Uptown Opera Puts Its Faith In Young Talent
The Uptown Opera’s Gala at the Davenport on Wednesday will showcase some New York talent (Frank Ream), some local talent (Darnelle Preston and Robert Newman) and some Bosnian talent.
Bosnian talent?
That’s right, one of the members of the ensemble will be Nermin Gusic, 20, a native of Bosnia and now a Whitworth College student studying to be an operatic bass-baritone.
A handful of local patrons, including members of the Uptown Opera board, have been helping him financially so he can realize his dream of being an opera star. In doing so, they are carrying on a proud tradition of nurturing young operatic talent in Spokane. This is the same tradition that produced international opera stars Thomas Hampson and Frank Hernandez.
This help was vital for Gusic, because when he came to America about three years ago with his parents and younger brother, they had to leave their old lives, and livelihoods, behind.
“My brother and I had to leave Bosnia a few months after the war,” said Gusic. “So we began living in Croatia. Then we were rejoined by my parents in Croatia. After a year, because of so many ethnic problems, we decided to go as far away as we could. We went to Vienna to see if we could come here (to America). We are now permanent residents, pending citizenship.”
They all came to Kennewick, sponsored by a church there. His father is a medical doctor, now studying for the tests that will enable him to practice in the United States. Nermin himself was toying with the idea of being a doctor, too - until the Uptown Opera’s Marjory Halvorson heard him sing at the Greater Spokane Music and Allied Arts Festival.
“I recognized him as a magnificent voice, so I invited him to the Thomas Hampson workshop a year ago,” said Halvorson, who teaches voice at Whitworth. “He really wanted a college education, but there was no possibility.”
So Halvorson, along with Margie May Ott, Sam and Rosemary Selinger, Walker Collins and others of the Uptown Opera Board, mobilized to help him. He is now a freshman at Whitworth, studying music and getting ready to appear in the Uptown Opera’s “The Ballad of Baby Doe” in May.
“I never thought about being an opera singer before,” said Gusic. “Now I see it will be a great career.”
“Part of our tradition is that when we have an unusually talented student, we involve them in the ensemble and get them onstage to learn and observe,” said Halvorson. “There’s more to being an excellent artist than singing.”
Gusic will appear as an ensemble member at the gala, which promises to be a feast of opera and song.
The evening’s program will feature Ream, Newman and Preston singing numbers from “La Traviata,” “Cosi Fan Tutte,” “Die Fledermaus” and the upcoming production of “The Ballad of Baby Doe.” Preston is substituting for Ann Fennessey, who had to drop out for health reasons.
In addition, another one of the group’s budding stars, Uptown Scholar Heather Peterson, will do a selection of comic arias from “La Perichole” and “Fille du Tambour Major.” Other members of the Uptown Scholars program from Whitworth and Gonzaga University will be singing in some ensemble pieces.
The second half of the show will be a bit lighter, with songs by Kurt Weill, Leonard Bernstein and others.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo
MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: CONCERT The Uptown Opera’s Gala at the Davenport will begin at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Tickets: $50 for the main floor, $35 for the mezzanine, $25 for chair seats on the main floor, and $10 for standing room. Available at G&B Select-a-Seat outlets, (800) 325-SEAT.