| A monthly publication providing news for Gustavus, Alaska |
 | |  | |  |
| May 1, 2008 |
| O Mio Babbino Caro |
Anyone who says Gustavus ain’t got no culture, don’t know what they’re talking about.
In what is believed to be the first time ever in Gustavus, the school presented an opera concert on April
22. The program, sponsored through a Lilly Foundation grant, was done in partnership between Gustavus
School staff and students and a group from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.
International Opera singer, soprano Rebecca Fromherz performed four arias. For “O Mio Babbino Caro”,
she enlisted George Jensen to play the part of the father, as she, a fifteen-year-old girl, begged him for
permission to marry a poor boy.
In “Quando M’en Vo”, from La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini, several audience members, volunteered by
their children, also participated.
Under the direction of Robin Fromherz, and narration of Rebecca Fromherz, students put on an opera
based on the book, Ka Ha Si and the Loon, an Eskimo Legend, by Terri Cohlene. With a job for every
student from actor to assistant director to stage and props managers, the school’s multipurpose room came
alive.
Ka Ha Si, the loons, the mother, hunters, a stranger, giant fighters, a giant, magic flowering bushes, waves,
mountains, whirlpools, villagers—all performed masterfully. Bravi !
Below: George and Rebecca in "O Mio Babbino Caro".
In what is believed to be the first time ever in Gustavus, the school presented an opera concert on April
22. The program, sponsored through a Lilly Foundation grant, was done in partnership between Gustavus
School staff and students and a group from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.
International Opera singer, soprano Rebecca Fromherz performed four arias. For “O Mio Babbino Caro”,
she enlisted George Jensen to play the part of the father, as she, a fifteen-year-old girl, begged him for
permission to marry a poor boy.
In “Quando M’en Vo”, from La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini, several audience members, volunteered by
their children, also participated.
Under the direction of Robin Fromherz, and narration of Rebecca Fromherz, students put on an opera
based on the book, Ka Ha Si and the Loon, an Eskimo Legend, by Terri Cohlene. With a job for every
student from actor to assistant director to stage and props managers, the school’s multipurpose room came
alive.
Ka Ha Si, the loons, the mother, hunters, a stranger, giant fighters, a giant, magic flowering bushes, waves,
mountains, whirlpools, villagers—all performed masterfully. Bravi !
Below: George and Rebecca in "O Mio Babbino Caro".
