Opera and Musical Theatre

The voice area at UWEC provides rare opportunities for undergraduate students, whether pursuing a major or minor in music or just pursuing a passion. With six choirs, Opera/Musical Theatre Workshop, Opera on Wheels, and mainstage productions of musical theatre and opera, there are many opportunities for vocal students at UWEC.

The faculty in the vocal area are active performers and supportive pedagogues. They often engage their students in student-faculty summer research projects, such as addressing identity and music in the LGBTQ community, creating a multimedia recital experience with Vaughan Williams' "Songs of Travel" or performing a song cycle by Benjamin Britten. Students receive weekly individual lessons and a studio class in which students perform for their peers. With all these experiences, students have gone on to serve as choral conductors and teachers in the schools, to form successful private studios, to pursue degrees in top graduate programs and to perform in professional opera companies.

In collaboration with the theatre arts area and the University Symphony Orchestra, every other academic year an operatic production is presented as part of the mainstage theatre season. Recent opera productions have included Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" and "The Magic Flute," Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," Britten's "Albert Herring" and Johann Strauss’ "Die Fledermaus." Future titles under consideration include Mozart's "Don Giovanni," Bernstein's "Candide," Copland's "The Tender Land" and Guettel's "The Light in the Piazza."