to do it.

From Behind the Curtain:

2009-11-20T08:41:00.000-08:00

As the Stage Manager for UNIPAC’s up and coming performance of M. Ryan Taylor's: The Other Wise Man; I'd like to take a moment to thank Joey for the amazing opportunity. Thanks Joey, I’m really excited to be part of this show.

This show has an amazing story and with that comes an amazing set. We like to keep sets small because in retrospect it’s about the performance, not the background, though it is important to have a set that can flatter what you’re trying to get across on stage. We have five set changes for this show. (Well, one is already pre-set, (thank you Venus.)) My amazing visionary, Director/Producer (I just call him boss) has a gift for set design; and with that gift, comes all of my ultimate challenges. Right now I’m building rocks and if you knew of the materials I’ve found and what I had to do to find them, you’d have a good idea of why they call us Stage Managers “slightly off balance.”

Now, creating and exerting these sets is fairly simple. Taking the sets down in under 30 seconds and putting up something new without killing actors, falling off stage, tipping flats, and keeping my sanity in almost a pitch black atmosphere… that’s the “tricky” part.

I’m still searching for a stage crew of hopefully ten, and I’m trying to figure out how to get my fire pit to look about ten times more realistic then it did our last show. (What’s so bad about having a REAL fire on stage, I mean c’mon!) So far so good, Joey hasn’t yelled at me, (yet) and I’m desperately trying to keep it that way. I love my job. All in all everything seems to be coming together great and I believe the show will come off amazing.

From the Director's Desk:

2009-11-18T06:51:00.001-08:00

I love it when everything comes together. It's beginning to do that with The Other Wise Man. Which is very exciting. Of course there are a couple rough spots. (Mostly the scene I'm in. This music ain't exactly easy! But it's fun.)

I anxiously await the time when we can move into the theatre and begin working with the set pieces. (That's seriously going to change everything!)

From the Director's Desk:

2009-11-17T07:07:00.000-08:00

Well we are now down to about three weeks until our performance of The Other Wise Man by M. Ryan Taylor. As always I'm getting the pre-performance jitters, but that's to be expected. "Will the audience like it?" "The composer is going to be there...will he approve of this production?" You know, the typical stuff. The last production I directed (Dido and Aeneas) was nerve-racking, but I didnt' have the stress of the composer being in the audience. Henry Purcell died a LONG time ago. M. Ryan Taylor, on the other hand, is alive and well living in American Fork, Utah and HE'S COMING BOTH NIGHTS!!!!!

But enough of my personal fears...The cast is doing well. As with any show, we've hit some bumps, but thankfully, we've come over them virtually unscathed. My stage manager is ready to kill me. (She seems to think I expect a lot from her...Well, okay, I do.)

Tickets are on Sale and a Special ANNOUNCEMENT

2009-11-09T20:47:00.000-08:00

Tickets are on sale. See the column to the right for detailed information.

For this production, UNIPAC will be collecting donations of food items for the Utah Food Bank.

Tickets are on Sale

2009-11-03T05:31:00.000-08:00

Tickets for The Other Wise Man go on sale today. You may order your tickets by filling out this form or you may reserve tickets by calling 801.842.6292 or by emailing, unipac150@gmail.com.

See the column to the right for more information (and prices).

The Other Wise Man - Cast List

2009-09-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

Artaban - Brian Manternach
Vasda - Emily Bowles

The following roles also double in the chorus sections:
Abdus & Parthian - Jacquelyn Mouritsen
Rhodaspes & Shibyah - Sharon Hopkins
Joshua & Miriam - Andrea da Silva
Tigranes, A Captain, & Creditor - Robert Jaramillo
Abgarus & A Rabbi - TBD
Voice - TBD

Woman - Danica Yates

AUDITIONS - M. Ryan Taylor's The Other Wise Man

2009-09-02T13:46:00.000-07:00

Auditions for the Utah/Idaho Performing Arts Company's production of M. Ryan Taylor's The Other Wise Man.

Sept 19 from 1 to 4 pm

Piano Gallery the Organ ("Lowry") Room

650 South State Street

Orem

Sept 22 from 7 to 9 pm (BY APPOINTMENT)

Joey's Home

Call for address

Midvale

Other times on the 20th and 21st may be available. Please call to schedule an appointment.

* Those auditioning MUST provide their own accompanist (or sing accapella). We will not provide an accompanist for you.

* Rehearsals will be limited. Music must be learned "on-your-own."

* We are unable to pay at this time.

* Singers will be responsible for obtaining their own music. (Music may be purchased here.)

* To schedule an audition for Sunday the 20th, Monday the 21st or Tuesday the 22nd, please contact Joey at 208.880.9515, 801.566.3426 or unipac150@gmail.com.

* If you have a headshot and resume, please bring a copy with you. (Or email with your appointment request.)

* Rehearsals will be held on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings in November. There will be one (or two) music rehearsals in October. There will be no rehearsal on Saturday, November 28th (Thanksgiving weekend). Tuesday, November 24th is still being decided upon.

* Performances will be held on Monday December 7th and Tuesday December 8th in Midvale at the Midvale Performing Arts Building.

