June 3, 2003
UT Tyler Faculty, Students to Perform With Opera LongviewDr. Mark Johnson and Dr. Molly Johnson, assistant professors of music at The University of Texas at Tyler, will perform with Opera Longview in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro.”
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 6, and 3 p.m. Sunday, June 8, at the T.G. Field Auditorium in the downtown Longview theatre district. A reception at UT Tyler Longview University will follow the Friday performance. A special student performance will be at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 4.
The opera will be sung in Italian with supertitles, which are a simultaneous translation displayed above the stage.
The Johnsons will perform the roles of Don Curzio, the “swayable” lawyer, and Marcellina, the plotting housekeeper. These appearances mark their professional opera debut in the East Texas region.Other cast members from UT Tyler include music majors Miranda Newman and Sarah Shipley, both students of Molly Johnson, and Suzi Pundt, senior lecturer in biology, all of whom are members of the opera chorus.
“Derrith Bondurant and the Opera Longview board are doing a superb job presenting professional opera in East Texas, and we’re very pleased and excited about the opportunity to represent UT Tyler on the stage,” said Mark Johnson, tenor. “It’s also great to work again with our good friend, Jerry Steichen, artistic director of Opera Longview and assistant conductor at New York City Opera.”“I worked previously with stage director Laura Alley in a production with Baton Rouge Opera, and she is wonderful,” Molly Johnson, mezzo-soprano, added. “It’s been a delight to work with her again in this production. In fact, the entire cast and production staff is top-notch. And I’m thrilled that two of our music students are getting to experience being part of professional production–what an opportunity for them!”
For tickets or additional information call the box office at 903-553-9800 or visit www.operalongview.com.
Contact:
Emily Battle
903.565.5604
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