Santa Clara University

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – March 2, 2004 –Santa Clara University’s department of music and the Center of Performing Arts present “Opera Theatre” on Sat. Mar. 6 at 8 p.m, with a matinee performance on Sun. Mar. 7 at 2 p.m. 

“Opera Theatre” encompasses a colorful collection of operatic scenes from numerous memorable operas. The first half of the program is devoted to works by Mozart, and will feature scenes from “The Magic Flute,” The Impresario,” and “The Marriage of Figaro.”  Also featured are scenes from “Lantern Marriage” by Offenbach, “Dr. Miracle” by Bizet, and “L’Amico Fritz” by Mascagni.  The performance will end with a rousing first-act finale of Penhorwood’s “Too Many Sopranos.”

“This year’s ‘Opera Theatre’ combines beautiful music and imagery from a variety of well-known works,” said SCU music professor Nancy Wait Kromm. “Through these lively scenes, guests will visit with serpents, scoundrels, chefs, divas, missionaries, and lovers. Whether you regularly attend or have never seen an opera, you’re sure to be entertained by these diverse selections,” Kromm said.

The performance features stage and musical direction by Kromm, with additional staging by SCU music major Amanda Villegas and music department alumna Lori Schmidt. Students, Veronika Olah and Joel Castro, will provide lighting and set design.  Philip Sokolov, from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, will make a special guest appearance as Count Almaviva in scenes from “The Marriage of Figaro.”

Kromm has recorded for London records, NPR, Sender Freies Berlin, and Radio Hamburg, and completed a recording of American songs of the 19th century entitled "An American Song Basket."  The recording of Nielsen´s Third Symphony on which she is the soprano soloist with Herbert Blomstedt and the San Francisco Symphony won a "Best Recording of the Year" Grammy.  She has performed recital and oratorio work at Carnegie Hall in New York, Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, the Aspen Festival of Music, the Carmel Bach Festival,  the Hochshulen fur Musik in Berlin and Munich, the American Academy in Rome, and the Anchorage Festival of Music.

In addition, Kromm has directed several operas at SCU. Kromm studied at the University of Illinois and Stanford University.  She joined SCU in 1985 and was promoted to associate professor in 1991.

Tickets to “Opera Theatre” range from $5 to $10.  Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more.  For tickets or more information, contact the Center of Performing Arts box office at 408-554-4015.  On the Web at www.scu.edu/cpa

About Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its 8,047 students’ rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus master’s and law degrees. Distinguished nationally by the fourth-highest graduation rate among all U.S. masters’ universities, California’s oldest higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. More information is online at www.scu.edu