TC natives perform with GR opera

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Sara Emerson and Kyle Stevens will appear in the Opera Grand Rapids production of "The Magic Flute." Special to the Record-Eagle
Kyle Stevens rehearses with Opera Grand Rapids for this weekend's production of "The Magic Flute." Special to the Record-Eagle

February 3, 2012

By MARTA HEPLER DRAHOS mdrahos@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Fri Feb 03, 2012, 07:26 AM EST

TRAVERSE CITY — Two Traverse City natives will make their professional opera debuts this weekend with Opera Grand Rapids.

Sara Emerson and Kyle Stevens will sing "comprimario" or supporting roles in the company's production of "The Magic Flute" with the Grand Rapids Symphony today and Saturday, Feb. 3 and 4, at the DeVos Performance Hall.

"I've been working toward this for so long," said Stevens, a tenor who sings the role of Monostatos, servant to the high priest Sarastro, in the Mozart opera. "It feels like the beginning of the next part of my life. Now that I'm on the cusp of that point, it's extremely satisfying and exciting."

The pair have rehearsed since mid-January for the special presentation, which features projected images and video from the Hubble Telescope, said Opera Grand Rapids Marketing and Communications Manager Sarah Mieras.

"They get to sing alongside and act alongside national opera singers who make their living in opera," Mieras said, adding that the company casts for main roles through New York auditions. "For a lot of these folks the opportunity to sing alongside people who travel throughout Europe and sing at the Met is just an amazing opportunity. For a lot of folks it helps build their career."

Stevens, 22, is a December graduate of Western Michigan University, where he studied voice performance. He studied German lieder at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. Currently he is auditioning for graduate schools.

Emerson, 28, sings the soprano role of Second Lady, who presents Prince Tamino with a magic flute to aid in his search for the girl of his dreams. She has a master's degree in music performance from Bowling Green State University and a bachelor's degree in voice performance with teaching certification from the University of Michigan. She also studied in France and Austria.

Though both attended Traverse City Central High School and live in Kalamazoo, it took Opera Grand Rapids to bring the singers together.

"We discovered the Kalamazoo connection first," said Emerson, a well-known area soloist and recitalist who also teaches privately. "We were talking about the Kalamazoo singing scene and the next day someone said, 'Do you know you're both from Traverse City?'"

The soprano said she landed the contract position through open auditions while Stevens came up through the company's chorus.

"They really do encourage and support up-and-coming talent," said Emerson, who began her singing career with the NMC Children's Chorus and completed her last two years of high school at Interlochen Arts Academy. "All the cast members are very friendly and so helpful ... That was a wonderful and refreshing thing to discover, because you hear different things about divas in the opera world."

Stevens said adjusting to that world, which includes a condensed rehearsal schedule that requires he come prepared, takes a bit of practice.

"I'm having a great time," he said. "It being my first professional role, it's cool to get a glimpse of the kind of life that might be ahead of me."

The 44-year-old Opera Grand Rapids is Michigan's longest-running professional opera company and one of only two such companies in the state. It has ticket buyers in 48 counties, Mieras said.

"Believe it or not, we have subscribers on Beaver Island who make the haul to Grand Rapids in February to see an opera," she said.