Kent State Opera’s “Oh…The Games We Play” took the stage Friday, Saturday and Sunday and offered audience members three one-act performances.

“I think everyone did a great job,” said Jenna Stolarik, senior voice performance major, who participated in the show. “We all put a lot of work into it, and I think it paid off.”

The program included Mozart’s “The Impresario,” Samuel Barber’s “A Hand of Bridge” and Giacomo Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi.”

“I think opera has something that everyone can relate to, whether if it is about death, love, money, fighting — it is all in there,” said Stolarik, who played Sally in “A Hand of Bridge.” “So, no matter what you like, you can find something you can relate to.”

Audrey Safford, sophomore music technology major, attended and said she enjoyed the show.

“I thought the show was wonderful; it was so well produced and you can tell that everyone involved was so well prepared and has worked so hard for so long,” Safford said.

Safford is a member of the Kent State choir and is friends with a lot of the opera singers who are also members of the choir.

“Opera is amazing to me because personally I sing, but I can not do opera,” Safford said. “It just amazes me the talent these people have. The kind of control and technique that they possess is just beyond me.”

The Kent State opera program offers vocal students the chance to develop dramatic performance skills through technical training, voice lessons and master classes.

Each year, the opera program puts on two productions: a program of opera scenes in the fall and a full production with the Kent State Orchestra in the spring.

The Kent State Orchestra accompanied two of the three performances included in the show. Kristina Baric, senior music education major, is the first chair violin for the Kent State Orchestra. This is her second time playing with the opera.

“It is a great experience; for one, we are playing music, we are accompanying the opera singers, but the one thing I would love to do is actually sit and watch the opera,” Baric said. “I really have no idea what is going on, who is on stage and what is happening but other then that, it is great.”

For more information on the Kent State Opera, contact Marla Berg, director of opera at 330-672-9238 or by email at [email protected].

Students who attend the performances can earn 500 FLASHperk points if they bring their Kent State flashcard.

Contact Abby Bradford at [email protected].