Three Questions With Four Choristers, Part III

Three Questions With...
Kristen Bond, soprano
Michael Etzwiler, baritone
Beth Morgan, mezzo
Scott Seyforth, tenor
Madison Opera Chorus, Sweeney Todd


1.  What is your day job?
Kristen: Working as a singing teacher and a research assistant at UW-Madison.

Michael: I'm a dancer by trade.  I also teach Zumba.
 
Beth: Quality Assurance at Epic (I test software).

Scott: Helping run the residence halls at UW-Madison, working with the incredible students that come to the University and helping them be successful.


2.  What are you most excited about for Madison Opera's Sweeney Todd? 
Kristen: Seeing Sweeney's chair and the chute in action!

Michael: I hope I get my throat slit onstage!
 
Beth: SONDHEIM IS MY JAM.  The music is so difficult and so interesting and so rewarding.  It's my first time performing a full show of his (finally!!!)

Scott: The amazing cast of principal singers that has been assembled for this production.


3.  What is your favorite show that you've been in?
Kristen: Dead Man Walking.

Michael: I really enjoyed singing "Make Our Garden Grow" from Candide with 300 other people on the Overture Hall stage!

Beth: Don Giovanni with Madison Opera.  Sure, chorus was minimally involved vocally, but I got to take a (staged) drunken nap right onstage, mere feet away from a gorgoeous "Batti Batti" right beside me and the cello obligato directly below me.  Also memorable because I totally bit it on stage, opening night, front and center, during the beautiful rose petal drop.

Scott: It's hard to pick one. Of course, I remember fondly my first show with Madison Opera, the 1996 production of Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann. A wonderful opera and such beautiful music. No one conducts this opera like John DeMain, who makes the Sextet in the Giulietta act seem like Mahler. It’s extraordinary. I’ve also fond memories of Fidelio, Dutchman, Lucia di Lammermoor, Merry Widow, and I would sing Rigoletto, Carmen, or La Traviata any day (and do, sometimes, to myself).


Don't miss the chance to see these four amazing singers in Sweeney Todd, a thrilling American masterpiece!  Performances are February 6, 7, and 8 in the Capitol Theater.  Tickets start at $25; visit madisonopera.org for more information.