MANSFIELD – The singers of Mid Ohio Opera will be living the Bohemian life for the next few weeks.
The local opera company will perform the opera “La Boheme” in a mini-traveling show starting tonight at St. John’s United Church of Christ in downtown Mansfield. It’s all part of founder Joel Vega’s vision to open the eyes of Mansfield to the art that is opera.
“People have this idea of what opera is, but they’ve never been to one,” Vega said. “To have singers literally shaking the air in front of you, and to see the drama on their faces, you realize it’s not so scary and can be a lot of fun.”
A small cast of seven singers from all parts of the country, including Virginia, North Carolina, and New York City, will bring to life the two-hour, four-act opera telling the story of love among young artists. According to Vega, it’s some parts “How I Met Your Mother” and some parts “Game Of Thrones.”
“If you like those shows, you’ll love opera,” he said with a laugh. “That’s just what it is because there’s comedy, there’s friendship, and people die all the time.”
The first scene begins with a painter and a playwright considering burning their paintings or even their romance novels just to stay warm. The story, which the musical “RENT” was based off of, follows the love life between characters, the tragedy of human relationships, and the comedy of lecherous old men.
Opening night of “La Boheme” is Friday, Aug. 18 at 7 p.m. at St. John’s United Church of Christ, then the group travels on Sunday, Aug. 20 to Wooster First Presbyterian for a concert at 3 p.m. The company comes back to Mansfield on Thursday, Aug. 24 for an intimate showing at the Mansfield Art Center at 7 p.m.
The finale of the performances is the most dramatic, an outdoor performance at Mansfield’s Liberty Park at 7:30 p.m. Vega’s plan is to perform on a flatbed trailer with an awning and pray for no rain.
“Liberty Park was originally conceived with an amphitheater,” he said. “I saw the original architectural drawings while working for the parks this summer, and I knew I wanted to do a concert there.”
Unlike the enveloping sound of opera when heard indoors, the outdoor venue will carry the voices of Mid Ohio Opera quite dramatically.
“You will hear these guys for miles,” Vega said. “You’ll hear the notes and the piano no problem, and we’ll reinforce the diction so you can actually hear the words.”
The four shows will be performed concert-style, with no costumes or stage direction. The music will be sung in the original Italian, and English supertitles will be projected for audiences to follow along. Performances are free, and free-will donations will be accepted.
Vega purposefully made the concerts free and in a variety of venues to try to bring as many people as possible to experience Mid Ohio Opera.
“Mansfield has a huge wealth of arts, from high to low art, and I want people to start taking pride in their city,” he said. “They don’t have to go to Cleveland or Columbus to see opera.”