* Tech/Dress Rehearsal will be held on Saturday December 5th (morning to afternoon)

The Other Wise Man

2009-08-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

We are getting ready for our upcoming production of M. Ryan Taylor's The Other Wise Man. (Follow the link for more information about the opera.)

Auditions are tentatively scheduled for September 19th in Orem and Sept. 22 (confirmed date) in Midvale. For more information please call Joey at 801.566.3426 or email unipac150@gmail.com.

Cast requirements are a minimum of 1 tenor, 2 sopranos, 1 mezzo/alto, 1 baritone, 1 bass/baritone. (Most of the parts play multiple roles.) Depending on audition response, these roles may be divided. (Up to 15 singers!!)

The Other Wise Man : Synopsis

Scene 1, The Observatory : Artaban searches the heavens for the new star that will herald the birth of the King of Light. He attempts to persuade his fellow magi to join him on his quest, but is left to make the journey to Jerusalem alone.

Scene 2, The Wilderness : Artaban and his servant Vasda are stopped in their journey by the need to help a sick traveler. When the traveler awakes, he tells them to seek the Christ in Bethlehem.

Scene 3, Bethlehem : Artaban and Vasda arrive in Bethlehem too late. In order to save the child of Miriam from Herod’s soldiers, Artaban is forced to bribe a guard with one of his gifts, a precious ruby intended for the ‘King of Light.’

Scene 4, Egypt : Having scoured Egypt for traces of the child he seeks, Artaban is prepared to give up, but finds new hope in the words of a Rabbi.

Scene 5, The Damascus Gate : Artaban has grown old searching for his king, only to find him at Jerusalem in the hands of his enemies. Will Artaban be in time to offer up the last of his gifts, a precious pearl, as a ransom for his king’s life?

We're in the news...

2009-08-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

I received a phone call from Ben Fulton the other day about our upcoming production of Dido and Aeneas. I agreed to an interview (over the phone) and this is the result.

From the Director's Desk:

2009-08-07T07:28:00.000-07:00

Holy Cow! It's been over a week since I posted anything. Well to sum up the events from this last week...Rehearsals are going great. We finished last night earlier then Tuesday night and things seemed to run smoother. (My assistant told me later, she felt it was because I had my "happy juice," aka, Pepsi.)

Also last night I was able to meet the boy who will play Aeneas son. I love that kid! He was/is a lot of fun to work with. Which gives me some "new found"...whatever to continue. I'm sure y'all will enjoy his performance.

This weekend we'll be building the flats which we'll use to "set" the stage so-to-speak. And everything else seems to be coming together well. (Not like I wanted, but if everything happened the way we wanted it to happen, life would be pretty boring. Besides, that's the beauty of live theatre.)

From the Director's Desk:

2009-07-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

What a week this has been. We open in two weeks (from tomorrow). The cast is looking great and everything (on stage) is coming together. I still have one spot in the orchestra to fill. A violist. And then I'll have the full orchestra we require. I also was able to get the tickets printed last night and they will be available to purchase (so you can have them in your hot, little (or big) hand).

I hope y'all are looking forward to coming and seeing this very unique production of one of the world's greatest and "truest" operas. In fact, it is considered to be Henry Purcell's only tre opera.

- Joey

From the Director's Desk:

2009-07-24T13:37:00.001-07:00

So today, I looked at my calender and realized something. WE OPEN IN THREE WEEKS!!!!! Of course, naturally, I feel completely unprepared. As I do with every performance. So I keep telling myself, "Steve." (That's what I call myself.) "Steve, you've got nothing to worry about. You've got a talented cast, who know what they're doing. No if you can just find a way to hid your gray hair..." Don't worry, I never answer myself. Well, never mind. I plead the 5th.

Don't forget to reserve your tickets today.

From the Director's Desk:

2009-07-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post, we've hit some bumps along the way. One of them happened about three hours before rehearsal last Thursday. We were getting ready to rehearse The Kiss by Alex Broun when I received a text from the director, Danica Yates, that Angela (one of the characters) has quit. We began a frantic search to replace her. I posted an ad on playersanonymous.org and we have received about ten interested people. We will be reading with them tonight, to see which of them, we feel, will fill the part best.

Also tonight, the cast for Dido and Aeneas will be able to rehearse with the conductor. The conductor, Sean Rogers, has come from Boise, Idaho to rehearse with them today. This will be a great treat for them. Sean is an amazing musician.

- Joey

From the Director's Desk:

2009-07-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

Dido and Aeneas Update:

Well, we've hit a few bumps...but despite that we are still moving forward. Maybe, because I'm stubborn. Who knows. We blocked all the scenes with the witches this week and they look amazing. I hope y'all are as excited as I am to see this very unique production of Purcell's "only true" opera.

Please see the column on the right side of the screen for ticket information.

Dido and Aeneas Update

2009-07-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

From the director's desk:

We had our first rehearsal last Tuesday. (Well, okay, we've been rehearsing music for almost two months...) What I meant was, we had our first BLOCKING rehearsal last Tuesday. I thought it went well. For most of the cast, this was the first time that they had seen each other. Perhaps new friendships were made? I don't know. I was too busy working on staging the suicide to notice. Yes. Yes, Dido will kill herself at the end. She's not just going to die of a broken heart. That's lame. We have a sword that she will stab herself with. (Well, hopefully not really, it'll just be pretend. I hope.)

