The same group that did the Messiah the previous year asked me to sing with them again. Some singers make a decent living specializing in oratorio work. I just like doing fully staged works better. But a job is a job. This time Steve Fiol sang the bass solos. Great voice and a good mentor and friend.
I did end up working for the Dorian Opera Theatre which is a program associated with my old alma mater, Luther College. Their summer production that year was Mountain Adventure (Fjeldeventyret in Norwegian), a fairly obscure piece by composer Waldemar Thrane.
It also included a recital by the professional artists.
It was fun to get to work with some of my previous mentors, and also some talented new friends.
Another of my colleagues at Millikin, Mary Ann Scott, was one of the founders of the Muddy River Opera company in Quincy, IL. She asked if I would be willing to sing in the jazz trio for Trouble in Tahiti by Leonard Bernstein. The trio serves the function of a Greek chorus, and especially since it was in the summer when I was always looking for work, I was happy to take that on.
And no, my hair wasn't turning gray yet, that was makeup. They thought I looked too young.
The Opera Department at Millikin was putting on Kismet in early May of 1991. About a week before they opened, the student (Rob Little) playing the lead part of The Poet got injured when he was accidentally dropped during a lift. They had the student playing the role of The Caliph, Eric Brzonkala, take over the part of The Poet, and Steve Fiol asked me if I would learn The Caliph. Fortunately he doesn't have many lines and does get to sing a beautiful duet, "Strangers in Paradise," so I said sure. (Plus who turns down their boss when they ask for a favor?)
I started rehearsing with them and learned all the lines, music, and blocking. I was ready to go on and even had been listed in the program.
Then I get sick with the worst laryngitis I have ever had (then or since) three days before we were to open. I was able to see an ENT and after looking at my cords he said, "I wouldn't sing if I were you. You could damage your voice."
So I tell Steve this, and after the initial shock washes over, he gets on the phone. He soon was able to get a recent Millikin grad who was working professionally in Chicago to come down and take over my part learning it in a day. I wish I could remember his name, he had a great voice. Anyway, just goes to show, an actor is never irreplaceable.
Wow, I guess I felt like I needed to keep busy back then. This faculty recital was the first time I had sung in Norwegian. I had gotten a hold of a book that had International Phonetic Association (IPA) transcriptions of many of Edvard Grieg's songs. I especially liked "Jeg elsker dig" as the melody and chromaticism are quite beautiful. I'm not sure why the article says the recital was February 3 and the program says March 5. It's unlikely I did it twice, so maybe just a typo.
In January 1991 I got to perform the part of Adam in a one-act musical, The Diary of Adam and Eve, with other members of the Millikin faculty. David Golden was the director of the Theatre program and Steve Fiol, director of the School of Music. Lynne Snyder, if I recall correctly, was a faculty member in the Dance and Theatre Departments.
