BILLINGS – A live performance this weekend gave people the chance to see and hear opera in a more intimate setting for the audience.
NOVA’s Festival of One-Act Operas features two shows: “Bastien and Bastienne” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and “A Musical Evening at the Choufleuri’s” by Jacques Offenbach.
For the crew, the set is more intimate, lighting is easier and it involves just a piano, not an orchestra.
A full opera at a big theater can last more than three hours.
The two short shows run about an hour and a half, according to Doug Nagel, director, NOVA board member and MSUB Associate Professor.
“It’s not quite as long an evening but they’re both funny,” said Nagel. “And it gives all the local singers a chance to sing. They’re in English, so the audience gets all the jokes, And it’s light, It’s light opera. It’s almost like Broadway. The thing that makes opera exciting is you’re going to hear this glorious sound and they’re not amplified. You’re going to feel the voice come through your body. It overpowers you. There’s something about opera. That’s why people get hooked. I’m really committed to this next generation of young people to go to live performance.”
The Festival of One-Act Operas started last weekend.
The last of six shows is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. at NOVA.
