Opera for Everyone

On the stage of the Howard Performing Arts Center on the campus of Andrews University, the story of the Passion is narrated by a tenor Evangelist as part of a performance of Bach’s “The Passion According to Matthew.” A choir plays both the part of the mocking crowd and the sympathetic followers, loudly calling for his crucifixion in one moment and mourning his impending death the next. The props are sparse: only one wooden beam is used as the cross. Jesus is dressed in pants and the Evangelist is wearing jeans. The choir members are likewise dressed in 21st century garb.

Charles Reid, associate professor of voice, coordinator for voice studies in the Department of Music, and artist-in-residence, directed the production. Reid, who joined the Andrews faculty after many years of experience on the stage, translated the Passion from the original German into common American English with help from undergraduate Aleks Kravig in an effort to make the piece more accessible. “We wanted this story to be as relatable as possible. Jesus didn’t get dressed up to be Jesus,” he said in a pre-performance roundtable.

For his part, Reid is very aware of the relevance and relatability of oratorio and opera. His career includes performances ranging from the sacred to secular at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Theater an der Wien, and the Frankfurt Opera (www.charles-reid.com/).

Reid began his formal music education at Houston Baptist University as a college student where he fell in love with “classical” music, particularly art song and the music of Benjamin Britten. After college, Reid attended the University of Maryland for graduate studies in opera performance.

For Reid, opera is unique as a live art form. “Hearing the human voice exposed without amplification, accompanied by a huge orchestra and performed on stage with beautiful sets is a new experience for someone who has never been to an opera before,” he says animatedly. “It’s theater without mics.”

Besides his vocal capabilities, Reid is an excellent actor. That’s a good thing, since staging is an important part of opera. Each opera requires several weeks of rehearsals just for staging purposes in addition to the many weeks spent memorizing parts. If the opera is a historical piece, extra time may be required for research since, as Reid exclaims, “you would be a fool not to research about the real guy!”

Reid takes the characters he plays very seriously. “I have to be able to feel like I can be honest in the role,” he says. He has no problems with the characters having flaws or imperfections. “All characters are flawed,” he says, “including biblical characters.” The larger question for Reid is whether or not he can walk in the shoes of a character with integrity. “There are some roles that I have tried where I spent the whole time feeling like an imposter,” he admits.

While the music and the stories of opera are a natural draw for Reid, the production aspect of opera seems to be a particular source of excitement. Opera “requires a huge number of people,” he says. “Behind the scenes you have set builders, designers, costumers, lighting engineers, makeup people and directors, in addition to the people you see on the set.” The audience never sees most of the 500–600 people required to put on an opera.

Reid recognizes that people might feel that opera is intimidating, so in 2011 he started his own podcast, “This Opera Life” (http:// thisoperalife.charles-reid.com/), in which he interviews internationally recognized musicians and conductors. The podcast helps to demystify opera, and those who perform it, and serves as an excellent resource for up-and-coming musicians.

Since coming to Andrews, Reid has expanded his list of skills to include director and teacher. He directed his first opera, “The Bremen Town Musicians,” last year and the oratorio, “The Passion According to Matthew,” this past spring. For advice, he turned to some of the directors he had worked with in the past. “They said follow your instincts. Be organized. If you call a rehearsal, actually use the people you called. Tell them in advance what they are going to rehearse so they can be prepared,” he remembers. “And those tips worked out really well.”

As a teacher, Reid uses his own experience in the field to help his students understand the joys and challenges of being a musician. “I think that my being active in the performance field makes me a much more valuable addition to the faculty,” he says enthusiastically. “It is a constant source of inspiration in my teaching.” Reid also has contacts in most of the major opera companies and when his students go to a performance, they are often able to meet the cast backstage.

Reid plans to scale back from working with opera and focus on doing concert work, which involves less rehearsal time. This will enable him to spend more time on campus and at home with his wife, Julie, and their children. Julie is a mezzo-soprano and has performed on numerous occasions with her husband. They have already performed once together since moving to Andrews in an evening celebrating the centennial of Benjamin Britten’s birth.

Reid is now gearing up for a busy year at Andrews. In addition to performing “love songs” with his wife, he will prepare a fall Christmas concert and direct “An Evening at the Opera,”
which will include a selection of opera scenes performed by his students. Reid’s goal is to encourage students to discover their vocal talents and to mentor them, whether they decide to pursue a career in voice or not. He also hopes to broaden his students’ understanding of God in relationship to the art of music. For Reid, the amazing compositions that he performs and directs are “God-breathed” and should not be dismissed solely as “secular works” just because they were composed for a concert hall or theater. “I see art as art, whether it’s oratorio or opera,” he says. “And I hope that the generations of students who work with me will leave with a broader understanding of God and music.”

Top Right Photo: Reid performs in the opera, "Catone in Uttica"