Graduate performs with Washington Opera

IU graduate Hoo-Ryoung Hwang has been an apprentice at the Washington Opera for the past two years. But her big break came only recently. \nOn Sept. 6 -- the opening night for "Die Fledermaus" -- soprano Maki Mori, who normally sang the part of Adele in the opera, couldn't perform, said Jennifer Johnson, public relations associate for the Washington Opera. Hwang was asked to step in for the first three performances of the opera. Mori will return for the three closing performances.\n"It's pretty rare for this to happen," Johnson said in a telephone interview. "Hoo wasn't scheduled to sing in the opera. She was covering the role, but this shows that our young artists are so well prepared, and can step in like this and sing throughout the performances."\nHwang, a former student of IU voice professor Costanza Cuccaro, is one of the fellows in the Young Artist Program of the Americas. \n"After college, some students are still too young and not ready to start their careers right away," Cuccaro explained. "Apprenticeship programs like the one at the Washington Opera are an opportunity for a young artist to spend a few years fine-tuning language and voice skills."\nHwang, who received an Artist's Diploma from IU in 2001, serves as back up for several roles in Johann Strauss Jr.'s "Die Fledermaus" and was covering the role of Adele, the coquettish and mischievous maid to the opera's main heroine. \nHwang, 31, made her Washington Opera debut as a Cretan Girl in "Idomeneo" and covered Ilia in "Idomeneo" and Zerlina in "Don Giovanni." The Seoul, South Korea, native also sang the parts of Mimi in IU's production of "La Boheme," Susanna in IU's "The Marriage of Figaro" and performed the role of Ellen in "Lakme" this summer with the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C.\n"Giving the role to one of their apprentices really speaks well about the Washington Opera," Cuccaro said. "Hoo-Ryoung must have proved to them that the apprenticeship program is really working. The company must really put faith into its apprentices because they could have asked for a professional singer from New York."\nCuccaro said that during her time at IU, Hwang was a dedicated student who always strove to improve her voice. Hwang also returns to IU often for additional classes, constantly working on her voice.\n"She is an ideal student, one of the hardest working I've ever taught," Cuccaro said. \nAs an apprentice at the Washington Opera, Hwang studies under the direction of Placido Domingo and a host of other musical celebrities from around the world. \nAccording to the Washington Opera Web site, www.dc-opera.org, the program is designed for singers on the verge of international careers and includes workshops with world-renowned singers, directors and coaches who work with the Young Artists to guide them in their transition from singer to artist and help them build long-lasting, healthy careers. In a given year, more than 50 singers from around the world audition for this program. Hwang originally came to the Washington Opera as a summer intern and was later invited to stay as an apprentice, said Katherine Burgun, spokesperson for the IU School of Music.\n"Hoo-Ryoung is a high soprano, but her voice is very creamy," Cuccaro said. "She is a very good actress, very conscientious about technique."\n-- Contact Arts Editor Jane Charney at echarney@indiana.edu.