La Jolla Community Center

I haven’t been to an Opera Wednesday in quite some time, so I went on over to the La Jolla Community Center on Wednesday night and listened to four solid singers sing three pieces each. One of the singers was Alexis Alfaro who founded this event more than two years ago.

Alfaro went on to earn a Master's Degree from the University of Kansas and is now back in town. In the meantime, the event has been managed by Patrick Andersen and Derrick Legg.

Also singing were established artist Cherylyn Larson and Sharmay Musacchio. Larson is a “core chorister” with San Diego Opera and Musacchio has been a principal artist at several opera companies across the U.S. Rounding out the group of four was emerging artist Ted Allen Pickell.

The program was balanced with well-known arias and pieces that had a feeling of discovery about them. The well known included "Mimi’s Aria" from La Boheme and "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess.

A little less well known were "Principessa’s Aria" from Suor Angelica and "Aprite un po’ quegli occhi" from Marriage of Figaro. Some of the “discoveries” were "Aleko’s Cavatina" from Rachmaninoff’s opera Aleko and a song by William Denis Browne entitled "The Isle of Lost Dreams."

One of the best things about Opera Wednesdays is the pacing of the evening. Each singer sings an aria then the audience gets a little break to discuss. Each singer then performs another aria followed by another break for discussion. Finally, each singer presents a third aria and we’re done.

Opera Wednesdays are at the La Jolla Community Center on the second Wednesday of the month.