Opera boot camp

The students call it a boot camp but there are no burpees, lunges or push-ups involved. There are overtures and arias however.

It’s “opera boot camp” -- a rigorous four-week program in which 26 strangers of various and abilities and skill levels get together to rehearse and produce two fully staged operas.

“There are acting master classes, classes on how to audition, group warm-ups and private coaching sessions,” explains Dal music student Taylor Long, one of this year’s participants in the Halifax Summer Opera Workshop (HSOW). “And then there’s rehearsing and performing the opera with people you’ve never met before.”

SEE PHOTOS: Opera in the spotlight. (Nick Pearce Photos)

Mezzo-soprano Nina Scott-Stoddart and Tara Scott, an accompanist and vocal coach, started HSOW in 2005 in order to bring opera training in this format to the Maritimes. Attracting performers from throughout Canada and the U.S., HSOW takes place at the Dalhousie Arts Centre from July 19 and August 15.

If you go Alcina runs August 12 at 7:30 p.m. and August 14 at 2 p.m. Susannah runs August 13 & 14 at 7:30 p.m. All shows are at the Sir James Dunn Theatre in the Dalhousie Arts Centre, 6101 University Avenue. Tickets are $20 or $12 for students and seniors. They're available from the Dal Arts Centre box office at 902 494-3820 or 1-800-874-1669.

“We’ve had a few days off here and there but even then we’ve all gone to the beach together,” says Mr. Long, 19, a Halifax native. “It’s been fun to tour around and show off our hometown.”

This summer, there are two operas in the repertoire -- Handel’s Alcina, which is sung in Italian, and Susannah, written in 1955 by American composer Carlisle Floyd. They both debuted last weekend and run again for a second weekend.

“It’s such an intensive process and so fast paced,” says Andrew Pelrine, 21, who just graduated from Dalhousie in May with a combined honors degree (music and theatre). After the opera workshop ends, the Halifax singer and actor is planning to pound the pavement in Toronto. “But it gives you a real glimpse of how the professional world works.”

Mr. Long, a baritone, and Mr. Pelrine, a tenor, are among the youngest participants for this year’s HSOW. Even so, they play church elders in Susannah, about a young woman from rural Tennessee who is wrongly branded a harlot. Written during the McCarthy era, the opera explores themes such as passing judgement and the abuse of power.

“I’m learning so much from the people I’m on stage with,” says Mr. Long, who fell in love with performing as a high school student in Halifax West's production of Kiss Me Kate. He’s now entering his second year at Dalhousie, studying voice with Lucy Davis Hayes.

“Opera has such emotional intensity because the music is so powerful. As a performer, I feel it offers me the chance to grow because there’s so much to learn.”

LINK: Halifax Summer Opera Workshop