Santa Fe Opera Brings Music to Texas Tech, Lubbock

On April 23 and 24 at Cavazos Middle School, the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Singers performed four concerts of “Trinity” for more than 2,000 Lubbock-area students.

He’d never seen an opera before Monday.

But despite that fact, 11-year-old Isaiah Munoz said he enjoyed watching “Trinity,” a new production performed by The Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Singers.

Texas Tech’s Presidential Lecture & Performance Series and the College of Visual & Performing Arts hosted the fourth annual visit April 22-24 from The Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Singers.

While here, the organization gave a free community concert to about 800 attendees April 22 at the Allen Theatre on the Texas Tech campus. The company sang duets and arias from “The Barber of Seville,” “La traviata” and “Tales of Hoffman,” plus songs from “The Fantasticks,”  “Follies” and other Broadway shows.

On April 23 and 24 at Cavazos Middle School, the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Singers performed four concerts of “Trinity” for more than 2,000 Lubbock-area students. Munoz was one of them.

The concert, which commemorated the 50th anniversary for the opera, featured soprano Deborah Selig, mezzo soprano Lucia Cervoni, tenor Edwin Vega and baritone John Boehr. It told the story of a young woman’s friendship with an Italian POW kept at a New Mexico prison camp during World War II.

“It was pretty good,” Munoz said. “I liked it how the lights went out at the end – how they did it, I mean. I liked it all.”

The performances gave children a chance to see what opera’s all about as well as an opportunity for the university to connect with the Lubbock community.

Exposing people to opera is what the Santa Fe Opera’s Spring Opera Tour is all about, said Kirt Pavitt, music associate for the opera. The Apprentice Singers will travel to 11 towns and cities in New Mexico and West Texas during March and April.

“We’re here to be ambassadors of opera,” he said. “This gives children and communities a chance to see what opera’s all about. The kids really get into it. They learn to say ‘bravo’ or ‘brava,’ and sometimes they even throw flowers up on stage. We’re trying to develop the new generation of opera fans.”

The goal of the Presidential Lecture & Performance series is to enrich the intellectual and cultural atmosphere on campus and throughout the community, said Mary Jane Hurst, performance series organizer and faculty assistant to the president.

“Events, such as the Santa Fe Opera’s Spring Opera Tour, have an academic connection for our students, faculty and staff, and the community at large,” Hurst said. “That’s one of the primary purposes of this series – to enrich the academic experience for our students, to enhance our academic programs and to provide outreach opportunities between campus and community.”