Kent State opera will be ‘Singing in Circles’

Brittany Rees

The Kent State University Opera will host its fall recital “Singing in Circles!” Saturday, Nov. 8 and Sunday, Nov. 9 in the Wright-Curtis Theatre in the Center for the Performing Arts.         

The event, at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday, will feature student opera singers performing acts from several operas.

Charles Latshaw, the director of the Kent State orchestra, will conduct the opera.

“It’ll be really great for any type of person, whether they’re an opera lover or not,” Latshaw said. “If you’re already a fan of opera, there are plenty of great pieces that are going to be played. If you don’t know a lot about opera and you’re not sure if you’re going to like it, ‘Singing in Circles!’ is perfect because we don’t dwell on one scene for too long. I think our longest piece is 15 minutes.”

Though not a fully staged production, “Singing in Circles” will feature costume and set designs unique to each scene. Scenes performed will include pieces from “Pirates of Penzance,” “Le Nozze di Figaro” and others.

“It’s interesting because we’ve got the audience all around us, and we had to find a way to create a set that would let the performers be visible to the entire audience at all times, and it also had to be easily moved around in between pieces,” Latshaw said. “What’s interesting too is that every performer will be costumed for their specific piece.”

“Singing in Circles!” will be presented by the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music and is free to the general public.

 Contact Brittany Rees at [email protected].