Weaving together music and stage, the University Center will pulse with the powerful voices of professional opera singers, the Mount Mercy University Madrigal Singers, and the outstanding theatrical performances of drama students on Saturday, April 26.
Shakespeare on the Hill will entwine breathtaking Bard-inspired arias and duets with scenes from plays including Macbeth, Hamlet, West Side Story and many more.
Mount Mercy drama students will perform classic scenes under the direction of fellow student and president of the drama club, Taylor Foster. Foster, a senior communications major, performed on stage for the first time at the age of 13. He has appeared in every Mount Mercy theatrical production since arriving at the university and looks forward to performing his senior project in May, a monologue about the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy.
The Mount Mercy University Madrigal Singers are a newly formed group on campus, and will make their debut performance during Shakespeare on the Hill.
Lending their talents to the recital, John Humphrey, Diana Stoic and Philip Torre will perform pieces from Roméo et Juliette, Otello, Kiss Me Kate and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
John Humphrey has performed with the MN Opera, Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre and Des Moines Metro Opera. He has been the featured tenor soloist in masterworks such the Liszt Mass and Mozart’s Requiem with The Fort Dodge Choral Society as well as Handel’s Messiah and Orff’s Carmina Burana with Simpson College.
Diana Stoic has performed with Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Des Moines Metro Opera and Petite Opera Productions. A frequent soloist with the DuPage Symphony Orchestra, Stoic has performed a program of Czech songs and arias, Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasilieras No. 5, and the roles of Sandman/Dew Fairy in concert performances of Hansel and Gretel.
Philip Torre has performed with New York City Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Boston Lyric Opera and many more. On the concert stage, he has appeared as a featured soloist with the Calgary Philharmonic, Chicago Sinfonietta, Grant Park Music Festival, The Bellingham Music Festival (WA), New York City Opera's VOX Festival of New Music, and the De Vive Voix Festival d'Art Lyrique, France.
Tony Nickle coordinates and serves as the pianist for this annual recital series at Mount Mercy that brings opera singers with active careers to perform on campus. Nickle has been on the faculty at Mount Mercy University in the music department since 2005, teaching studio piano and serving as staff accompanist.
Shakespeare on the Hill will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the University Center. This beautiful evening is free and the public is welcome. Seating is limited.