From Sandpoint with love – an opera soiree

The Music Conservatory of Sandpoint invites the community to a lighthearted Opera Soiree next month for an evening of opera reimagined. 

The event, set for Aug. 3 at 8 p.m., will include excerpts from Rigoletto and other beautiful works and highlight the talent of MCS alumni, among others.

“We are delighted to feature our homegrown Bel Canto Opera for our Opera Soiree and guest artists, who have appeared with Inland Northwest Opera as well,” said Kathi Samuels, development director for the Conservatory.

Bel Canto Opera Reimagined is an opera company founded by the Music Conservatory of Sandpoint’s founder, Karin Wedemeyer, eight years ago and is affiliated with the Conservatory.

“Bel Canto has a special mission and purpose in the opera world,” explained Wedemeyer. "The scripts are non-traditional and written by me. The singers and performances are collaborative, including new ideas, and various unusual topics are taken straight from the human experience."

Bel Canto focuses on young singers pursuing operatic and classical training while creating unique operatic experiences that give this art form a fresh look.

“We hope to keep opera alive, making it accessible and enjoyable with a new and original approach,” said Wedemeyer about Bel Canto Opera Reimagined.

The Opera Soiree is a collaboration between Conservatory artists, student alums, and guest performers. An opera buff would not want to miss this wonderful performance. 

The Aug. 3 event will include exceptional guest performers, including tenor Joel Cummings, baritone Erik Contzius, and soprano Zoe Miller. 

Miller is an alumnus of the Conservatory who graduated from the University of Idaho with a degree in voice performance. She recently performed in John Strauss's Die Fledermaus in Moscow, where she played Rosalinde. This fall, she will attend the University of Wisconsin to pursue a master's degree in voice performance. 

Miller admires the works of Verdi, Gounod, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky, among many others. She also shares that she particularly enjoys drama.

“Someday, I hope to branch out more into other genres, including musical theater, and work with composers to create new works to help opera as an art form,” said Miller. 

The Bel Canto singers for the soiree are mezzo-soprano Brenda Rutledge and Alanna Dixon, soprano.

Dixon recently won silver in the collegiate division competition at Northwest MusicFest and is beginning to make a name for herself as a young coloratura soprano. Dixon will head to Colorado Christian University in August, with plans to study vocal performance. Both Dixon and Miller were students with Rutledge.

The Music Conservatory of Sandpoint invites everyone to the Opera Soiree on Aug. 3 at 8 p.m. at Little Carnegie in Downtown Sandpoint. There will be a no-host wine bar. Early ticket purchase is encouraged for this intimate opera evening.

For tickets and more information, go to sandpointconservatory.org/events.

    Zoe Miller is pictured during a past performance. Miller is among the artists taking part in the Aug. 3 Opera Soiree, a collaboration between Music Conservatory of Sandpoint artists, student alums, and guest performers.
  

    Alanna Dixon is one of the Bel Canto singers taking part in the Aug. 3 Opera Soiree, a collaboration between Music Conservatory of Sandpoint artists, student alums, and guest performers.