Music Works to perform opera

Opera fans, do not despair. Your wait is over. While IU's opera season does not kick off until late September with "La Bohème," Bloomington Music Works is presenting "Three For All," a trio of one-act operas, beginning Sept. 2 at the John Waldron Arts Center Auditorium. Included in the evening's repertoire is "The Impresario" by Wolfgang Mozart, "The Telephone" by Gian Carlo Menotti and "The Stoned Guest" by P. D. Q. Bach.\nBloomington Music Works chose to perform three one-act operas instead of a longer, more traditional piece for a number of reasons. \n"Performing three operas allows for more people to get involved, not only in the performance aspect, but also in terms of direction," said graduate student Maliwan Diemer, the artistic director of Bloomington Music Works. "We also wanted to present a show that would be interesting and fun to a first-time opera- goer but at the same time provide long-term connoisseurs with quality music. The three short operas keep the evening light, fast paced and engaging."\nSenior Brian Samarzea, a founder and musical director of Bloomington Music Works, chose to perform these three operas for a specific reason: They are funny. \n"We chose these three pieces because they were very funny and accessible to the first-time opera-goer as well as the aficionado," he said. "The audience can expect laughs, laughs and more laughs. I think that these shows are charming and hilarious. Each one is a real gem."\nMarcy Richardson, a recent IU Music School graduate, will be singing the female lead in "The Telephone" and a principle role in "The Impresario." She said she agrees "Three For All" is a great way for first-time goers to enjoy an opera. \n"All three shows are short and very entertaining," she said. "And the shows are all sung in English, which makes it less intimidating."\nRichardson is one of several present or former IU students involved with the Bloomington Music Works, which was founded by Samarzea and two other IU graduates.\n"We founded Bloomington Music Works to provide 'regular townspeople' an opportunity for performance," Samarzea said. "There were very few, so we decided to create our own. We considered ourselves creative individuals that enjoyed performing and knew that there must be others in our community that shared the same interests."\nThe group regularly holds open auditions before a show is cast. Participation is not limited to performing on stage; people can also lend their talents to the group in various aspects of production as well, Diemer said.\n"A lot of people have more chances to perform with the Bloomington Music Works," said Richardson. "You can hear a lot of new voices here and there are some real standouts. It can be very exciting."\nThough many students and Bloomington residents participate, Samarzea said Bloomington Music Works needs the support of the community.\n"We are a hard-working theater troupe that really needs the support of our community, both on campus and off," said Samarzea. "We live in such a culturally rich town that some of the smaller companies can be overlooked, but we are hanging in there and have no plans of fading away. So many wonderful productions happen in Bloomington, and we are pleased to be one of them."\n-- Contact staff writer Brittany Ausmus at bausmus@indiana.edu.