Marie McCarville (Concepción) greets Peter Tantsits (Gonsalve) during the characters' romantic rendezvous.
			Winter Term Opera Theater to Be Sung in French Text and photographs by Sue Kropp
	Victoria Vaughan works with Kevin Moreno (Ramiro) to block out Scene III.		JANUARY 22, 2001--A work-obsessed husband, a frustrated wife, her lover, and two admirers . . . no, these are not characters from a modern soap opera. They--Torquemada, Concepción, Gonzalve, Don Inigo, and Ramiro--are characters from Maurice Ravel's 19th-century opera, L'Heure Espagnole. L'Heure Espagnole, directed by Victoria Vaughan, assistant director of opera theater, will run Friday, January 26, and Saturday, January 27, at 8:00 P.M. in Warner Concert Hall. It is Oberlin College's first Winter Term opera performed in a foreign language. "I love working in the original language," says Vaughan. "It really keeps you on your toes. The cast is enjoying it, too." Janice Zinser, McCandless Professor of French, coached the cast through difficulties with the French language. "Jan really worked with the cast members," Vaughan says. "She went through the opera syllable by syllable, to help everyone perfect their pronunciation. She's been absolutely fantastic." Besides the language, Vaughan is enjoying the opera's genre. L'Heure Espagnole is opera buffa, which--according to britannica.com--is a genre of comic opera that developed in 18th-century Naples. It centers on five male and female characters, and a pair (or more) of lovers. Opera buffa also features a sung dialogue, and a long, formally organized conclusion that incorporates all the principal characters. The production, about 55 minutes long, "deserves to be performed much more frequently than it is," says musical director Dan Michalak. "It's a delightful opera, full of imaginative orchestral color and seductive Spanish rhythms." Vaughan urges those who have never experienced an opera in a foreign language to attend L'Heure Espagnole. "The slapstick nature of the story makes it more accessible to people who do not understand French," Vaughan says. "Come and try it out--you may find that you like it!"
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