Making opera accessible

Fort Rouge

Winnipeg

Have you ever seen an opera?

If the answer to that question is no — why not?

Jayden Fraser, a 22-year-old vocal performance student in the faculty of music at the University of Manitoba, has been asking that a lot recently. A performer himself, he said the question has started many conversations about the theatrical musical art form. Opera dates back hundreds of years, he said, but if you’re just getting into it, it can be hard to know where to start.

“It’s this really old, archaic thing, and people don’t realize that the content is not archaic,” he said. “It’s real life. It’s these high-stake, emotional or exciting or hopeful moments for these characters, that are things that we go through every day.”

“Not a lot of things have changed,” he said, using Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro and its commentary on class divide as an example. “We have the same great things and the same difficult things. So (classic) operas are really still a reflection of our modern world.”

On Jan. 24 at St. Andrews River Heights United Church (255 Oak St.), Fraser will be a first-time performer at Opera Idol, an annual event put on by Flipside Opera & Art Song Collective, an independent company that aims to make opera open and accessible to the local community — longtime fans and hesitant newcomers alike.

In keeping with tradition, this year’s Opera Idol will feature eight performers singing one song from a classic opera, and a second number in any genre of their choosing — musical theatre, folk, or anything else under the sun — to express their talent in the best way possible. Then, like the American Idol TV show, the audience will vote for its favourite performer, who will win a cash prize allocated from performer registration fees.

Aaron Hutton is a Flipside board member, as well as a singer, actor and storyteller who has loaned his talents to several musical theatre and concert projects over the years. He was the first winner of Opera Idol at its inaugural edition in 2015, earning first place for his performance of Lonely House from Street Scene, by Kurt Weill and Langston Hughes.

“The thing I love about opera is that it’s an acoustic art form that is less common today,” he said. “I use my body to make a sound that fills the Centennial Concert Hall, and that’s pretty cool.”

The history of opera singing also interests Hutton, who said it requires a lot of practice and dedication.

Hutton commended the annual event for its dedication to remaining an accepting, accessible place for “young, local artists doing their thing … while they’re almost at their best.”

“I was singing at my best,” he reminisced. “I could share something with my audience that could change their life.”

Hutton was the only tenor, indeed the only male performer, in the 2015 version of Opera Idol, and he caught everyone’s attention by making his way through the audience from the back of the hall as he sang.

He joined the board of Flipside two years ago.

“Opera Idol is an opportunity to be different, and to embrace the things that make you different,” Hutton said. “A fun, friendly environment to express yourself and what sets you apart from everyone else — and that should be celebrated.”

“I think we’re really fortunate in Winnipeg, at least from an artist perspective, that we have so many… indie opera companies,” Fraser said, adding that the independents are full of people who, although they may have different careers, have experience in singing and remain passionate about opera as a medium.

“From a student and young professional perspective, it’s exciting, because the thing that is really special about Winnipeg is you can go to a concert every night of the week, in some capacity,” he continued. “There’s always live music happening. There’s always theatre happening. There’s always ballet or opera. And that is something that we, in the city, can sometimes take for granted.”

To buy tickets or learn more about Flipside, visit flipsideopera.com