Photos Belong to Florentine Opera
Four new voices are being heard in Milwaukee, courtesy of Florentine Opera Company’s Donald and Donna Baumgartner Studio Artist program.
This artist-in-residence program provides training and performance opportunities throughout the year for four young artists and is an important chapter in the careers of young singers.
The Studio Artists are required to learn and memorize individual arias and operatic roles. They appear in Florentine’s main stage productions, sing in the chorus and prepare understudy roles. As an ensemble, they give at least 100 performances in educational settings, coffee shops, and on professional stages. They are currently touring schools with a fully staged and costumed Cinderella through the Opera on the Go program.
This year’s Studio Artists are Kathryn Henry, soprano; Meghan Folkerts, mezzo-soprano; Luke Selker, tenor; and Samuel James Dewese, baritone. They are all delighted to be on the Florentine roster. “This program trains the artists of tomorrow, nurturing talent that will one day sing in the major houses of the world,” says Dewese. Adds Henry, “I’ve made great connections since I’ve started this appointment, and my knowledge of the operatic repertoire has grown phenomenally.”
All four of the artists are well-credentialed. Henry, a Wisconsin native, received her master’s degree from the Juilliard School. She has appeared with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and was a finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
Folkerts completed her master’s degree at Indiana University, and has already performed with Seattle Opera and Shreveport Opera. She played the flute through her undergrad years.
Luke Selker performed Lenny in Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men, Rodolfo in La Bohème and has sung in France and Spain. He received his master’s degree from Florida State.
A graduate of the London Royal College of Music, Samuel James Dewese has twice been a district winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. In 2019, Dewese sang a world premiere opera at the Edinburgh Festival.
The Studio Artists have an opportunity to shine in their own showcase production in February, when they will perform Leonard Bernstein’s one-act opera, Trouble in Tahiti. The second half of the evening will be selections from different operas, including Cosi fan tutte, Rigoletto, and Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers. “We want to show the range of our talented artists,” says Janna Ernst, principal coach and pianist.
Leonard Bernstein was on his honeymoon in 1951 when he began composing Trouble in Tahiti, a portrait of the troubled marriage of a young suburban couple. The story is based on the relationship of Bernstein's own parents, Sam and Jennie, but the wife's name was changed to Dinah, Bernstein's grandmother.
Trouble in Tahiti premiered in 1952, but Bernstein was not completely satisfied with the result. After reworking a few scenes, the opera was performed at Tanglewood later that year and won the composer’s approval. The score is not your typical operatic music. The opera has five vocal parts but just two solo characters, Sam and Dinah. A jazzy vocal trio opens the opera and functions throughout the story as a contemporary Greek chorus. Other characters are referenced but are never seen or heard.
The story explores a single day in the life of the couple. Sam is a successful businessman, and Dinah is a frustrated housewife. While Sam is at work, Dinah visits her psychiatrist and then spends the afternoon at an escapist movie called Trouble in Tahiti. Later that evening, Sam and Dinah try to discuss their troubled marriage, but they only argue and blame each other for their unhappiness. Sam then suggests they go out to see Trouble in Tahiti.
In 1983, Bernstein wrote a sequel opera, A Quiet Place, picking up the family drama 30 years later, following the death of Dinah and Sam’s struggle to reconcile with his adult children.
The Studio Artists relish the opportunity to tackle this opera. “Tahiti is about real people with genuine issues and emotions,” explains Selker. “Though the characters are flawed, they still have redeemable qualities.”
Mezzo-soprano Folkerts continues, “Tahiti has temperamental personalities that show love can sometimes be painful. The music in this opera is nothing to be afraid of. Bernstein is challenging to the singers, not the audience.”
The Baumgartner Studio Artists of the Florentine Opera perform Trouble in Tahiti Feb. 8-9 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts.