Dance Auditions

2009-06-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

We are currently preparing to hold auditions for the dance numbers in Dido and Aeneas. Needed are one (1) male and one (1) female. There are five (5) dance movements.

Auditions will be held during rehearsal on July 7th at the LDS Church (LDS dress standards must be observed) located at 87 E 7100 S in Midvale (go here for directions) between 7 pm and 8 pm. (Other times may be available, please contact Joey by phone, 801.566.3426 or email, unipac150@gmail.com to check on other times.)

Tickets for August Production

2009-06-17T11:20:00.001-07:00

Tickets for our upcoming production of Dido and Aeneas (August 14th and 15th at the Midvale Performing Arts Building) will be on sale soon.

In the mean time, you may reserve your tickets by phone - 801.566.3426 or email - unipac150@gmail.com. Simply leave your name, phone number, the quantity of tickets and whether those tickets are General Admission, Student, Senior or Military.

Or send a check for the correct amount (also indicating the quantity of tickets and the type of tickets) with a self-address, stamped envelope. We will than mail your tickets to you. Otherwise, they will be in will-call the night of the performance.

The address is:

611 W Heather St #5 - Midvale, Utah 84047

Ticket prices are $10 for General admission and $8 for Student, Senior, and Military. Children 5 and under are FREE.

UNIPAC will be donating 20% of all ticket sales to Homes For Our Troops, a non-profit organization that builds homes for severly wounded soliders. Visit their website here.

Dido and Aeneas Chorus Auditions

2009-06-07T15:15:00.001-07:00

We are still in need of singers for the chorus. Rehearsals are held every Saturday at 10 am until 12 OR 1 pm. Rehearsals are divided so not everyone is needed for the full three hours. Beginning July 7th, we will add Tuesday evening (7-9) rehearsals in addition to the Saturday morning rehearsals. There will be no rehearsal on July 4th. Other rehearsals are August 1st with the conductor and orchestra (in American Fork at the Alpine Tabernacle), August 6th (at the usual place in Midvale) and the week of August 10th - August 13th. (The 13th is the final dress rehearsal.) ALL REHEARSALS WILL BE HELD IN MIDVALE.

If you are interested or have any questions please contact Joey at unipac150@gmail.com, 801.566.3426 or 208.880.9515.

Performances will be held at the Midvale Performing Arts Building (in Midvale) on August 14th and 15th.

This production is directed by Joey Calkins. The performances will be conducted by Sean Rogers. Music Director is Raveny Richens.

Dido and Aeneas

2009-05-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

An opera in three acts by Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate
A synopsis and commentary by Joey Calkins

The events leading up to the story of Dido and Aeneas are even more complicated than the opera itself. It all started when Jove (Jupiter or Zeus depending on your nationality…) decides he wants to replace his daughter, Hebe, as the cup bearer of the gods with Ganymede, a Trojan prince. Ganymede was abducted by Jove and than made his lover. (This was common practice among the ancient Greeks. It was part of “coming of age.” It actually had nothing to do with sex, well, at least openly. But that’s another story.) This whole incident made Juno (Hera), Jove’s wife and Hebe’s mother mad, and, of course, jealous. But since she couldn’t do anything to Jove (the head god), she instead hated the Trojans. Which was one of the events leading to the fall of Troy. The second thing that really ticked Juno off was King Priam’s son, Paris (or Alexander) was asked to choose the loveliest among Juno, Venus, and Athena. (Something about an apple…) His choice of Venus (who, coincidently, is the goddess of love and beauty) really made Juno mad. So, in addition to her daughter being replaced by the Trojan prince Ganymede as the gods’ cup-bearer, another Trojan Prince, Paris, chose another as the “loveliest.” What woman wouldn’t be upset about that? So she cursed the Trojans, which eventually led to the fall of Troy (remember the Trojan Horse?), where King Priam, who was king of Troy at the time, was killed, and presumably, so was Paris. Hell hath no wrath as a woman scorned.

Aeneas barely escapes with his son, Ascanius, his father, Anchises (second cousin of King Priam), and several others. His wife, Creusa, was killed. (Did I mention that Venus is Aeneas’ mother?) They travel for six years. Anchises dies on the journey and he is buried in Siciliy, where they stop for a time. A storm drives them to the North African coast, where they enter the city of Carthage, ruled by Queen Dido (also known as Elissa).

Dido allows them to take refuge there; she being a refugee herself. She fled her homeland of Tyre several years earlier when Phygmalion, her brother, killed her husband to get his gold. You see, when Phy and Dido’s father died he decided to leave the rule of Tyre a joint rule between the two of them. But the people decided they didn’t like that and accepted Phy as their king; though he was yet still a boy. Phy was told that Acerbas, Dido’s husband, who was also her uncle and priest of Melqart (Hercules) and therefore second in power to King Pygmalion, had a large amount of treasure, so Acerbas was killed. Later, Acerbas appeared to Dido in a dream; telling her who killed him and where the gold really was. It turned out to be sacks of sand which Dido had dropped in the ocean; presumably as an offering to the spirit of Acerbas. But whatever floats…or sinks your boat, I guess. Dido and her followers (which included her sisters, Anna and Thais, and several friends) left and came to the shores of modern North Africa and founded Carthage. Dido swore to be faithful to her dead husband and vowed to live a chaste life. That didn’t last long! After Aeneas came, things were much different. Aeneas and Dido fell in love, which leads us to the beginning of the opera.

