Local singers and instrumentalists have come together this summer to prepare Mozart opera The Magic Flute for the Centralia Cultural Society stage. The opera will be performed this Friday and Saturday at 7:00 p.m., with free admission and donations accepted. The production is led by Centralia Opera founders Caden Cole and Elijah Buerk. While Centralia Opera has put on concerts and events since its creation last October, this will be the organization’s first full opera. Cole says it is sure to be a special experience and something new for the audience.
“You’ve got the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to look forward to. It’s just something that you can’t miss,” Cole said. “It’s a very rare opportunity to get to hear something like that, especially here in the Southern Illinois area. You also have singers from Southern Illinois. You’ve got the students who have been working so hard and are sounding very beautiful, and also professional singers, some of whom are from Centralia and the surrounding area and some from all over the country.”
Several singers in junior high and high school participated in the Student Fellowship Program, which provided free voice lessons from professional instructors as part of the preparation for the opera. Lyra Shook said her teacher through the fellowship program was very helpful.
“We’d meet for an hour once a week, sing through our music and do warm-ups,” Shook said. “It was neat that I got to learn some professional warm-ups that they do in professional opera. She would make me tracks to help me learn my music, which was really helpful. After I had learned all my music, the rest of the lessons were used to clean up the music and make it as perfect as could be.”
Shook said she would recommend the Student Fellowship Program to anyone looking to continue with music after high school.
“I would absolutely (recommend it), especially if you’re thinking about going into the music field at all, even if you’re just minoring in it or just wanting to participate in college. The teachers are so helpful… they’ve helped prepare me, I feel, for my future career, because I’m going to be a music teacher.”
The orchestra consists of 27 members and includes local members as well as members coming from as far away as Chicago. In total, over 40 people are working on the production as either performers or crew.
The Centralia Opera is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. For more information, visit centraliaopera.com or visit the Centralia Opera Facebook page.
