Opera Scenes Workshop

Lauren Tougas and Carlos Gonzalez are music composition students whose principal instrument is voice. Tougas’ work, The Monkey’s Paw, is based on the short horror story of the same name by W.W. Jacobs. Gonzalez has set a conglomerate of the ghost scenes from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

This highly collaborative process is a learning experience for composers and singers alike. Text setting and writing for the voice are enormously challenging, and working with composers is a valuable opportunity for the singers. The budding composers and singers benefit from the depth of experience possessed by their voice instructors, Christine Brandes and Nikolas Nackley, both of whom have had numerous works written for them.

The one-act production of Savitri involves three solo singers, the Treble Singers ensemble and a student string quartet. This performance marks the first Opera Workshop collaboration with the Treble Chorus, previously known as Women’s Chorus.