Utah Vocal Arts Academy Summer Opera Festival

This July, I had the pleasure of participating in the Utah Vocal Arts Academy Summer Opera Festival, where I played the role of Cupid in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld (the opera that the can-can comes from!). In addition to singing a full role, I participated in acting classes, opera scenes, and coachings with a world class faculty.

UVAA was my first post-quarantine experience where I was in a large group setting. While I was nervous about this at first, my fears dispelled almost immediately upon arrival. There was such a vibrant and good air about everyone there. Everyone was so nice and excited to be able to come together and make music for the first time in a year and a half! My experience couldn’t have been better!

In the short 4 weeks that I spent at UVAA, I feel that I have grown immeasurably as not only a singer, but as an actress. I feel like I was finally able to step out of the “I’m Arianna playing [insert character name] ” and into “I am [insert character name].” This has always been a struggle for me because it is truly difficult to just let yourself go, and fully commit to being someone else. The biggest revelations came from the masterclasses with Marc Verzatt, where he explained that you are not *telling* your scene partner anything, but *sharing* something with them. It seems so simple, but once you shift your paradigm to the idea of sharing your feelings, your character instantly has more depth, vulnerability, and believability.

I am already missing all of the wonderful people I met at UVAA last month and look forward to meeting them again in the future. I would highly recommend UVAA to any young artist looking to develop their skills.

“It’ll be a real riot!”- Cupid, Orpheus in the Underworld