Presale tickets are $5 for students and $10 general admission from choir students or in Room 305 on campus; or $10 for students and $15 general admission at the door.
Choir director Tim Williams says the opera is a “cultural treasure” and a fun and family-friendly event.
“The Pirates of Penzance is the most famous light opera in the repertoire and as a result, references to the opera pop up in popular culture productions as varied as the show Frazier, Family Guy, Despicable Me, and many other feature films” Mr. Williams said. “The most famous song from the opera, entitled ‘I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General’ is considered by many to be the quintessential silly patter song. The whimsical story and over-the-top humor set this opera apart from most every other opera.”
The Liberty High Chamber Singers have a tradition of performing operas that goes back to 2010. With the exception of the COVID era, the singers have performed operas every two years since then. The Chamber Singers even premiered an opera written by Mr. Williams in 2018.
“Why opera?” one might ask, as many people perceive operas as boring and inaccessible, when the stories are usually quite interesting.
“The language barrier with traditional Italian opera stands in the way of most audiences, but opera was intended to be for the common people and should be listened to in the language of the audience,” Mr. Williams said, adding that this opera is in English.
Furthermore, Mr. Williams said, “Operas provide the opportunity for students to participate in a unique performance that other students at other high schools will never experience. Colleges and universities see this as a strong indicator of a student’s ability to perform, focus, and learn at a high level. Scholarships and acceptances follow students who have performed an opera in high school.”
The two weekends will have different casts, so audiences will see two different performances by attending on different weekends. “We are blessed to have enough capable students that we are able to double-cast our opera. This means that the two weekends of performances will have completely different leads. Each cast will bring their own stamp to their performance,” Mr. Williams said.
Piano accompanist for the opera is Ruben Carrillo.