After last year’s fundraising success, The Bayou Harp Circle is together again to host their 6^th Annual Christmas concert, “Harps and Handbells for the Holidays.” On Wednesday,

Dec. 15, 2010, at the Affiliated School for the Blind Training Center on 409 West St. Mary, all are welcome to escape the hustle and bustle to enjoy peaceful Holiday melodies. The concert starts at 7 p.m. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted to benefit the Affiliated Blind of Louisiana, Inc.

The Bayou Harp Circle is a group of local harpists that formed in 2004 and are now under the direction of Bette Vidrine. Joining the harpists this year will be the St. Cecilia Bell Choir, 4 vocalists, and a variety of talented musicians that includes Special Guest, Dr. Kimberley Houser, harp professor at LSU. Bringing a unique sound to traditional Holiday music, the artists hope to draw in a crowd that not only enjoys the music but takes the time to learn more about ABL.

“With the help of the attending crowd, we were able to raise $1,800 for ABL. We know times were hard for everyone last year, and it remains the same in 2010, so we appreciate every cent that’s given,” says Bette Vidrine. “We hope this year’s concert will be as much or more of a success.”

ABL was founded in 1983 as a private, non-profit organization dedicated to providing special services and training to Louisiana's visually-impaired, blind and deaf-blind populations. The Training Center is used to teach people who are blind and deaf-blind the skills that lead to independence, employment and community integration. They have four chapters and approximately 190 members throughout Louisiana, and over sixty employees throughout its various operations.

With the help of such fundraising events like “Harps and Handbells for the Holidays” and the giving spirit of those who attend, ABL is able to continue their services and increase their awareness to the public. Learn more about the non-profit and their schedule of events at http://www.affiliatedblind.org.

For a soprano, getting to Heaven means going through Hell.

At least that's the idea in Too Many Sopranos, an affectionate send-up of opera, produced by the UL Opera Theater.

Edwin  Penhorwood's Too Many Sopranos sends four opera divas to Heaven – each a particular brand of opera soprano ripe for parody – and serves them one final injustice: they must audition for a spot in Heaven because there are too many sopranos and not enough tenors in basses upstairs. The foursome reluctantly audition, and when St. Peter is unable to decide who stays, the angel Gabriel gives the ladies an out. If they travel to Hell and perform a selfless act, they can bring as many male singers to Heaven as they want, ensuring their places in the forever after. The ladies agree, descend to Hell and make a go of it.

Everything works out in the end – this is a comic opera, after all, and tears aren't the business of the day. But Too Many Sopranoshas more on its mind.  Sopranos is a playful introduction to opera as a medium, gently ribbing the styles, modes and performers that have made the medium great. It never takes itself too seriously, and wins you over with its mischievous spirit and generous heart.

Penhorwood's score is an always-accessible and tuneful creation, giving playful nods to a whole array of operatic traditions and styles. The opera also benefits from a clever libretto by librettist Miki L. Thompson, delivering a rich and abundantly entertaining show. Opera buffs will revel in the many in-jokes that litter the show, but the piece remains wholly accessible to neophytes as well. The show is smart, quick, affectionate and clever.

The cast is filled with capable and confident student performers. All four sopranos were delights to watch. Lana Carver's Miss Titmouse was a deliciously flirty creation, and her audition aria was simply terrific. Jessica Wiltz scored some big laughs as Madame Pompous – particularly owning the moment late in Act One when the ladies assume their disguises as missionaries. And Meghin Taylor delivered a sweetly adorable Just Jeanette, delivering some subtle but effective comic moments in her Act Two stretch with Nelson Deadly (Kevin Credeur).

Of the sopranos, I was particularly fond of Alex Hollerman's Dame Doleful, a boozy, morose dark stormcloud of a soprano that practically vibrated with self-seriousness. In Hollerman's hands, the role was a riot. She's got comic chops and knows how to use them. I kept seeing Hollerman as a cross between Beth Leavel's fierce grandiosity inThe Drowsy Chaperone, and Katie Finneran's hilarious physical comedy in Promises, Promises.

The men all acquit themselves nicely. Holden Greene (Enrico Carouser) has one hell of a voice, and his big moment at the start of Act Two was a delight. Jared Price as the Unnamed Bass also delivered some nice moments. Jonah Slason's St. Peter and Nicholas Manzo's Orson and Jenee Luquette's Sandman are less showy roles, but the actors scored nicely with them.

(And the wordless appearance by local entrepreneur Wesley Sun Chee Fore was both a hoot and a reminder that we all – seriously, all of us – need to get to the gym.)

The show's single performance oddity was Joshua Coen's Gabriel. The role is essentially a silent one (save for one line at the opera's conclusion), but Gabriel's a constant presence. Coen certainly takes the role and runs with it – his take on Gabriel is a frenetically physical one, bounding from moment to moment, all arms and legs and exaggeration – but the energy expended doesn't consistently reap comic rewards. It too soon begins to feel a little self-indulgent, and it's too quickly out of step with the more considered comic performances around him. His castmates are doing more with less, and it's the one misstep in an otherwise uniformly impressive ensemble performance.

The show benefits from some strong direction by Shawn Roy and a clever scenic design by Duncan Thistlethwaite. Roy keeps things moving, but the staging never gets in the way or becomes cumbersome. Roy knows how to put together a nice-looking musical moment with a few simple gestures and a few simple moves. And his staging always looks great on his actors. Thistlethwaite's set offers Roy an abundance of opportunities to create interesting stage pictures, and it delivers a charmingly simple but impressive Heaven-to-Hell transition. Add some smart costume choices and a few well-chosen props you've got a show that's visually as charming as the performance.

Too Many Sopranos has a lot on its mind, but what makes the show a winner is what's in its heart. The show was a boyuant, playful and ebullient romp, and it was an easy two hours in the theatre.  That's something to be thankful for.

This show was Heaven, even though it went to Hell and back.
---Cody Daigle

Ray Blum reviews the UL-Lafayette Symphony Orchestra's Halloween concert in the Friday, November 5th edition of the Daily Advertiser.

The UL-Lafayette Opera Theatre production of Too Many Sopranosopened Friday night in the newly renovated Burke Theatre on the university's campus.  There will be two more shows, one on Saturday (7:30 pm) and one on Sunday (3 pm).  Tickets are available only at the door.

Jared Price (as the Unnamed Bass) and Alex Hollerman (as Dame Doleful)

Jessica Wiltz (as Madame Pompous) and Nicholas Manzo (as Orson)

Kevin Credeur (as Nelson Deadly) and Meghin Taylor (as Just Jeanette)

 Lana Carver (as Miss Titmouse) and Holden Greene (as Enrico Carouser)

Jenee Luquette (as Sandman)

Joshua Coen (as Gabriel, an angel), Jonah Slason (as St. Peter) and Jessica Wiltz.

Photos by Beverly Harlton, permission from Shawn Roy

ULL Opera Theatre performs "Too Many Sopranos"

The cast of the UL-Lafayette Opera Theatre's  Too Many Sopranos is in the final days of rehearsal.  The show opens on Friday, November 5th at 7:30 pm and runs through Sunday, November 7th.