The Sweet Briar College music department, in conjunction with the theater department, will present a performance as the culmination of the Opera Workshop at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 27 and 28 in Murchison Lane Auditorium.

The production will feature scenes from “Cenerentola,” “The Marriage of Figaro,” “Cosi Fan Tutte,” “Hansel and Gretel,” “The Magic Flute,” “The Mikado” and “The Tenderland.” All scenes are sung in English and many are from comedies.

Opera students rehearse at Babcock Fine Arts Center.Marcia Thom, adjunct instructor of music, is directing the performance and teaches the Opera Workshop, which meets on Friday afternoons at Sweet Briar. “I expect the audience to have a wonderful evening, filled with much laughter and beautiful music,” she said. “I want the audience to know that operatic literature is accessible to all ages.”

The cast is made up of 11 students from Sweet Briar and one from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College. Caitlin Cashin, who recently directed the radio opera, “The Old Maid and the Thief,” for her senior project, is assistant director. Pianist Mona Thomas will accompany the cast.

This is the first year Opera Workshop has been offered at Sweet Briar. “My expectations are that all of the students will come away from the workshop knowing that they can do something – singing operatic literature – that they didn’t previously know they could do,” Thom said.

Cast member Erin Rogers ’08, who recently performed in “The Old Maid and the Thief,” has enjoyed participating in the workshop and described the experience as a “rewarding process.”

“Throughout the semester, we have been learning the tools and knowledge needed to become successful singing actresses,” she said. “We perform for one another, engage in constructive criticism, discuss technique, and attempt to apply what we have learned to our performances.

“Being a student and a collaborative part of Marcia’s opera workshop means [being] part of a fun, useful and challenging experience. What better way is there to end every week than to participate in two and a half hours of opera? I look forward to bringing this celebrated and memorable music to Sweet Briar and the community.”

In addition to Rogers, the cast includes Kim Battad ’07, Liz Caldwell ’08, Rosanna Hawkins ’07, Laura Jones ’10, Alyssa Lynch ’10, Mary Massie ’10, Emily Olson ’07, Caroline Rainey ’10, Megan Seigerwald (R-MWC) ’09 and Brione Smith ’10.

The event is free and open to the public. Reservations are not required. For more information contact Thom at mthom@sbc.edu or 381-6221.