The opportunity to live, learn and experience all the aspects of opera for three weeks will be the highlight of the summer for Chelsea Woodard, daughter of Jennifer and Darren Woodard.
The opportunity to live, learn and experience all the aspects of opera for three weeks will be the highlight of the summer for Chelsea Woodard, daughter of Jennifer and Darren Woodard. The Weyburn singer will expand her horizons further by attending the Walnut Hill Summer Opera Program.It is going to be a fantastic experience, because I will be learning opera, exclaimed Chelsea. She then quickly added that her Weyburn singing teacher, Mary Johnston, had taught her some arias. I do know how to do musical theatre, it is just that opera is a big step above that level. I have never actually performed or acted out a whole scene.Open to youth ages 13 to 17, the Walnut Hill Summer Opera Program provides intensive training in the art of vocal and opera performance, as well as scene work and study. Participants have the opportunity to work with world-renowned performers and teachers, with the goal of the program to present a final performance at the end of the three weeks.Students spend two weeks on the Walnut Hull campus rehearsing, attending coaching and master classes, and then travel to Italy for approximately eight days to experience the culture of opera where it was founded.Chelseas face lit up with delight as she described the most exciting opportunity of the experience. I get to see an opera in Italy! That is where it all happened! In fact, the opera that the students will attend will take place at La Scala, a world-renowned opera house in Milan. Other places they will visit include the Verona Opera Festival, and the birthplaces and museums of composers Giuseppe Verdi and Gaetano Donizetti.To be accepted into the program Chelsea had to submit a performing arts resume of all her accomplishments, include letters of recommendation and a DVD of her repertoire. During the timing of the application process, Woodard was competing in the Weyburn Rotary Musical Festival, and received permission to make a YouTube electronic audition.Very soon Woodard will be contacted by the musical director of the opera program, so they can determine Chelseas type of voice and singing-style preferences to assign her a scene for the program. I am really excited to get music before I go there, said the singer.There is a lot of work Chelsea has to do before arriving at Walnut Hill, explained Jennifer. The scene has to be memorized, and then they will work with her on scene study, analyzing her character, and even with the scene written in English they will study the Italian version. They also will study the original background of the show.It will be really nice to learn from the teachers at Walnut Hill because I will be able to develop connections from educators at that program, added Chelsea. Walnut Hill is linked to the Boston Conservatory, a private college that offers undergraduate programs in music performance, education and composition, dance and musical theatre.Woodard also recently placed in the top three (out of 10) during the Regina Symphony Orchestra Singing Star competition, held May 12.Chelsea qualified for the top 10 finalists after a preliminary round at the Cornwall Mall in Regina, where each performance was done a cappella. A member of the judging panel was Jeffery Straker, who has performed with the Regina Symphony Orchestra and recently brought his Handsome Stranger tour to the Weyburn Comprehensive.Reflecting on Chelseas performance, Straker said, She really stood out from the others with her chosen piece. It was a difficult song and we could tell that she was obviously trained and talented. It was a no-brainer to place her in the top 10.A slight issue had arisen for the singer right before the finals, as Chelsea had the difficulty of a throat infection and by the day of the event her throat had not yet completely healed. Our immediate panic was not knowing if she could sing, said Jennifer.The solution was for Chelsea to change from her chosen song. I couldnt stay with Glitter and Be Gay as my first song because it is a very high opera piece. So instead I sang Girl in 14G, which the audience really seemed to like.I vividly remember the response from the audience when Chelsea sang her first song, and she stood out again among those at the show lounge. It was one of those songs that showed everyone what she could do, said Straker. When it came down to the final three, the selection got trickier. It was a testament to her training that she got so far; she is a wildly talented singer and I look forward to hearing from her again in the future.For herself, Chelsea had not expected to make the top three. The judges which included RSO conductor Victor Sawa and Regina Mayor Pat Fiacco had obviously thought otherwise. The judges had mentioned that I have a gift for performing and telling the story because a lot of people can sing, but dont act out the song. Victor also mentioned that he would love to have me sing with the RSO.
