Sounds of Opera Fest fill Saturdays in June

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Rimrock Opera's Artistic Director, Doug Nagel, announces two
2011 Summer Opera Festival performances featuring cuttings
from some of the most beloved operas and Broadway's hottest
new tickets. Hear showstoppers from The Next Five Years,
Wicked, and Showboat; operas Hansel and Gretel, Porgy and
Bess, Rigoletto and much more.
Story

Special guest is Brianne Roney, 2nd place winner
of the Regional Metropolitan Opera Auditions. Ms.
Roney made her RO debut in La traviata.

Kristy Dallas, Jeffrey Grant Kitto, Lisa Lombardy, William Mouat,
Doug Nagel, and Mary Ryan, bow with RO debut artists Kathleen
Ferris, Solita Guerrero, Denise Huff, Angie Langeliers and Branden
Martinez in the constellation of stars. Noted pianist Ashlee Young,
Billings Symphony soloist and competition winner, accompanies.
Summer Festival

PAUL RUHTER/Gazette Staff From left, Josh Aaby, Angie Langeliers, William Mouat, Kristen Reid and Kristy Dallas are performing artists with Rimrock Opera Company's summer festival.

Saturday, June 18, 7:30 PM, Shiloh United Methodist Church, 1810 Shiloh Road.
Saturday, June 25, 7:30 PM, Babcock Theater. The program repeats, and features the Rimrock Opera Chorus for Kids (ROCK) Summer Camp finale performance.
Tickets are $20, available at the door of both venues.
For more information phone 406-671-2214.

Rimrock Opera Company puts on Summer Festival

By KJERSTEN OLSGAARD - The Billings Outpost

The Rimrock Opera Company presents its Summer Festival this week, with two performances of Broadway hits and opera favorites.

From Rimrock Opera veterans to new opera stars, 20 performers will present selections from works like “Wicked,” “Porgy and Bess,” “The Sound of Music,” “Phantom of the Opera,” and more at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Shiloh United Methodist Church.

The following Monday to Friday, ROC hosts ROCK (Rimrock Opera Chorus for Kids) Summer Camp at the same location, a weeklong program dedicated to providing music education and performance opportunities to Billings area youth since its inception in 2004.

“The ROCK Summer Camp is set up so that not only do kids get together and learn songs that they can perform, there’s also a variety of classes we teach,” explained Kristy Dallas, education director for ROC, in a recent interview.

“We are teaching aerobasingers, which is aerobics for singers. We are also teaching a vocal health class, which teaches the kids different methods they can utilize for protecting their voices and not overusing them. And we teach them music theory as well, because if it’s something they start at a younger age, then it’s something that will become more natural for them.”

To close out the camp on Saturday, June 25, the 20 performers will repeat this Saturday’s concert at the Babcock Theater at 7:30 p.m. with a featured performance by ROCK.

“Adults definitely have a more cultured appreciation for opera, because the adults that do come, it’s something that they have developed a taste for and like,” said Dallas. “And they have a lot of educational and intellectual knowledge about it. Whereas kids when they see opera, they usually don’t know the story behind it or the history of it. But they are really fascinated by it.

This fascination, said Dallas, is important for nurturing creativity.
“Opera is just like having plays or having musical theater. It’s something where kids can go into a different world and experience things that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to experience.”

Tickets are $20 per performance and are available at the door of both venues. Contact ROC for more information about the concerts or registering for ROCK Summer Camp at 671-2214 or rimrockopera.org.