REXBURG — If an Eastern Idaho resident is looking for a way to spend their weekend, the Idaho Falls Opera invites you to their latest production, “The Bridge Between Opera and Broadway.”
Joelle Willmore, the artistic director for the Idaho Falls Opera, says preparation for this production began a year ago.
“We try and do a concert every fall, and we do an opera every spring,” Willmore said. “I love the topic of doing opera and Broadway because we have many phenomenal singers in the area that do one or the other or both.”
As the title suggests, “The Bridge Between Opera and Broadway” illustrates just how intertwined the two music styles truly are.
“On Broadway, there's many singers who have classically trained voices, and they can either put it into opera style singing, or they can put it into Broadway style singing,” Willmore said.
The concert will feature a mix of both Broadway and opera-style music. The concert will include music from “West Side Story,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Les Misérables,” “Man of La Mancha,” “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Steamboat” among others.
With so many musicals being featured, the production will have 22 singers on stage throughout the night.
It is not often that a night at the opera is free, but the Idaho Falls Opera is a nonprofit organization. Thus, tickets to the concert are free, but donations are welcomed.
“We have people backstage that do props,” Willmore said. “They do costumes. We have stage managers. We have lighting people. We have a music director. We have a stage director. And yeah, we need money to buy fabric for costumes and to support our musicians. It's just a really good thing for our community to have.”
“The Bridge Between Opera and Broadway” opens Oct. 13 at 7 p.m., Oct. 14 at 4 p.m., and Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Trinity United Methodist Church which is located at 237 N. Water Ave. in Idaho Falls.
To find more information, see what else is coming to the opera stage, go to www.ifot.org.