THEATER
Leah Partridge performs
"I had this concept of opera with the big women and horns coming out of their heads," she said. "It wasn't me."
But now the trim Partridge does just that, traveling the globe as a rising star in the opera world. She'll perform in Macon with the Macon Symphony Orchestra at the Grand Opera House.
Partridge last performed at the Grand in 1997, the year she graduated from Mercer University. It was there, Partridge said, that she was introduced to the opera and fell in love with being on stage and dressing up as another person.
Martha Malone, who taught Partridge as a professor of voice and director of the Mercer University Opera, said faculty members always knew the soprano singer would become successful.
"Her artistry is exceptional," she said. "People who haven't heard her just wouldn't believe it."
Partridge will perform "Knoxville: Summer of 1915" composed by Samuel Barber. She described the piece and her preparation for a performance to about 75 Mercer students and faculty earlier this week.
Partridge said the most important thing she does is try to communicate the opera's text.
"It's my goal as a singer to paint the correct picture with the word," she said.
When she sings "rocking," it should sound like rocking. When she sings "gently," it should sound gently, Partridge explained.
For this performance, Partridge said, she read the poem by James Agee after reading the opera's text. Then, she looked at the rhythms and began to figure out who the character was that was speaking.
To do this, Partridge said she writes a back story for the character that precedes where the opera begins. For "Knoxville: Summer of 1915," she imagined the character was a 12-year-old girl and developed details as small as a jasmine bush growing up the fence in the backyard.
"I don't want it to be Leah up here. It's not as interesting as coming up with these wonderful characters," she said.
This is a rare opportunity for Partridge to perform the piece. Because it is typically not well-known, performing it doesn't sell as many tickets as popular music, she said.
The opera and symphony industries are changing to compete with other media, such as television and movies, Partridge said. The performances have to be believable, which means no women in horns, and understandable for a larger audience, she said.
Opera performances can be heard over the Internet, and some metropolitan companies are doing broadcasts in movie theaters.
In January, Partridge will go to New York for rehearsal for her Metropolitan Opera debut in a new production of "Peter Grimes," the production of which will be broadcast in high definition in theaters March 15.
"I still hope we can keep our musical integrity, but we have to compete or we'll die off," she said.
Edward Atkinson, a sophomore organ performance major at Mercer, said hearing Partridge sing briefly in class was "incredible," and he plans to see her performance.
"I think it's good she's reaching out to students because there's not enough education in that area," he said.
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? Copyright 2007, THE MACON TELEGRAPH, GA.
