Danish Opera Concluded on January 25, 2014 in Chicago, while VOX 3 Collective’s Festival of Danish Art & Culture runs through March 15, 2014
Alumni from Roosevelt University’s voice program abound in Chicago premiere of Danish opera Maskarade.
A local premiere of Carl Nielsen’s comic opera Maskarade, which includes performances and artistry by 20 alumni and a current student from Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts, opened on Saturday, January 18, 2014 in Chicago and ran through January 25.
Featuring undergraduates and graduates largely from the Voice Performance Program at Roosevelt’s Music Conservatory, the performance of Denmark’s national opera was a rare occurrence this side of the Atlantic. Written in 1906, it was staged for the first time in Chicago by the VOX 3 Collective at the Vittum Theatre, 1012 N. Noble Street, Chicago.
“One of the things I’ve discovered from my time at Roosevelt is that my fellow alumni understand hard work and have a great deal of determination and skill,” said Brian von Rueden, a 2006 Master of Music graduate of Roosevelt’s voice program and artistic director of the VOX 3 Collective, which has been staging operas, recitals and cabarets throughout the Chicagoland area since 2007.
VOX Company Members (Photo courtesy of VOX 3 Collective)
Blending traditional ideas about opera with modern approaches to the art form, Maskarade is the highlight of VOX 3 Collective’s Music & Masquerades Festival of Danish Art & Culture, which runs through March 15 in Chicago, including an art song recital at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30 in Roosevelt University’s seventh-floor Ganz Hall, 430 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago.
“Roosevelt graduates know what it takes to make it in opera and they also have a sense of humility, which makes them great people to be around,” said von Rueden, who first became interested in opera directing as a CCPA student.
Since graduating and founding VOX 3 Collective in 2007, the alumnus has directed and cast more than 60 different VOX 3 programs in Chicagoland. Maskarade is among the company’s major productions, presenting a light side in which the spirit of Rooseveltians working together comes through, according to von Rueden.
“This is my first out-of-school production and I’ve got to say that I’ve really gotten to know a lot of Roosevelt people during the Maskarade experience,” said Gabriel Di Gennaro, a member of the show’s chorus and a 2013 Master’s in Music graduate of CCPA’s Voice Performance Program.
“There is a unique kind of support system among us as well as a chemistry and camaraderie,” added Di Gennaro, who believes the casting of so many Roosevelt alumni in the 70-plus-member show is powerful, particularly during the show’s third act, which features a party that many of the Roosevelt alumni get the opportunity to attend on stage together.
Here is a list of Roosevelt alumni in the show: Gretchen Adams (BM, ‘07); Karen Ann Baron (MM, ‘13); Christopher Buckler (BM, ‘08); Megan Cook (MM, ‘10); Magaly Cordero (MM, ‘06); Gabriel Di Gennaro (MM, ‘13); Kimberly Gunderson (BM, ‘06); Meghan Guse, (MM. ’07); Ashlee Hardgrave, (MM, ’04); Brian Hoffman, (BM, ’05), who has one of the lead roles in the production; Ian Hosack, who is currently studying voice at CCPA; Catie Huggins (MM, ’08); Reuben Lillie (MM, ’13); Joachim Luis, (MM, ’09); James Morehead (MM, ’04); Thomas Oswald (MM, ’07); Elizabeth Rudolph (MM, ’05); Peter Ruger (MM, ’12); Jennifer Schuler (MM, ’12); Zachary Vanderburg (MM, ’13); and Brian von Rueden (MM, ’06).
For more information and/or to purchase tickets for future 2014 events, visit www.vox3.org/festival or contact 773-784-0425 or info@vox3.org. For more information on Roosevelt’s Chicago College of Performing Arts and its upcoming performance schedule, visit www.roosevelt.edu/ccpa.
=============================================================================
ABOUT THE DANISH PIONEER NEWSPAPER – SINCE 1872 – ENGLISH & DANISH ARTICLES
THE DANISH PIONEER NEWSPAPER IN ACTION: Did you know that The Danish Pioneer staff, editors, photographers columnists and writers help readers discover unique travel destinations and special events in the USA, Canada, Denmark & Scandinavia? Come discover more in 2014.
THE DANISH PIONEER NEWSPAPER WAS FOUNDED IN OMAHA, NEBRASKA IN 1872 AND TODAY IS STILL PUBLISHED JUST OUTSIDE CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. Did you know by supporting The Danish Pioneer Newspaper’s print edition, we are able to offer the bonus of our colorful, exciting website. Please support The Danish Pioneer Newspaper. Subscriptions to our print edition are economical, and you receive 26 issues per year including the extra-large, extra-special holiday issue. Subscriptions and advertisements – like annual donations to ethnic institutions or memberships to clubs, lodges and organizations – help The Danish Pioneer Newspaper staff to preserve and to support the Danish-American ethnic press in addition to allowing us to promote the Danish and Scandinavian culture, communities, heritage and traditions in the USA and North America. Please subscribe today or give The Danish Pioneer Newspaper as a gift subscription to a friend or relative. Visit http://www.thedanishpioneer.com/subscribe/
MANGE TAK! Thank you and WELCOME to The Danish Pioneer Family!