ACT I: Anna tries to comfort Dido by telling her to, “shake the clouds from off [her] brow….” Dido admits that she is “pressed with torment, not to be confessed.” The court tries to cheer her up, saying that maybe an arrangement of marriage between their queen and the Trojan prince would be a good thing; “When monarchs unit, how happy their fate….” (What, like getting married will make you instantly happy? Please!) But wait a second. What happened to Dido’s vow to remain faithful to her dead husband? Good question.

Venus sent her other son, Cupid (Eros), Aeneas half-brother, disguised as Ascanius to Dido where he offered the gifts expected from a guest. (The liberetto and Virgil’s Aeneid are ambiguous as to what that, or, those gifts might be. For all we know it was a bag of sand with ‘gold’ written on the side.) Dido falls in (motherly) love with “Ascanius” and as a result falls in love with Aeneas. (Two for the price of one?) Juno, who still doesn’t like the Trojans (but loves the Carthians), does not want Aeneas to fulfill his destiny of restoring Troy on the “Hesperian shore” (Italy). So she strikes up a deal with Venus with the intention of distracting him from his fate. (But even Jove is subject to Fate, I guess she forgot that.)

Eventually, Aeneas enters the scene. (Finally, we’ve only been hearing about him for fifteen minutes!) Anna announces his arrival. “See, see, your royal guest appears; how god-like is the form he bears!” Aeneas offers a proposal of marriage. But he couldn’t just say, “Will you marry me?” Oh no, he has to go on and on about how “Aeneas has no fate but you!” And, naturally, the chorus has to assist. Than Aeneas continues, “If not for mine, for empire’s sake…” In other words, “If you don’t marry me for me (ie, because I love you) than at least marry me for the sake of our empires.” Than he says, “If you don’t marry me, I’ll die!” Okay, not really, but what he says is really close to that. “Ah! Make not in a hopeless fire a hero fall and Troy once more expire.” (Oh, please!)

Anna encourages Dido to “pursue [her] conquest, Love.” She than exclaims, “Her eyes confess the flame her tongue denies.” The eyes ARE the window to the soul after all. Than the chorus comes in (again!) and tells Dido the exact same thing! Only with different words. Dido accepts his proposal and takes up the sword he offers. That sword must’ve had diamonds in the hilt or else no woman would’ve accepted it as an engagement ring. Than the chorus does the first of many “happy” dances.

ACT II: What opera would be complete without some type of nemesis? The witches come into play and plot the fall of Carthage. Among them are Syntyche and Thais. Yes, Dido’s sister. The head witch, lovingly referred to as Beldame*, says “The Queen of Carthage whom we hate, as we do all in prosperous state…” So they plot to kill Dido. But actually, they are not going to merely kill her; they want to destroy her. They want her to die a slow and painful death. (Finally, the story is starting to get good.) They plan to “conjure [up] a storm” which will drive their (Dido and Aeneas’) hunting party back to court. At which time, Beldame’s “trusty elf, in the form of Mercury himself, as sent from Jove…” will appear to Aeneas and “chide” his stay in Carthage and tell him he must fulfill his Fate and continue on to “seek Italian ground.” The chorus of witches sings, “In a deep vaulted cell,” which is commonly referred to as the “Echo Chorus.” (That might have something to do with the fact that they are in a cave. Just a thought.) They dance, run off and fool around in the dark. This is after all a mixed chorus.

The hunting party with Dido and Aeneas, Anna, Ascanius and others are out and about in the woods. Dido goes to her tent to be alone while Aeneas goes off in search of his prey. (I thought he just had it a moment ago.) Anna sings of Diana, the goddess of chastity. (Dido could’ve learned a thing or two from Diana.) Diana was a virgin (duh!) huntress. An older woman of the court tells the tale of Actaeon. Actaeon was a hunter who was hunting (no, really?) and came upon Diana and several Nymphs bathing. Diana didn’t like that, so she turned him into a stag and set his own hounds after him. The hounds tore him apart. Than the chorus does a happy dance. (The idea of a peeping-tom being turned into a stag and then being torn apart by a bunch of dogs excites them, I guess.)

And speaking of bleeding animals…Aeneas comes back as Dido exits her tent. (She’s finally done washing her hair.) “Behold, upon my bending spear a monster’s head stands bleeding. With tushes far exceeding those did Venus’ huntsman tear!” And he holds out a bleeding head. (If I were a woman, I’d be more likely to take the sword as a love offering over the bleeding carcass. But that’s just me.) And than, you’ll never guess what happens next! Okay maybe you will if you’ve ever been associated with a soprano…She doesn’t even acknowledge him! Typical. The tenor does everything he knows how to do, to woe the soprano and she’s only got eyes for the baritone! However, in this case, there is no baritone…hmm. Anyway, she exclaims, “The skies are clouded; Hark! Hark! How thunder rends the mountain oaks asunder!” Translation, “There’s a storm comin’ boy and you’re standing between me and my castle.” (Remember the ‘deep vaulted cell?’ Remember the witches? “Just you wait ‘enry ‘iggens. Just you wait!” Oops, wrong show.)

