Opera singers collaborate in Oklahoma!
UKZN/Southern Methodist University to perform hit Broadway musical.
SIX young artists from the Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas in the United States will work with 37 talented UKZN singers and dancers to present four exhilarating performances of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! at UKZN’s Opera Studio and Choral Academy (OSCA).
This is the fifth time UKZN and SMU have worked on creating exciting and fun-filled entertainment from the Golden Age of Musicals. Previous productions include Porgy and Bess in 2005, West Side Story in 2011, South Pacific in 2013 and Carousel in 2014, all of which played to capacity audiences.
The public is invited to view the exciting production preview on Thursday, 23 and Friday, 24 June at 7pm, and the show on Saturday, 25 and Sunday, 26 June at 3pm in the Jubilee Hall of the Opera School and Choral Academy at UKZN.
Based on Lynn Riggs’ 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs, Oklahoma! is set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore, in 1906 and tells the story of a cowboy, Curly McLain and his romance with farm girl Laurey Williams. A secondary romance concerns cowboy Will Parker and his flirtatious fiancée, Ado Annie.
Professor Barbara Hill Moore (SMU) produces the show and conducts the four-piece instrumental ensemble in all performances. The stage direction and choreography will come from Roger Riggle of Washington, DC, who has done the show many times in the past few years. The musical preparation of the UKZN students is led by UKZN Music lecturer Mr Lionel Mkhwanazi.
The collaborative efforts between SMU and UKZN began in 2000 when Professor Hill Moore came to work with talented singers and offered a bursary for an exceptional singer wishing to study in America. This year, the 20th award will go to UKZN graduate, Mr Esewu Nobela, who said: “I am excited to be a part of the production and to now go to SMU to study what I love. I am grateful to Professor Hill Moore for this opportunity.”
Nobela will be part of the Music Opera Graduates’ Programme at the Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas.
Admission is free to all performances and tickets are not required. The audience is advised to arrive 30 minutes prior to the performance for optimal seating.
