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Fort Carson
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Opera Colorado performs at Fort Carson. Photo by Andrea Stauffer, courtesy of Fort Carson |
The Fort Carson performance was in an unusual venue, at least for a military base. Fort Carson has a performing arts center that features a small "black box" style theater; the audience of approximately 110 people could almost reach out and touch the singers from Opera Colorado. The base had a very positive response to this event, needing to turn away ticket requests once the seats were all reserved.
The education director at Opera Colorado served as a lively narrator for the performance, which was organized by country of origin of each musical work. The first half of the performance was opera, followed by a brief intermission, and then American opera and musical theater. Featured operas and Broadway hits included Carmen, The Barber of Seville, The Ballad of Baby Doe, Porgy and Bess, and South Pacific. (The Ballad of Baby Doe is a story local to this region of Colorado, which particularly fascinated the audience.) The intimate space also lent itself well to reflective pieces such as "Must the Winter Come So Soon" from Vanessa.
An educational activity had taken place earlier in the day at Mountainside Elementary, located on base. Singers from the Opera Colorado Outreach Ensemble performed "The Island of Tulipatan" for approximately 400 students in grades K-5, who responded enthusiastically. Students were well prepared for the event, eagerly raising their hands to answer questions such as "Who knows what an overture is?" Students wore dresses and suits for this special occasion, which took place in the school's multipurpose room.
Concert program (PDF)(492K)
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