row 2: (Scott Williamson), Yola Lambert, Ellen Brown.
The Director of Opera Roanoke, Scott Williamson, made a strong case for the limitless appeal of opera through the centuries to a gathering of the Roanoke Branch of American Pen Women at the Jefferson Center on October 10. Although Williamson calls opera “the most expensive art form there is,” Opera Roanoke is accessible and available to the public due to its support by patrons and corporations, and by collaborations with partners in Roanoke and around the region.
Williamson credits this support for such things as lowered ticket prices, myriad programs for students, and efforts to showcase and model the excitement and joy of opera in new ways and old. Pen Women members experienced a shining window into the operatic world when soprano Anna Sterrett sang a solo from The Magic Flute accompanied by Williamson on the piano.
The Pen Women’s group was especially drawn to the 2013-2014 season which features strong women leads in both Mozart’s The Magic Flute with the “Queen of the Night” in October and in Handel’s Julius Caesar in Egypt with “The Queen of the Nile” in March. But the true magic of opera is in the combination of glorious music, visual splendor, and stories that enlighten, amaze and haunt. Opera Roanoke, the second oldest opera company in Virginia, has an absolutely smashing amount of talent and enthusiasm. Come and enjoy the opera – one of the great artistic pleasures in life!
