<<<  <<  -- 5 --  Laura Kennelly    AN AUTHENTIC VOICE

A nearly-sold out audience both nights makes a great case for many more productions of small-scale presentations such as these of opera's vocal treasures. One can hope that eventually an audience that will insist on hearing all the great operas from start to finish will be built by grass-roots organizations like Opera Per Tutti.

I have to close this review with an incident at work yesterday. A student who was filing papers near my desk was listening (ear buds turned up way too loud -- but that's another story) to Rent. When the familiar notes of La bohème (OK, yes, they were twanged on an electric guitar) flooded the area -- the sound tinny through said ear buds -- I said 'Oh, have you seen the opera that was based on?' No, he had not. He'd heard there was something before Rent, and he allowed as he might kinda like it since he loved Rent so much. I think he will love opera; I think he deserves to get a taste of it. Opera Per Tutti and small companies may just make it possible. Bravo!