French composer Pauline Viardot remains “underappreciated today,” says Matt Marco, Artistic Director of Buffalo Opera Unlimited, though he assures “her music is every bit as extraordinary as some of those other (big name) composers.”
It’s with that confidence Viardot has been selected as the central figure for Buffalo Opera Unlimited’s first performances of the season. Their productions of Viardot’s "Cendrillon (Cinderella)" and "Notes on Viardot" will be presented Friday, September 18 and Sunday, September 20 at Flickinger Performing Arts Center at Nichols School.
The opera portraying the life of the French composer and her music, "Notes on Viardot" was written and scored by Michael Ching “one of the most-performed composers that is living today,” said Marco. Ching’s "Speed Dating Tonight" has been performed 161 times.
Ching is in Buffalo to help fine tune the production. “An opera needs to have a lot of workshopping,” Ching explained. “It’s important to test things out and see what works and doesn’t work."
“Even small things, like having to cut two or three bars, or you need two of three bars more music, if you have to do that during the actual production phase, those can be mini crises.”
Composer and conductor will go through the final paces of rehearsal with the cast of performers.
“We have people that have sung and performed all over the country, certainly, even all over the world,” Marco explained “They just have a connection to our region. “
Each opera lasts about an hour. English subtitles are projected on a screen to help audience members not fluent in French, though Marco suggests that might not be required.
“I’ve even heard from people that come to our shows, and they can figure out what’s going on by just watching the performers,” Marco said.
“Our performers are trained to tell the story with their voices, with their acting.”
With theater, music, costumes, and scenery, opera “is the art that includes everything,” Marco insists.
“It’s these stories that we’ve all been through but taken up to another level because we experience these things, but we don’t necessarily have an orchestra accompanying us or we don’t sing about them,” Marco shared.
“I think it’s this heightened version of the human experience.”
