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Gates’ ‘Met’ opera
by Tom Aldridge Apr 19, 2006
Opera Tom Aldridge How old should you be when you write your first opera? John Gates believes in playing it safe; he’ll be 80 this July, and he just completed his one-hour, one-act Met in the Park. This Indianapolis native got his commission for this project to celebrate the centenary of the local Harmonie Opera Club. Met in the Park has a double meaning, suggesting both a “meeting” and the Metropolitan Opera being listened to (on radio) in a park. Gates said, “I determined to make the thing within the possibilities of the [Harmonie] club, so rather than burden them with a complicated plot, I decided that since most people go to opera for the great arias, I would make it an ‘aria’ opera — with choruses.” Gates will accompany, on the piano, the singers in recitatives as well. Like Wagner before him, Gates has written all his own verses, some of them showing their composer’s taste for the irreverent. For example, in one chorus we hear, “I sold my body for tickets to Indy Opera, I don’t regret it at all; I saw great performances, in Clowes Memorial Hall,” and, “Lucy is a fallen woman, fallen she shall remain; but she plies her trade for opera, not for monetary gain.” This is followed by, “Lucy is a fallen woman, but she tries hard to please; although she gave poor Don Barney, a really nasty disease.” And another, “With a little bit of planning, the officials could ease their financial sting, by asking Peyton Manning to subsidize Wagner’s Ring.” Gates’ cast includes nine local singers: Ron Berry, baritone, Gaye Gronlund, soprano, David Ackerman, tenor, Jill Burch, soprano, Denis Kelly, bass, Lori Gallogly, soprano, Laura Young, soprano, Kathie Kelton, mezzo, and Roberta Graham, mezzo. The free performance takes place April 22, 2 p.m. in the Indiana State Museum’s Dean and Barbara White Auditorium. For more information, go to www.harmonieopera.org.
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