Making the rounds on First Friday last week, quite by accident I stumbled upon Brian Salesky of the Knoxville Opera Company and four singers from the Knoxville Opera Studio performing in that under-utilized half of Koi on Market Square--the north half that now sports a sign saying "Cocoa Moon, Fresh Cuisine, Coming Soon"--in an event they are calling "Opera After Hours."
The Knoxville Opera Studio is a collaborative effort between KOC and the University of Tennessee School of Music Opera Theatre that is designed to give professional experience to graduate opera students and bring them into contact with artists in the professional opera world.
Salesky was accompanying the singers on keyboard for some operatic selections to entertain the sizable Friday night crowd. The Knoxville Opera Studio singers were Denisha Ballew, Jessica Cates, Whitney Hansen, and Holly Wengenroth. All four singers were recently seen in UT Opera Theatre's production of The Crucible--Ballew sang Tituba, Cates sang Ann Putnam, Hansen sang Johanna Dod, and Wengenroth sang Sarah Good.
Knoxville Opera has plans to return to First Friday for February's event on February 5. This is immediately prior to the Knoxville Opera season.
February 12 and 14: Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor
March 12 and 14: Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance
April 23 and 25: Rossini's The Barber of Seville (part of Knoxville Opera's Rossini Festival)
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