Anna notices the storm as well and she makes the biggest understatement of the year when she sings, “…this open field no shelter from the storm can yield.” Than she tells everyone, “…[h]aste to town….” And naturally, the chorus must repeat EXACTLY what she just said. So when they’ve finally exhausted themselves and run for cover, (can you guess who was at the head of the ‘mob?’) Aeneas finally realizes what’s going on (tenors aren’t exactly the brightest crayons in the box) and he starts to head back to town with “haste.” But alas, Mercury (well it’s not really Mercury, it’s actually an elf disguised as Mercury. You know elves, the big pointy ears. Beldame mentioned having one.), appears and says, “Stay, Prince, and hear great Jove’s command.” (“The trickesy little [elf]”.) He (don’t let the fact that he sounds a lot like a ‘she’ confuse you) convinces Aeneas that he must leave Carthage (presumably forever). And finally Aeneas gets to sing an aria. It’s a rather short aria, but it gets the job done. The gist of it is, he blames the gods for having to leave Dido, he doesn’t know what to say to “pacify” his “injured Queen,” and than he says, “[but] I obey your will; but with more ease could die.” Aeneas! Where do I begin? First off, that wasn’t one of the gods! It was an evil elf pretending to be a god. You obviously weren’t paying attention in Sunday School when they talked about how to tell the difference between a god and an impersonator!

Aeneas than rushes off in search of Secundis, his right hand man, to have him gather the crew. “We sail for Italia.” Of course he didn’t specify as to when…Idiot. They also need to pack enough food so they can stop off at Sicily and dig up Anchises before they head to Italy. Sounds a bit reminiscent of Dracula, doesn’t it?

ACT III: Early the next morning Secundis finds the sailors on the dock lounging around with their women when he comes in and tells them, “Come away fellow sailors. Your anchors be weighing…Take a boozy short leave of your nymphs (not the nymphs that hang out with Diana) of the shore. And silence their mourning with vows of returning, but never intending to visit them more.” And once again, the chorus repeats it. (What? Is the chorus incapable of learning new words? Apparently Nahum Tate thought so.) And than they do a happy dance; even the women. They were getting tired of the sailors anyway. When you’ve had one sailor, you’ve had them all, right? They leave to make their preparations.

Beldame appears with her minions. They rejoice over the departure of Aeneas and his crew. She than proclaims, “Our next motion must be to storm [Dido’s] lover on the ocean…Elissa bleeds tonight and Carthage flames tomorrow!” Enter chorus singing (you guessed it) the same thing that Beldame just finished singing. (Of course, this time there is a minor difference, but it’s so small it’s not worth mentioning.) Than they dance another happy dance.

Dido and Anna are walking along the docks. Dido says to Anna, “Get thee to a nunnery.” (Okay, that was Hamlet…) Dido says, “Your counsel all is urg’d in vain. To Earth and Heav’n I will complain; to Earth and Heav’n, why do I call? Earth and Heav’n conspire my fall.” Anna sees Aeneas approaching and tells Dido. Aeneas says, how can I obey “the god’s decree and tell you we must part?”

Dido calls him a “deceitful crocodile.” Aeneas announces, “In spite of Jove’s command I’ll stay [with you], Offend the gods and Love obey.” She basically tells him to “drop dead.” Than they argue. You’d think he’d know, having been married once before, he even has a son as a result, that you don’t argue with a woman, they’re always right. But like I mentioned before, tenors aren’t the brightest crayons in the box. So he finally gets the picture and leaves. But just before he does, while they’re arguing, Dido says “To Death I’ll fly if longer you delay.” So, what she’s saying is, if he (Aeneas) sticks around any longer, she’s going to die, because he’s there. Than Aeneas leaves, she got her wish, he’s gone for good. Than just like a woman, “But Death, alas! I cannot shun; Death must come when he is gone.” ARGH! I wish Dido would make up her mind! Now, because he’s gone, she’s going to die? “Damned if you do; damned if you don’t.” Or in this case, “dead if you don’t; dead if you do.”

The chorus, as if from Olympus and not repeating something someone previously sang (a first, it seems), tries to comfort Dido. Dido calls for her sister, Anna. “…darkness shades me. On they bosom let me rest; More I would but Death invades me; Death is now a welcome guest.” Than one of the most famous soprano arias…“When I am laid in earth…let my wrongs create no trouble…Remember me, but…forget my fate.” (aka Dido’s Lament). The members of the court prepare a pyre so that all of Aeneas’ abandoned belongings may be burned. (He left in a hurry. I can just hear him when they get out to sea, “Secundis have you seen my toothbrush?” “No sir. Did you leave it next to Dido’s bathroom sink?”) The sword (engagement ring) is brought last. Dido takes it (all the while singing) up to the pyre herself. At the conclusion of the singing, she stabs herself. Anna and the crowd let out a gasp. – What you weren’t expecting it? She’d only been talking about dying for the last ten minutes! – Anna holds her dying sister until the orchestra’s conclusion of the aria.

