Opera Returns To The Ozarks: Alumni bring live performance back to Eureka Springs

Eureka Springs' Opera in the Ozarks has a treat in store for those longing for live arts programming. The opera company's new Alumni Recital Series will feature a live performance -- with masks required, limited seating and social distancing observed -- this Sunday in addition to a streaming performance audience members can watch from the safety of their homes.

Opera in the Ozarks General Director Nancy J. Preis says the idea for the series was born after the 2020 season was canceled due to covid-19 concerns. While she had the time, she started a project that had long been a goal of the organization -- tracking alumni of the storied summer program to find out where their careers went after leaving Eureka Springs.

"I have a group of volunteers combing the Internet, looking for alumni," says Preis. "It's been interesting. We've found all sorts of stuff. We've found people that I didn't even know went on to be big opera stars, and I've been listening to opera for 50-something years. We've found people with fabulous stories and asked if they would sit for interviews. We have a board member who is so good at that -- he's like the Dick Cavett of Opera in the Ozarks. He gets them to talk, we film the whole thing, and our intention was to add them to our archive at the University of Arkansas Library. But when we started doing them, I thought, 'We have to do something more than just dump them in an archive.' The real reason we want to do this is to hear these people, so I came up with an idea to use seasoned alumni with recent graduates -- that gives us a chance to hear people who have had a career for a while as well as recent graduates."

Preis says she leaves the program up to the performers, though she encourages two things: originality and variety.

"I told them I want a mixture of opera arias, art songs, great American songbook, Broadway -- really mix it up," she says. "There's a preference for things that are not a blockbuster. There's only so many times I can hear 'Quando m'en vo' from 'La Boheme.' There are some songs we hear all the time, and I don't need to hear those again -- I think audiences deserve to have some variety. It's fine to include one or two things that are popular, but throw things in that audiences don't know and expand horizons."

The November Alumni Recital will include Tara Stafford Spyres, a 2000 alumna, and Jonathan Patton, a 2019 alumna. The duo will be accompanied by pianist Louis Menendez. Spyres has performed with operas all over the world and is positioned to perform with the Springfield Symphony for the 2020-21 season. Patton performed at Opera in the Ozarks for two years and is currently pursuing a graduate artist certificate at the University of North Texas.

Preis says the organization is taking pains to make sure the performance will be safe for performer and audience member alike: only 75 tickets are being sold for the 600-seat Center Stage auditorium, at least 20 feet will separate the performers from the audience, and masks are required of all audience members.

The November recital will include Tara Stafford Spyres, whose performance credits span the globe, and Jonathan Patton, a baritone whose awards include finalist in the New Mexico Vocal Artistry Art Song Competition. Accompanist Louis Menendez (not pictured) is a faculty coach at Opera in the Ozarks who has worked for more than three decades as a pianist, conductor, coach and educator. (Courtesy Photos)