This weekend, the UWM Music Department will present Mozart’s Le Nozze Di Figaro (edited by Ludwig Finscher) at the Zelazo Center’s Bader Hall. With a wide array of student performers and live accompaniment by UWM’s Symphony Orchestra, there is a lot for audiences to be excited about.
A dream role
Portraying Conte di Almaviva, one of the opera’s defining roles, is second-year master’s student Chris Hinrichs. He describes this as a “dream role” of his.
Hinrichs’ first opera during his undergrad was Le Nozze Di Figaro where he was a member of the chorus. When he saw his friend perform the show’s third act aria as Conte, Hinrichs knew he wanted to play the role himself someday.
“I was like ‘Oh my god, this is beautiful,’” said Hinrichs. “I decided that if I get the chance to do this, I would absolutely love to… It’s been a lot of fun to get to sing this music that I’ve wanted to sing for such a long time.”
Hinrichs describes his role as the primary antagonist, which was challenging for him as an actor. However, his research and education at PSOA helped ensure he was performance-ready.
“I’ve never sung a principal role with an orchestra before,” said Hinrichs. “Without Dr. Agulay, I don’t think I could do this technically. It’s been vocally demanding, and he’s helped ensure I pace myself and work with a full cast properly.”
To him, performing a dream role early in his career shows how special the PSOA community is.
“It feels really rewarding,” said Hinrichs. “I don’t see the same kind of outreach opportunities I’ve seen here, where we’re working with companies like Florentine Opera… There’s a level of community I see here that is really exciting.”
A modern spin with classic elements
Throughout his preparations, Hinrichs has been working to adapt his period-piece role to a director on a movie set, fitting with PSOA’s twist of setting Le Nozze Di Figaro in 1940s Hollywood.
Fellow master’s student Alexandra Smith, who plays Hinrichs’ on-stage wife, La Contessa, also saw the nature of her role change. In PSOA’s staging, La Contessa is a major Hollywood actress. Throughout this process, Smith researched Norma Desmond and other classic Hollywood actors to mimic their traits and behaviors on stage.
“I was studying a lot of hand gestures and eye movements,” said Smith. “Costumes majorly helped with this. Once you start to look like a character, it can feel much easier to play them.”
Despite the updated timeline, this production still embodies the characteristics that are expected of a classic opera.
Something that stood out to Smith in preparation is the increased power that UWM’s Symphony Orchestr brings to the experience.
“You feel like freaking Pavarotti,” said Smith. “It’s this team effort between you, the strings, and the conductor… It feels huge. It’s so much more professional and earthy when you have strings underneath you.”
With this comes the need for increased stamina while performing, which Smith felt she needed to work on throughout the semester. With the help of Aaron Agulay (Assistant Professor and Area Head, Voice & Opera), Smith rose to the occasion.
“Having Dr. Agulay and his pedagogical approaches has helped a lot,” said Smith. “I have lot more stamina in my singing since coming [to the Peck School].”
The importance of opera
Music Education junior Megan Schneider, who plays Cherubino, also found the collaboration with the orchestra to be a standout part of what she considers Mozart’s “defining work.”
“It feels like a bigger deal,” said Schneider. “The change of space, the different director, adding orchestra. Everything all culminating to this opera makes it more grand and exciting.”
Working in the operatic space has become an important part of Schneider’s education.
Schneider did not receive access to operatic works while in high school, participating in her first opera during her freshmen year at PSOA on the advice of Shallece Peters (Lecturer, Voice). Now, Schneider has recognized the importance of the art form, hoping to pass it on to her students as she begins her career in education.
“Since doing this opera and other smaller operas, it’s come to my knowledge how truly vast and great it is,” said Schneider. “It definitely should not be missed when it comes to teaching music.”
Schneider also hopes to teach her future students the importance of research when preparing for a major performance.
One of Schneider’s major pieces in Le Nozze Di Figaro was one she had learned previously. However, she found it necessary to reexamine the piece with a new perspective to fully develop her character.
“You can’t just look at words on a page and understand exactly who they are,” said Schneider. “You need to be able to not only create the character from what others have done but also with how it’s written and how you personally connect with your character.”
Le Nozze Di Figaro is at the Zelazo Center for two performances on April 4 & 5. For tickets and more info, visit the PSOA Events Calendar.
Story by Jason McCullum ’25