The crowd approaches, singing (not repeated, they ARE smart after all) “With drooping wings ye Cupids come and scatter roses on her tomb. Soft and gentle as her heart; Keep here your watch and never, never part.” Throughout the singing, the men gently pick Dido up and carry her to the interior of the palace. The rest of the crowd gathers Aeneas’ abandoned belongings (I guess they’re going to burn them later…?) Cupid, Aeneas’s brother and god of love, comes and scatters roses everywhere. Iris, goddess of the rainbow, is sent by Juno to release Dido’s spirit from her body. Hades, the god of the underworld and Juno (aka the one who started this whole bloody mess), await the arrival of Dido, Queen of Carthage. Cupid joins them; the roses all scattered. Dido arrives, escorted by Iris. Iris joins Hades, Juno, and Cupid looking down on the scene. Aeneas has made his passage to the underworld to talk to Dido. (I thought she was quite clear earlier myself, but some men just can’t take ‘no’ for an answer.) She rejects him (again!) and sees Acerbas, her husband, and goes to him. They embrace and enter into Hades, followed by Hades himself. Juno, Cupid, and Iris return to Mount Olympus, leaving Aeneas all alone.

* Beldame, according to wiktionary.org, means “an old woman, particularly an ugly one.” It comes from late Middle English (1400-1450) bel (fine) + dam (mother). How they get “old woman” out of “fine mother” I’ll never know.

Cast List

2009-04-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

DIDO & AENEAS

Directed by Joey Calkins

Music Director: Raveny Richens

Conductor: Sean Rogers

Dido: Andrea da Silva

Anna: Clara Hurtado Lee

Aeneas: TBD

Beldame: Valaura Arnold

Sophia: Josie Angerhofer

Syntcyche: Jenny Pierce

Thais: Alene Wecker

Spirit: Jenny Pierce

Secundis: TBD

Chorus: Cheri Christensen, (Nine more TBD)

THE KISS

Directed by Danica Yates

Kent - TBD

Emma - Jenny Pierce

Roland - Kolby Yates

Angela - TBD

A Matter of Husbands

Directed by Joey Calkins

Famous Actress: Cheri Christensen

Earnest Young Woman: Alene Wecker

Confession (Scene)

Directed by Joey Calkins

Cole: Joey Calkins

Rehearsals for Dido & Aeneas will begin May 2nd. Rehearsals for The Kiss and Husbands will begin June 11th.

Auditions

2009-03-30T10:47:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to announce auditions for our 2009/2010 season. Auditions will be held on Saturday, April 18th at the Piano Gallery (650 S. State Street) in Orem, Utah from 1 pm to 5 pm.

Auditions will also be held on Wednesday, April 22nd in Midvale BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

Auditions for:

Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell

The Kiss by Alex Broun

and

His Return by Percival Wilde

~*~*~

His Return

(1m/3w)

His Return is a one-act play about John and Helen Hartley. John is wounded during World War I and is sent home. His wife has a surprise for him.

The Kiss

(2m/2w)

A Ten-Minute play. Kent becomes annoyed by Roland's and Angela's public display of affection.

Dido and Aeneas

Leads: Dido (soprano or Mezzo soprano), Anna (soprano), Beldame (Mezzo soprano), Aeneas (tenor)

Principles: Sophia (soprano or mezzo soprano), Syntyche (soprano), Thais, (soprano or mezzo soprano), Spirit (counter-tenor), Secundis (tenor or baritone)

Chorus of SATB singers, principle dancers, and children.

Music Director: Raveny Richens.

Conductor: Sean Rogers

All productions will be directed by Joey Calkins.

NOTES:

You may audition for all three productions.

Plays:Those auditioning for the plays, please have a short monologue prepared.

Opera:Those auditioning for the opera, please prepare an appropriate song selection. (An appropriate selection would be an aria, art song, music theatre piece, etc.) PROVIDE YOUR OWN ACCOMPANIST.

Regretably, we do not have the budget to pay performers. All positions are volunteer.

Performances will be held August 14-15 at the Midvale Performing Arts Building in Midvale, Utah.

If available, please bring your resume and a headshot.

Dance auditions will not be held at this time.

Questions? Call Joey at 208.880.9515 or 801.566.3426 or email at unipac150@gmail.com

2009 Season

2008-08-28T11:47:00.000-07:00

UNIPAC is proud to annouce our 2009 Season. In August 2009, we will be doing Leonard Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti. Tahiti is a day in the lives of Sam and Dinah. Whose marriage is not as strong as it once was. For the second half of the evening we will premiere Gettysburg, a one-act musical play written by Joey Calkins.

Auditions will be announced shortly. For more information please email us at unipac150@gmail.com

Inaugural Performance -

2008-07-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

Utah and Idaho Performing Arts Company's first performance will take place on August 12, 2008 at First United Presbyterian Church in Nampa Idaho at 7:00 p.m.

We will be presenting A Hand of Bridge by Samuel Barber, with libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti.

By arrangement with G. Schirmer, INC. publisher and copyright owner.

