SPC's opera workshop got a little help from Grammy winner Sherrill Milnes.
By DONNA SELF and JANE MADDEN WELCH
Published June 17, 2005
TARPON SPRINGS - Opera never ends well. Murder, suicide, betrayal and heartbreak prevail. But 24 students from St. Petersburg College's annual summer opera workshop hope for happy endings to their five weeks' toil as they prepare to perform operatic pieces at Tarpon Springs Performing Arts Center on Sunday.
The workshop, led by SPC vocal instructors Marilyn Michael, Ron Billingsley and David Lawhead, offered four areas of instruction: Italian diction, vocal health, song interpretation and vocal performance. It was open to students from high school to graduate school.
Michael said she believes the mix of ages and talent makes the program unique.
"The older students naturally take on the role of mentoring the younger ones, helping them with their costumes and their music," she said. "I think it encourages the newer ones. They feel like they're not quite there, but they can get there."
Martha Lopez, a 29-year-old graduate student in music and vocal performance at the University of South Florida, is fairly new to singing.
"I got my B.A. in piano, but I'm a vocal newbie," she said. "I've only studied singing for two or three years. I feel like a toddler."
For Sarah Lawhead, 17, the workshop has been her introduction to opera. A rising senior at St. Petersburg High School, she sang her first solo in church at age 2 and learned to sing under the coaching of her father, workshop instructor David Lawhead. "It's my first time to sing opera, but I really like it," she said. "I'll probably major in music in college, but I just don't know what kind, so that's kind of why I'm here."
The final week of the workshop brought its highlight, New York City Metropolitan Opera veteran Sherrill Milnes. On Tuesday, Milnes spent several hours with five students in one of the two master classes offered during the five-week Summer Vocal Institute. The second master class was Wednesday.
Milnes, a Grammy-winning baritone, came to do what he called "emery boarding," or smoothing the rough edges of students' pieces for Sunday's performance.
"This is an opportunity for the students to show me: Do they have the drive, the guts, the desire?" Milnes said. "Master classes are tough because you're really under a microscope."
At 70, Milnes is still a commanding figure on the stage, his rich baritone voice easily reaching members of the master class audience.
"I was nervous, but I learned a lot," Sarah Lawhead said after singing Amarilli mia bella by Caccini.
That's because Milnes takes opera seriously. No detail is too trivial. He discusses phrasing, syllable by syllable, how to hold your arms on stage, the need to relate to the audience. He explains the nuances of flipping and rolling Rs and corrects pronunciation that is "too American."
"We're about the beauty of sound," he said. "Opera music is muscular. It's emotional. Even the way you take a breath conveys emotion."
Sonia Leonavicius, a graduate student and aspiring professional opera singer, sang an aria from Madame Butterfly.
"Good, good," Milnes said. Then he gave Leonavicius pointers on diction, posture and breathing and had her sing the aria again.
Tenor Brad Meredith, 51, performed an aria from Don Giovanni.
"Getting the opportunity to work with one of the best in the world is a real privilege," said Meredith, a choir and drama teacher at Osceola High School.
Michelle Smith has studied opera for the past 12 years. A soprano and full-time paralegal, Smith, 31, likened Milnes to a rock star.
"It's like meeting Eddie Vedder," she said, referring to Pearl Jam's lead singer. "You don't see him a lot anymore, but what a great guy to work with."
Though Milnes' presence inspired excitement from the class, it also induced fear.
"I was intimidated by just his name," said Todd Donovan, a 38-year-old baritone. "But when I met him, he was so polite and congenial, all my fears left."
Michael, the SPC instructor, said she hopes that the experience of working with Milnes will encourage talented students to pursue their dreams.
"I sang for Milnes at a workshop in Sarasota 20 years ago," Michael said. "That experience affirmed what I thought about my voice. You don't know until someone of his caliber listens and gives you confirmation."
Working with a group of students with varied abilities is a good thing, Milnes said.
"Some of these kids are just babies; their skills are underdeveloped," he said. "I think it's good for the young ones to see the older ones perform."
Milnes said he takes the age and experience of his students into consideration.
"I try to be a loving taskmaster, respect the human being there," he said.
If you go
Opera Scenes, a performance by vocal students in St. Petersburg College's annual summer opera workshop, will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Tarpon Springs Performing Arts Center, 324 E Pine St. Admission is $12, $10 for center members and students.
