By Ashlie Albrecht
The annual opera scenes showcase, held in the Fine Arts Center at Utah State University on Friday and Saturday night, was directed by instructor Dallas Heaton for the first time this year. Undergraduate students from the Caine College of the Arts perform a selection of scenes from various operas each fall semester.
Heaton said the best part of directing the show was getting to work with the students on such a personal level.
“The kids brought a lot of good ideas and they are all really talented,” Heaton said.
Brad Summers, a sophomore in the opera theater program, enjoyed working with Heaton and noticed many differences between him and his predecessor.
“I think professionalism is what is really different about this year,” Summers said. “The teacher last year didn’t know as well how to use time it seemed and rehearsals began several minutes late. Dallas also invites us to use our own creativity with our scenes which I really appreciate. Last year there was a lot of creativity there but it was more directed.”
Jacob Spjute, another opera theater student, agreed with Summers. Spjute said Heaton has a professional demeanor, unlike past directors.
“He is a lot more organized and things run a lot more smoothly in rehearsals,” Spjute said. “They are very efficient.”
Summers attributes Heaton's directing skills to his experience in working on a professional level.
“Over the summer he worked with Utah Festival Opera and Utah Opera,” Summers said. “This was his first time directing our show, but I think he did it really well.”
Heaton chose the theme “Songs of Love and Loss” for the performance.
“It is kind of generic if you think about it, but it fit,” Heaton said. “We tried to find a mix of funny stuff and touching stuff.”
Spjute said Heaton has been an amazing teacher.
“He has a lot of knowledge about all the music,” Spjute said. “He has been really great to work with.”
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