Cast:

Michal Jarolimek (Baritone) - David, a florid businessman

Jerusha Cox (Soprano) - Geraldine, his middle-aged wife

Joey Calkins (Tenor) - Bill, a lawyer

Dani Coles (Soprano) - Sally, his wife

Music Director/Pianist: Sean Rogers

A HAND OF BRIDGE notes

2008-06-24T18:25:00.000-07:00

Looking behind the faces in Samuel Barber’s A Hand of Bridge an essay by Elizabeth Smith

The characters of A Hand of Bridge are two couples. They are presented as separate individuals with unique desires. The only interaction between the characters is the actual playing of the card game. The “card music,” which accompanies this action, introduces, intertwines, and even interrupts the brief arias with its jazz-influenced swung rhythms and a quasi-walking bass line. While the music communicates a relaxed atmosphere, it is more appropriately interpreted as a “poker face” for each character is fronting their happiness. Barber uses a melodic link, which through careful construction, allows the passage to blend with a variety of music—essential as the card music occurs at various points throughout the opera. The repetitions within the music suggest not only that the game is a common, everyday occurrence, but also reflect the cyclical nature of the actual card game. With meticulously planned text expressed over the card music, Menotti foreshadows the underlying themes of the opera, suggesting conflicts within the characters’ lives that have occurred outside the timeframe of the opera. These ideas are cloaked within the coded communicative properties of the bidding process in the game of bridge.

For Sally and Bill, their bids of hearts represent their desires to be loved. Sally’s bid, raising to two in the same suit, could indicate that she is only somewhat satisfied with her partner’s suit—her husband’s love. Sally’s exclamation “The Queen, You have trumped the Queen,” suggests her awareness of Bill’s actions. Her scrutiny of his misplay of trump, which is hearts, signifies her observations of Bill’s misuse of his desires for love. Therefore, the game itself suggests that Sally consciously allows Bill to indulge his mistress without confrontation as she continues to “bid” for her husband’s love.

In a striking contrast, neither Geraldine nor David speaks of hearts. As Geraldine’s aria will reveal, her life is as loveless as her bridge hand is heartless. Traditionally in bridge, passing to your partner’s initial bid, as David has done, communicates a lack of support for the bid. Here it can be interpreted quite literally as representing David’s lack of support (no love) for his wife. With the cards stacked against her, bidding from the bottom of the barrel with clubs, the lowest ranking suit in this game, Geraldine continues to make the best out of the cards she has been dealt, the life that she has been given. Nonetheless her bid is an un-winnable contract; her marriage is without love. Finally, when offered a perfect opportunity to speak of love following Sally and Bill’s statements of “Hearts,” David says “Trump!” As hearts have been declared trump for this game, David has chosen a term expressing his desires for authority and power over one of love. The opening bids of this game of bridge show the four characters intensely long for unattainable desires. However, only three distinct passions are communicated: Sally and Bill exude a desire to be intensely and intimately loved, Geraldine longs for a loving platonic relationship, and David dreams of a life in which he is a ruler with power and authority over the masses who are to serve and respect him, both socially and sexually.

Barber’s structural division of the opera supports the interpretation of this three-part thematic schema. The first section contains both Sally’s and Bill’s aria, the second Geraldine’s aria, and the third David’s aria. The sections are separated by card music interludes and each section lasts approximately three minutes. While Menotti has saturated the opening text of the opera with the fundamental themes via the bidding process, the text and music of the arias illustrate explicitly the characters’ unfulfilled desires. Sally’s aria features two markedly different sections. The first has an almost obsessive, driving, repetitive eighth-note melody, which sets the words “I want to buy that hat of peacock feathers.” The dramatic narrative of the first section has a tri-fold construction. On the surface, Sally is desperate to buy a hat of peacock feathers. Sally’s obsession with materialistic pleasures is, on the middle ground, a substitution for the intimacy of her marriage. Sally’s underlying background-level longing is to be the object of her husband’s desire. Sally seems to have lost her identity in the real world and escapes to a fantastical world centering her attentions on buying a hat of peacock feathers. Sally’s observation of her husband’s affair seems to have sparked a narcissistic response. In her self-admiration, Sally obsessively and fantastically takes to the task of adorning herself with a hat of peacock feathers, a symbol of vanity. It seems unlikely that Sally would confront Bill about the affair for the confrontation would require admittance that Sally was, for some reason, physically undesirable.

Barber sets Sally’s melodic line with an accompaniment in a distinctly different key. This bifurcated tonality expresses Sally’s internal conflict. The resulting dissonances are accented by leaps in the melodic line that coincide with the word “peacock.” The music mimics Sally’s dramatic narrative of aggravation and frustration with a gradual increase and subsequent explosion of dissonance in the musical narrative. The second section is more melodic than the first rhythmic and percussive section. This second section functions to connect Sally’s projection of desire toward a material object as an intoxicatingly euphoric escape from the brutal reality of her husband’s affair. Sally’s melody represents her psychosis as her melody dances blissfully in C-flat major despite the accompaniment and key signature that suggest A-flat major. The contrasting section supports that Sally is aware of her husband’s affair. Its pleasurable world of fantasy suggests a reality worthy of escape. Sally’s desires have three levels. The text focuses on Sally’s obsession with hats. The music creates a feeling of fantasy that can be interpreted as Sally’s substitution of materialist goods for her emotional desires. Finally, the combination of card play, text, and music suggests that Sally is in search of her husband’s love.

