The recent performance of Tulsa Opera singers at the “I Can’t Enjoy Opera” workshop changed someone’s opinion that opera is a boring art. Two opera singers and a pianist presented four arias at the Tulsa Community College (TCC) Center for Creativity on Feb. 24. 

Maddie Breedlove, a singer and a Filstrup Resident Artist in the Filstrup Resident Artist Program at Tulsa Opera, performed “Una voce poco fa” (“A Voice a Little While Ago”) from “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” (‘The Barber of Seville”) by Gioachino Rossini and “Habanera” (“Havanan Dance”) from “Carmen” by Georges Bizet. Breedlove captivated the audience with her mezzo-soprano voice like the sound of a spring creek.  

Justin Kroll, also a singer and a Filstrup Resident Artist, sang “Quanto è bella” (“How Beautiful She Is”) from “L’ elisir d’ amore” (“The Elixir of Love”) by Gaetano Donizetti, and “Dein ist mein ganzes Herz” (“Yours Is My Heart Alone”) from “Das Land des Lächelns” (‘The Land of Smiles”) by Franz Lehár with great artistry. Kroll is a tenor. The pianist Kisun Drosdoff did a remarkable job as an accompanist at the event.  

“Opera evolved from Greek tragedy,” said Sam Briggs, artistic administrator for Tulsa Opera educating the audience at the workshop. “Opera is a dramatic story told through a song.” 

Briggs also spoke with enthusiasm about the history of Tulsa Opera and its spring and summer repertoire. The first record of an opera in Tulsa goes back to 1904 when Gounod’s “Faust” was performed at the Epperson Opera House on Main Street. Today, Tulsa Opera offers traditional, two-hour operas, as well as contemporary, one-hour shows. The 2024 spring and summer repertoire includes such exciting shows as “The Medium,” “Opera Rocks the Country,” and others.  

For more information about Tulsa Opera, visit www.tulsaopera.com.