The University of Idaho Opera is preparing for its first performance of the year — “The Tender Land” by American composer Aaron Copeland.
The story takes place on a farm in the Midwest during the 1930s and tells the love story of Laurie Moss, a recent graduate, who meets a farm worker named Martin.
Caitlin Blankenship, a fifth-year senior, plays Laurie and said she is a fun, easily- relatable character.
“Laurie has this interesting progression throughout the show,” Blankenship said. “In the first act she’s this angsty teenager, and by the second act she falls in love and it’s like it spring-boarded her into adulthood. ”
Jason Dyer, who plays Martin, said the show features a wide range of music that is accessible to everybody.
“There’s some really upbeat, fun music and then there’s really slow, beautiful duets, especially between Martin and Laurie,” Dyer said.
Kyle Ferrill is the musical and stage director for the show and joined the Lionel Hampton School of Music faculty last fall.
“We’ve been looking to grow our classical vocal offerings not only in quantity but in quality,” Ferrill said. “That’s one thing that I see my role here at the University of Idaho being.”
Blankenship said this will be her first opera performance and she is looking forward to opening night.
“It’s a cool opportunity and I’m really excited to have a chance at something like this,” she said.
Ferrill said a lot of people are hesitant to give opera a chance, but “The Tender Land” is a great introduction to opera in general because the story is so relatable.
“I think what the audience can come away with is they can relate to every single character,” Ferrill said, “The themes (for opera) are so universal that you can say ‘wow this was written in 1831 but it happened to me yesterday.'”
“The Tender Land” shows at 7:30 p.m. April 14 and 3 p.m. April 15 in the Administration Auditorium. Admission is $3 for students and seniors and $5 for adults. Tickets can be purchased at the door.
More Info—
UI Opera’s “The Tender Land”
7:30 p.m. April 14 and 3 p.m. April 15
Administration Auditorium
Tickets at the door: $5 for adults, $3 for students and seniors.
Becky Davis can be reached at [email protected]