Bill’s monologue describes his longing for the intimate company of his mistress Cymbaline. Like Sally’s music, Bill’s also exemplifies characteristics of an obsessive fantasy. While Sally’s aria exhibits tonal conflict through its dissonance and percussive rhythmic scheme, Bill’s music is a danceable, flowing melody. The fanatical temperament of the fantasy is written out in the repetition of the three-note scalar passages while the libretto further expresses his fixation via the string of six questions that Bill states during the aria as well as the list of names of other possible suitors for his mistress. Although he states that he would like for Cymbaline to be his wife, the continuation of the fantasy music in both the melody and the accompaniment suggests that this statement is spurious. The physical nature of Bill’s desire is supported by the change in the accompaniment from the consonant, tonal harmonic structure of the fantasy music to one that features oscillation of dissonant intervals as he expresses his physical desires to take Cymbaline home and “strangle in the dark!” As Bill and Sally seem to have similar desires the question still remains: why are Bill’s desires not directed at his wife? Both characters have been given music that suggests notions of obsession and fantasy. The crucial factor, however, is the direction of these obsessions and fantasies. Sally’s monologue is a product of the reality with which she is faced. It is not her actual desire, but rather a temporary escape from her unfulfilled desire. Bill, on the other hand, wants his imaginary world to be the reality. He longs for an imaginary scenario, and therefore, it can never become reality.

Geraldine’s monologue expresses her desire to love her mother who is deathly ill. In her aria she sings of her desire for not only someone to love her, but also for someone to love. Geraldine cannot relate to the people in her life on a personal level. She remembers her father not as a person, but as a faded photograph, and associates her husband and son with the stock market and football, respectively. Her psychological conflicts are played out in the tonal conflict between her G major melody (Geraldine’s emotional state) and the B-flat major accompaniment (her unfulfilling life). The half-step motion in the melody reflects Geraldine’s emotional struggle—never quite stable. As Geraldine’s aria turns to the subject of her gravely ill mother, she achieves a moment of stability as the melody stays in B-flat major for six measures. In the absence of a bifurcated tonality, we can suspect Geraldine has found someone to love her. Unfortunately, Geraldine’s wish to experience her mother’s love is doomed. As she sings, “hatching for herself the black wings of death,” the B-flat major tonality is abandoned, returning to her earlier G major. The accompaniment also returns to its earlier pattern. Thus, neither Geraldine nor her unfulfilling life has changed. Geraldine’s aria concludes with the words, “I am learning to love you.” Her end is not without struggle, as Barber musically depicts requiring both a poco allargando and diminuendo with the approach to the highest pitch of the aria. Unfortunately, Geraldine falls short of attaining love as her climatic pitch descends to conclude her aria.

David, too, is without love; however, love is not the object of his desires. David’s aria expresses his desires to be rich and powerful: “a Rockefeller, the King of Diamonds, a Sultan of America.” These desires suggest that his current social status prevents him from achieving happiness. As David has virtually no relationship with his wife, his desires for power suggest the need for a relationship with someone else. The musical setting of these desires is not forceful or empowering, but rather a lamenting fixation on the drudgery of his life. David’s melody is built on the pentatonic scale G-A-B-D-E (sol-la-ti-re-mi) while the accompaniment drones the pedal tones E and B (mi and ti). Adding to the ethnic sounds of the pentatonic melody and drone bass, the notion of exoticism is expressed in the libretto with reference to a Nubian slave. It is more prominently played out stylistically in the instrumentation of the winding “snake charming” countermelody scored in the oboe and clarinet parts as well as the delicately added percussion featuring castanets and triangle. Singing of twenty naked boys and twenty naked girls, it seems evident that David’s sexual fantasies are purely physical—and perhaps deviant—with no intimate love. Barber’s use of exoticism in this aria is an exploitation of David’s cross-over gender characteristics, which could also suggest that his marriage is not “traditionally” functional. Just as David’s fantasy has no outlet for personal intimacy, his marriage has no outlet for him either. Menotti’s libretto tells us that David hides his own book by Havelock Ellis, which in the mid-twentieth century, was popular for its discussions of the psychology of sex in society and marriage. This hidden book could be a symbol for David’s suppressed deviant sexual desires. Barber supports this notion in the musical narrative as the rhythmic setting of this text appears to resemble an anxiety-ridden secret through the rhythmic dissonances played out with triplets and syncopated sixteenth dotted-eighth rhythms. Barber’s setting of the second portion of David’s aria further depicts David’s social displacement. Here his music moves bombastically from chord to chord without functioning in a key. Metrically, David’s melody shifts from groupings of threes to twos, rarely supporting the notated bar line. These musical features reflect David’s interaction with his wife Geraldine. David executes his daily activities with no consideration to his wife or her desires. David and Geraldine do not relate to each other as a couple and have completely different desires. Consequently, their arias have contrasting musical styles and they bid opposing suits in their card game.

Looking at just the surface of Menotti’s libretto, Sally would simply want to buy a hat; Bill would be just another adulterous husband; Geraldine a depressed housewife; and David your average worker dreaming of riches. Instead, the text and the music, the librettist and the composer, all coalesce to create a rich and multi-layered narrative of A Hand of Bridge. The opera becomes an exciting tale of thwarted desires expressed through the communicative properties of bridge as the characters mask their internal conflicts with their best poker-face.