As director of Opera at USC and a sports fan, she should know.
“We want our audiences to understand they can come to our opera productions and have a good time,” says Schlaefer (pictured), who has been on the School of Music’s faculty for 20 years.
With her extensive experience as a stage manager and director, including 14 seasons at Washington Opera (now the Washington National Opera) and 14 seasons with The Santa Fe Opera, Schlaefer’s goal is to provide students with a professional experience by emphasizing collaboration and experiential learning.
“Something I love about Opera at USC is that the student performers are involved in every aspect of production,” says freshman Claire Shirley, who is majoring in vocal performance with a minor in neuroscience. “We help built and paint sets, sew costumes, collect props, design programs and affix lights. I have already learned so much about everything that goes into the finished product that the audience sees onstage.”
Opera isn't about people wearing horns and long braids. It is a 500-plus-year art form that uses music to tell stories and share the human experience.
— Ellen Douglas Schlaefer, Director of Opera at USC
The term "opera" comes from the Latin word for "work," and Shirley says requiring performers to participate behind-the-scenes builds humility and teamwork, while allowing students to grow – and sometimes to fail – in a safe space. The hands-on experiences also nurture an appreciation for the work that goes into a professional stage production while helping prepare students for diverse careers.
University of South Carolina alumna Rebecca Krynski Cox says that while performance opportunities with Opera at USC were invaluable, the experiences she had beyond singing have contributed to her professional success and make her a better colleague. Cox, who earned her master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music has performed professionally across the country.
“Having lived experience in all aspects of an opera production showed me the enormous feats that also happen behind the scenes,” says Cox (’09 bachelor’s, vocal performance). “It gave me a better understanding of the business and made me incredibly appreciative for all of the people involved in the production. My performance on stage would not exist without all the very hard work of everyone else involved.”
Since earning her master’s degree in opera theatre in 2016, Madeline Beitel Olivera has worked for several opera companies across the country and has performed in Europe. She is now a resident artist for Opera Carolina. Olivera says the opportunity to perform a variety of roles in multiple venues while at USC allowed her to learn new skills and gain experience on and off stage.
“Opera at USC gave me a safe space to experiment as a performer while also teaching me that the only way to achieve on-stage excellence is through incredibly hard work and thorough preparation,” she says.
Embracing the experience
The enthusiasm and dedication for the opera art form from her students – both music and non-music majors – inspires Schlaefer.
“I love to see these young people tell stories with music and embrace music that is often difficult to learn, especially when they are balancing other commitments, such as academics, jobs, and other ensembles and performances,” she says.
For some like Cox who came to USC as a music education major, Schlaefer’s workshop class is their first exposure to opera.
“During that class, I fell in love with everything about opera – the style of singing, the languages, the history, the stories, and all of the hard work that goes into performing and opera. I changed my major to performance after the first semester and have never looked back.”
Opportunities to work on stage, backstage, and in the house allow students to expand their skills and help make them more marketable job candidates, says Veronica Page, who is seeking her doctorate in vocal performance with a minor in opera directing. She has been involved with a number of shows with Opera at USC from directing one act-operas to stage managing with students and professionals.
“As a singer, the most important preparation for a production is knowing the story and the characters inside and out. Opera is all about storytelling, and we as actors need to share that story with the audience,” Page says. “As a stage manager, preparation includes a knowledge of the cast, crew and creatives and an understanding of your role as set by the director. You must have an ability to be flexible, proactive and diligent.”
Building a program
In addition to talented and dedicated students, Schlaefer and voice professor Jacob Will, her predecessor in teaching the Opera Workshop, attribute the success of the program to the supportive environment at the School of Music, which nurtures students' diverse interests.
“Our faculty members have sung professionally, so they know the rigors of it and can give students valuable insights,” Will says. “The feedback we receive from students is they feel like the faculty are genuinely interested in their success.”
Will, who has been on the School of Music faculty for 23 years, graduated from USC with a marketing degree and then studied at the Cincinnati Conservatory. He sang with the Zurich Opera for many years. He highlights the opera program’s history with roots in the Columbia Lyric Theater and the Columbia Music Festival Association. Early productions involved faculty and local professionals. As the program evolved with the hiring of the first full-time opera director in 1992, productions became more student-centric. The program took another step forward when Schlaefer came on board in 2004.
“Ellen is an experienced professional, and she has done a terrific job involving students in really beautiful productions and conveying her love of opera,” Will says.
When Schlaefer arrived at USC, performances took place at a local high school. She advocated for moving them to campus, and now the program performs at Drayton Hall Theatre. Despite the challenges of a shared facility, Schlaefer says USC’s program appeals to students because it prepares them for diverse careers – including performing, teaching and industry roles – with a variety of degree options and tracks.
The opportunity for undergraduates to be cast in a lead role and the production of two fully staged performances each year also set USC’s program apart. Schlaefer also gives credit to the School of Music faculty, especially the voice and opera faculty and vocal coach Lynn Kompass, for their support and involvement.
“Opera at USC grads go on to perform all over the world and return to perform at the university as alumni, shining a spotlight on the university while abroad, and bringing a rich, global perspective back to USC in return” Cox says.
Enriching the community
Building the audience for opera in the Midlands through publicity and outreach in the community also is a priority for Schlaefer, who says opera is often misjudged as being inaccessible. That elitist mantle sometimes scares people away, but the audience is foremost at university productions. Super titles are projected above the stage for operas in a foreign language, sets and costumes are designed to be visually interesting and help tell the story, and productions span the spectrum from the 18th century to the present.
“When you come to one of our productions, you’re going to see something you haven't seen before,” Schlaefer says. “I can't stress enough what opera could do for an individual. The music can truly give you a chance to have a catharsis.”
Shirley describes opera as a culmination of art forms, from music and poetry to drama, movement and visual art.
“Opera at USC is striving to bring untold stories, as well as classic favorites, to the stage and inspire audiences and artists of all disciplines through collaboration and performance,” she says.
Schlaefer spearheads other initiatives to make opera more accessible to the community, such as FBN Productions: Opera for Kids, which presented a free festival at four locations in the Midlands last summer, and an annual summer camp, Carolina Opera Experience, for ages 8-17.
Olivera and Cox believe it is unfortunate that many Americans haven’t had exposure to what they describe as the magic of opera to connect audiences to diverse cultural and historical themes. Cox says that outreach efforts and easily accessible university performances can encourage communities to explore the art form.
“Opera tells powerful human stories through music and performance,” Olivera adds, “and can connect with audiences in a way that is meaningful, transformative and lasting.”
100 Years of Music at Carolina: ‘Puccini Plus’
- To commemorate its centennial year, the School of Music is showcasing its programs, alumni, students and faculty in a special series of stories and performances throughout the year. To read more about the yearlong celebration, click here. The theme for the historic milestone, “Sing Thy High Praise: 100 Years of Music at Carolina,” is pulled from the first line of USC’s alma mater.
- Opera at USC will present “Puccini Plus,” featuring Gianni Schicchi, Feb. 28 (7:30 p.m.), March 1 (7:30 p.m.) and March 2 (3 p.m.) at Drayton Hall. Gianni Schicchi is a comic opera in one act by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. It depicts the life of a scheming yet ingenious peasant who tries to cash in on an old man changing the will and securing a payoff for his daughter’s wedding. The cast will include School of Music alumni.
- The production will also tour four regional campuses of Palmetto College: Salkehatchie (March 29), Union (March 30), Lancaster (March 31) and Sumter (April 1). All shows are at 7:30 p.m.