Soprano opera singer LaToya Laine performed at the Rhea Miller Recital Hall on Saturday, Nov. 9, following her return from Kenya.
Laine was accompanied by pianist Casey Robards.
The pair performed “Love, Let the Wind Cry … How I Adore Thee!” by Undine Smith Moore, “L’Invitation au Voyage” by Henri Duparc, “Wesendonck Lieder” by Richard Wagner, “Cantata” by John Carter and “Dido’s Lament, from Dido and Aeneas” by Henry Purcell.
Duparc’s piece contained multiple movements, as did Wagner’s and Carter’s.
Laine’s musical talents and highly decorated career speak for themselves. She has performed in locations worldwide, ranging from Europe to Africa and even South America.
She is also currently working on a production with the Metropolitan Opera.
Music education sophomore Mason Szagesh attended the event and talked about why he finds opera to be so special.
“(Opera) is a way of not only projecting a voice and bringing out this wonderful tone, it’s conveying a story in the aspect of music,” Szagesh said.
Szagesh said that since he came to SVSU, he has been exposed to a large variety of different types of music.
“I think it’s really important to broaden your musical tastes, to not be set on a specific genre,” he said. “It’s an eye-opening experience, and it’s a way to express emotions that you really don’t have a way of expressing.”
Music sophomore Christiana Welter was also in attendance. She said she finds opera music unique.
“For me there’s so much history tied right in,” she said. “It’s such a special way that we as human beings get to express this art … It’s a beautiful expression of what we’re capable of.”
She said she believes that one cannot talk about music history without talking about opera.
Welter added that it is very special when opera singers like Laine perform at SVSU.
“We don’t get the opportunity here … to listen to stuff like this live very often,” she said. “Typically, when we have professional musicians, we have instrumentalists in the area.… We don’t get a lot of professional opera singers.”
Welter said she believes that Laine gave the audience something truly special.
“It was just this glimpse of beauty that we don’t get to see every day, and that’s so much bigger than what we are,” she said.
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