With almost 30 performers on stage, the opening curtain on Final Fantasy VI – The Opera, scheduled for Monday, March 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the Bologna Performing Arts Center, will reveal an aspect of opera that audiences have never seen.
This work, taken from the video game by the same name, has been a pet project of student composer and Bachelor of Arts major Gene Kachenovich (nom de plume Kyle Valentine) from Olive Branch.
Valentine has worked for three years to adapt the music and words so that they could be produced in a staged performance. In his own words, Valentine states, “Working on the scoring for this opera has been an intense labor of love for me. My ears and eyes got a workout. However, it was the music within video games that prompted me to major in music, so my love of the game and the music fueled my drive to continue. I am completing the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in piano at Delta State, but I do plan to continue my passion for composing music after graduation.”
The performance will be set in motion by senior stage veteran Lindsey Roy of Natchez, singing the role of Princess Maria, Josh Terry, freshman of Memphis, Tenn., portraying Draco, a soldier, and Joshua Reeves, junior of Walls, will be delivering the role of Prince Ralse.
Junior Heather Bunkley and seniors Robert Craft of Pearl, and Eric Perry of Fulton, will also be actors in the production.
The evening will also feature the death decision scene and lullaby from Monteverdi’s “The Coronation of Poppea.” The singers will be Bunkley, juniors Chiquita Allen of Shelby, and Kristen Credille of Red Bay, Ala., Dominique Smith, sophomore of Greenville, and Calvin Dixon, senior of Batesville.
The evening will conclude with the entire group joining to produce the opera/musical theater work “Down In The Valley” by Kurt Weill. A folk-opera in one act,“Down In The Valley” was initially composed and conceived for the radio in 1945, then rewritten and produced on stage in 1948. It uses famous American tunes to carry the story including “Down in the Valley,” “The Lonesome Dove,” and “Hop Up, My Ladies” and is connected by original choral music.
Along with humming the simple folk melodies, the audience will witness a murder, a little stage fighting, and will be able to tap their toes to a real Saturday night hoe-down based on “Sourwood Mountain.”
Senior choreographer, Meg Dennis of Tupelo, has worked tirelessly to teach non-dancers the elements of some beautiful steps. The audience is certain to be astonished how much these students have worked.
Terry and Roy will sing the roles of Brack Weaver and Jennie, the star-crossed lovers. Reeves will serve as the narrator and the preacher in a Sunday-go-to-meeting gospel segment. Jody Blake a junior of Saltillo, will be singing the role of the villain Thomas Bouché. Also appearing will be Kachenovich as Jennie’s father and Kevin McCray, freshman of Brandon as the jailor.
The cast will be completed by freshmen Stephen Mayhan and Kristen Brassel of Grenada, and Noelle Lawrence of Jackson; sophomores Dominique Smith, Kristen Credille, Christopher Winston of Daphne, Ala., Minda Starling of Mantachie, Rachel Baber of Saraland, Ala., Patricia Thomas and Brittany Moxley of Greenville, and David Mason of Saltillo; juniors Chiquita Allen, Heather Bunkley, Johnathan Williams of Forrest City Ark., and Jessica Taylor of Batesville; and seniors Calvin Dixon, Gene Kachenovich, and Sarah Eads of Hernando.
The Delta State Opera has been serving talented students for many years, and it has become an integral part of the Delta State Department of Music. Some of its performers have continued to graduate programs of distinction, performed in regional opera houses, premiered in active apprentice programs, or gone on to teach at the university level. Along with the performing opportunities and accomplishments, Delta State Opera provides an environment in which our music education students gain the knowledge and self awareness to emerge as successful teachers in our public schools. Many of these teachers have even organized an opera performance in an academic and community setting.
This Delta State Opera production features the largest cast on stage in over 20 years for the opera program. The excitement among the students is certainly evident in every rehearsal.
Make your plans now to attend this unforgettable performance. Tickets are $10 for the general public and $5 to Delta State faculty, staff and students and can be purchased at the door beginning at 6 p.m. the night of the performance.
For more information, call the Department of Music at (662) 846-4615.
