Carthage’s J-Term Opera production, Puccini’s one-act comedy Gianni Schicchi, has become one of the best feel- good stories of my entire time at Carthage …. although it didn’t start out that way. We chose the opera back in the summer, when it seemed like the only problem we would have with casting the show would be in deciding who to select from a surplus of marvelous choices. But real life proved to be much more problematic, with a couple of different international trips during January taking several of our best singers out of action, while a couple of others ended up opted for musical theater rather than operatic opportunities during J- Term. So the ranks of singers auditioning for the J-term opera were rather drastically thinned …. but by the skin of our teeth we were able to cast the opera, and cast it very strongly. But then, just when it appeared that we were home free, one of our guys failed to appear for the first day …. did not reply to an email asking where he was …. and failed to appear for the second day as well. Only on the third day were my mounting fears confirmed- this guy had opted to take an academic course which conflicted with the opera … in effect firing himself from our production – while neglecting to tell any of us he had done so. (If you heard a strange sound early in the afternoon of January 9th, you were probably hearing the enormous GROAN I emitted when I realized once and for all that the singer who had yet to appear was not going to be appearing at all.)
What to do? We first reached out to a talented young man in the area who sang this same role (Betto) in the Gianni Schicchi production of SEWPA (the Southeast Wisconsin Performing Arts Group), on the off-chance that his schedule would allow him to relearn the role and get to at least some of our rehearsals. He was intrigued and interested, but needed to think about it. (Understandable.) As we waited to hear from him, we also reached out to a recent Carthage graduate, David Duncan, who had been one of the mainstays in our opera productions and still lives in the area. He had been an emergency substitute for a Choral Arts concert last fall, and as I expected, he was game with trying to do the same for us if need be. So we had two promising maybe’s …. and we hoped that one of them would turn into an emphatic YES. And if they didn’t, we would have to take the Schicchi score in hand and figure out how to do the opera without this particular character (which would have been a royal pain in the you-know-what.)
And then on Saturday, as the Carthage Choir rode up to MIlwaukee to perform for the state choral directors’ convention, my cell phone rang – and oddly enough, it was Leah Orr calling me from the back of the bus. She was sitting next to or close to a freshman bass named Jonathan Engle, and they somehow got on to the topic of the J-term opera. To make a long story, Leah was calling me to say that Jonathan had told her that he was interested in helping us out, if we still needed help. And to make another long story short, Jonathan did indeed agree to step into the role of Betto – wary of how hard it would be, not wanting to disappoint us, but genuinely excited at the prospect of singing in his first opera, and sincerely thrilled about coming to the rescue.
And I am so happy to report that Jonathan has been doing an absolutely smashing job. He is a very solid musician and has been catching on to this tricky music remarkably fast. He also has a bit of experience onstage, so he has some acting chops …. which is good, because in real life he could not be more unlike the character he’s playing. Jonathan is a fine, upstanding young man – devoutly religious – dedicated student – friendly, positive, appreciative – and a handsome athlete …. while the character of Betto is a rough, uncouth, unpolished, unpopular, unattractive drunk! I was actually a little bit reluctant to tell Jonathan ahead of time what his character was like, for fear that it might scare him off! As it turns out, Jonathan is the kind of guy who loves a challenge and he has brought all of this considerable energy and gifts to bear on this particular challenge. And one clear mark of how well he’s doing is the fact that as we ran through the opening scene of the opera on Friday- which includes Betto’s longest bit of uninterrupted solo singing- Jonathan was onstage, singing the scene without a score! If we had any time to spare, I would have hired a brass band and thrown confetti to celebrate his accomplishment. Instead, we had to settle for a quick slap on the back before getting right back to work.
Jonathan’s wonderful work is just one facet among many that is making this whole production feel absolutely charmed. I probably shouldn’t speak prematurely, as though we’re already home free, because the cast still has to master a couple of the trickiest scenes in the score – plus there’s the matter of finding costumes and furniture and other things to bring the story truly to life. But when it comes to mastering this score and – even more important, finding the comedic pulse of this piece, our cast is already light years beyond where I thought we would finish. And on top of it, they’re terrific people – such a pleasure to work with – and the way they have welcomed Jonathan into their ranks and helped him has been so gratifying. So it’s little wonder that I am already SO excited about our performances on February 7th and 8th …. and when Jonathan Engle comes out for his bow at the end, I hope you will let loose with one extra whoop / cheer / bravo – whatever you prefer – for this young man who came aboard one week after everyone else but – like the track star he was in high school – has made his way to the front of the pack!
pictured above: most of the cast of Carthage’s “Gianni Schicchi.” Jonathan is the young man standing at the very back. (Betto is an unlikable character, somewhat shunned by his relatives, which is why he’s back there. But trust me- Jonathan is near and dear to all of our hearts.)