Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2009-03-24

Samford University OperaWorks will present Puccini's Gianni Schicchi and Amy Beach's The Cabildo April 2-4.

Samford performers will stage the two one-act operas at 7:30 p.m. in Brock Recital Hall. Dr. G. William Bugg directs. An orchestra of Samford musicians will accompany.

Baritone Joseph Hopkins, dean of the Samford School of the Arts, will sing the title role of Gianni Schicchi.

While Dr. Hopkins has sung leading roles with the Dallas Lyric Opera and Operafestival di Roma in Italy, and given many other solo performances in the U.S. and abroad, this will be his operatic debut in Birmingham.

Student soloists, some of whom perform in both operas, are David Berg, Allison Crandall, Jeff Caulk, Ashlyn Delianides, Tim Euchus, Ryan Ford, Sadie Frazier, Mary Emily Hansen, Haley Longino, Murphy Maddox, Adam Moxley, Hope Nolen, Alec Pike, Matt Powell, Quincy Price, Alan Taylor and Paige Welch. The Cabildo chorus also includes Lauren Carpenter.

Admission is $12 adult, $9 senior adult (55-plus), and $6 student/child. Tickets are available atwww.samfordartstickets.com. For reservations and information, call (205) 726-2853.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.