Behind the Curtain: A Look into Schwob School of Music's Production of 'Suor Angelica' Playing at the Springer This Weekend

Written by Ruth Conry

Images via Schwob School of Music

This weekend, the walls of the Springer Opera House will echo with the haunting, transcendent music of Giacomo Puccini’s Suor Angelica—a rarely-performed gem that delivers both emotional devastation and spiritual catharsis in the span of a single act. Presented by vocalists and musicians from the Schwob School of Music, this new production promises a heart-wrenching, visually arresting evening of opera that speaks to sacrifice, sorrow, and the enduring strength of the human spirit. 

Puccini himself is quoted by saying; “We have to find a story that holds us with its poetry, its love and suffering, and inspires us to the point what we can get an opera out of it.” It is with this in mind that we may delve into life within the realm of a 17th century Italian convent.  

The middle opera of a set of three known as The Triptych, Suor Angelica showcases Puccini’s luscious compositional style paired with the compelling emotions behind Giovacchino Forzano’s original libretto. This triad brought together three stylistic forms; the tragic, lyric, and comic, with Suor Angelica as the lyric of the three. Receiving its first successful premiere in 1918 at the Metropolitan Opera, it continues to be a staple of the operatic canon, providing an opportunity for an all-women's cast to really shine. Set within the cloistered life of a convent, Suor Angelica tells the story of a noblewoman banished for bearing an illegitimate child, now living among nuns and longing for news of the son she lost. When that news finally arrives, it comes with shattering consequences—until an act of divine mercy offers a miraculous, redemptive close. 

Spearheading this production is Dr. Joshua May, Associate Professor of Voice and the Director of Opera Activities, and Professor Paul Hostetter, Ethel Foley Distinguished Chair in Orchestral Activities. As one can imagine, this has been no easy undertaking.  

Dr. May described some of the process, taking care to highlight the work his students put into a production of this size. 

“Opera students must be proficient in French, German, Italian, and English. In addition to that, they may sing in Spanish, or Czech, or Russian, depending on repertoire requirements. We also rotate regularly through Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern, and then also crossover operetta and musical theater that might be suitable to the operatic voice. Through those studies, and through their studies individually in voice lessons, the voice faculty get to know our students through our jury process, as well as concertizing, solo work, and chamber work as well. Our auditions for our graduate students and incoming undergraduates are done a year in advance, and then we discuss as a faculty how each student will be served best in the upcoming rotation.  

Rebecca Manseau will be singing the leading role of Suor Angelica. Rebecca has been working diligently on her vocal training in Italian, studying this summer with me at the Festival of International Opera alongside some of the other singers in the cast. They got the opportunity to coach this opera and their roles a little bit ahead of time with them, and they trained with international faculty. They also were able to coach it with Dr. Watkins from the Metropolitan Opera as part of their experience this year.  

Schwob School of Music performers at their Sitzprobe rehearsal for Suor Angelica.

After casting, we had an assembly meeting, and we started working together with the orchestra and Professor Hostetter to make sure it's viable for the orchestra. Finally, we assemble where it's going to be.  

This year, our production is working in collaboration with the Springer Opera House, which is a unique space because it's a beautiful, historic theater of Georgia, and it offers a rare performance space with a beautiful proscenium theater. We don't have to use microphones, but instead can just sing and share the human voice experience. We're also working with designers from The Springer this year, so our costume design, our set design, and our light design are all created by local artists in our community. In addition, we’re working with their front of house and back of house teams to create the performance experience through and through.  

This production includes 100-plus people when you count the people behind-the-scenes, behind the set, underneath in the pit, on the stage itself, and then backstage, creating, curating, and safeguarding all that we do to make the musical experience something breathtaking and to touch our audience and make the memory of a lifetime.” 

As for what we can expect emotionally from the work, Professor Hostetter, from his years of experience at the Metropolitan Opera, aptly summarized the draws of not only Suor Angelica but also opera as an art form. 

“I think we've all experienced loss, we've all experienced rejection of some sort, or something that we've had to give up that we really didn't want to. It's not that we want to be reminded of that, but there's something soothing about seeing the struggles of somebody else that's analogous to your own. You don't feel like you're on this journey of challenge alone. You can share the joys of life and the struggles of life with others, because we've all experienced love, and we've all experienced loss, and that's exactly what Angelica's experiencing through the most famous aria, Senza Mamma. Our lives are so full of mistakes and regrets. However, the idea of being forgiven at the deepest level is a nice one, and it’s comforting to think about the fact that you can be reunited with people that you love again, seeing them in a different form. This is what Angelica gives us as well. It gives us hope that even if we mess up in the worst way, there's the possibility for forgiveness and for the opportunity to connect with those we love.  

I think what opera really does well is that it takes the themes that come from experiences we all share; joys and sorrows of life. Somehow, singing about anything goes to a deeper place than just the spoken word, and allows us to experience challenges and joys in technicolor. That experience, especially when you're in an audience and you're sharing it with other people, becomes even more rich.” 

The productions are set for April 12th at 7:30 and April 13th at 4:00 at the Springer Opera House. 

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