Wednesday, February 19, 2003
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Wednesday, February 19, 2003 |
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Student sets sight on opera career By MICHAEL BOYLAN
To learn about careers, students at Starr's Mill were asked to follow someone around for a day and learn about their career. Junior Nicky Capell is interested in pursuing a career in opera and, after encouragement from her calculus teacher Cheryl Dukes, Capell called the Atlanta Opera. She hoped that she could watch rehearsals for their upcoming production of "The Magic Flute" and meet some of the performers, finding out what it takes to grace the stage for a professional opera company. Atlanta Opera public relations consultant Joe McKaughn took the call and was very impressed with Capell's cold-calling of the company. He found out about her background in theater and chorus, her determination and drive and set up an amazing two days for her. Capell was escorted through the intense rehearsal process by Lauren Bress Johnson, the education director of the Atlanta Opera. Friday, Capell met tenor Greg Jordan and several of the show's primaries as they rehearsed the first act. Saturday, Capell got to watch almost the entire cast rehearse one of the show's chorus scenes. After the rehearsal, she met the entire cast at lunch and got a good feel for how the members of the cast achieved their dreams of singing with an opera. "I fell in love with opera after I saw 'The Marriage of Figaro' at The Atlanta Opera," said Capell, who has been involved with chorus for eight years and drama for six. "Once I saw that show I knew I'd like to one day be a part of an opera." After a weekend filled with the cast and crew hard at work for the Feb. 27 opening of "The Magic Flute," Capell is as determined as ever. In order to pursue her dream, Capell will continue with her participation in local and school productions. Last summer Capell played a postulant nun in Fayette Players and Community Theatre's production of "The Sound of Music" and also took part in Starr's Mill's productions of "You Can't Take It With You" and "South Pacific." Capel has also spent sometime backstage as a stage manager and also working with light and sound. "The Magic Flute" was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and is one of his most famous works. The story revolves around a prince and princess who fall in love, though an evil queen tries to thwart it. Through a number of trials, the prince and princess learn the virtues of reason and wisdom. In order to make her dream come true, Capell will undoubtedly face a number of trials herself but through hard work and wisdom, she is sure she will achieve her goal.
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