- October 19, 2022
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For most kids who dream of being on stage, the school play is the first ticket they get punched on their road to stardom. In Florida’s “Cultural Coast,” they have the chance to dream bigger, thanks to Sarasota Youth Opera.
Young singers 8-18 accepted into the youth opera sing in a chorus, perform in an annual production, audition for chorus roles in Sarasota Opera’s mainstage productions and attend summer camp.
The cost to families is just $225-$275 a semester. Financial aid is available to those who qualify, thanks to the generosity of the opera’s donors.
But how do you get the word out about this extraordinary opportunity to work with professionals and learn about all aspects of opera, from voice to costumes to wigs?
That’s the job of Martha Collins, director of education at Sarasota Opera, who goes into schools to talk about the unique joys of opera. She handles all aspects of community outreach for the company.
“Sarasota Youth Opera is pretty special,” Collins says. “It’s our 40th anniversary and that’s a big deal. We are unique in what we do in America, in what we do in the community, in giving young people these opportunities.”
But despite the youth opera’s longevity and Collins’ proselytizing (we mean that in a good way), word of mouth is still how many kids find out about Sarasota Youth Opera.
Isabella Maltese learned about the group from her best friend when she was about 8 and living in Bradenton.
Eight years later, Maltese is living in Venice and is playing the lead role of Bilbo Baggins in Sarasota Youth Opera’s production of Dean Burry’s “The Hobbit,” which runs from Nov. 9-10 at the Sarasota Opera House.
All 74 members of the youth opera will be on stage for the production, the third time Sarasota Youth Opera has performed “The Hobbit.” The opera made its American premiere at Sarasota Youth Opera in 2008 and was produced again in 2014.
Burry wrote the music and libretto for “The Hobbit” for the Canadian Opera Children’s Chorus, which first performed it in 2004. Sarasota Youth Opera commissioned Burry to write orchestrations for the prelude to J.R. Tolkien’s classic “The Lord of the Rings” because the original “Hobbit” was written for piano only.
Sarasota Youth Opera planned to perform “The Hobbit” in 2020, but the performance was canceled due to the pandemic, though the company continued practicing over Zoom.
For Maltese, the cancellation may have proven to be a blessing because in 2020 she wasn’t ready to play the role of Bilbo. Last season, she performed her first solo role when she played Juliet Brook in “The Little Sweep.”
Asked if she was nervous about her upcoming role, Maltese says she worked through her inhibitions with her role in “The Little Sweep.”
It would be a mistake to call her nervousness before “The Little Sweep” production “stage fright,” Maltese says. “I was putting pressure on myself because people were depending on me to be good. Now, I know I can do it,” she says.
Maltese gets a lot of support from her mother, Ysabel Perez, who attended an Oct. 26 rehearsal with her, from Collins, who is the stage director for the production, and from fellow cast member Luke Harnish.
A Sarasota Opera resident, Harnish plays Gandalf, the wizard, and Smaug, the dragon, in “The Hobbit.”
In terms of role models, Maltese points to Sarasota Youth Opera alum Monica Conesa, who is setting a fast pace and serving as a beacon to youthful performers.
Known as Monica Gonzales when she was performing such roles in Sarasota as the governess in “The Little Sweep,” Conesa made her debut at the Arena di Verona in Italy in 2022 with the role of Aida.
This season, the Cuban American soprano will play Nedda in “Pagliacci” with Seattle Opera, the Countess in “Le Nozze di Figaro" at Teatro Regio di Torino in Italy and Tosca with Theater Bonn in Germany.
For inspiration, members of the Sarasota Youth Opera need look no further than Collins, known for her turn as Mimi in the production of “La Boheme” featured in the 1987 film “Moonstruck.”
Although the baker and opera lover played by Nicolas Cage takes Cher to the Metropolitan Opera in New York for her first opera, Collins performed in Toronto, where the rom-com was filmed by director Norman Jewison.
Years later, Collins says she takes pride in the experience because it demonstrates the power of opera. “In the movie, Cher has never been to the opera before. When she goes, it changes her life,” Collins says. The same can be true for people who stream the movie on Netflix or Amazon Prime.
During her career as an an operatic and concert performer, Collins appeared in productions with the Canadian Opera Company, Festival Ottawa, Vancouver Opera, Calgary Opera and Toronto’s Opera in Concert. When Prince Charles and Princess Diana came to the opening gala of the World’s Fair in Vancouver in 1986, Collins was chosen to perform.
Collins joined Sarasota Opera as a stage director in 2004, a role she continues to play for both children’s opera and mainstage productions, and was named director of education in 2021. That prompted her to move to Sarasota full time.
“I also work with apprentices during the main season doing teaching, coaching and directing, and I do lectures in the community. It’s all the things I love to do. I’m so spoiled,” Collins says during an interview at a coffee shop around the corner from the historic Sarasota Opera House.
Collins has a good memory, but no one can be expected to remember the names of 74 young performers. At the Oct. 26 rehearsal, all of them wore name tags on string necklaces to help Collins address them by name. Truth be told, some of the budding opera singers were more attentive to direction than others.
Of course, age is a factor. For training purposes, the youth opera divides its members into two groups based on age and ability. The prep chorus is for singers 8 and up, while the mixed chorus is for ages 11-18 who demonstrate potential. But everyone gets to perform in the annual Sarasota Youth Opera production.
During the Oct. 26 rehearsal, Collins got some help in herding the cast of “The Hobbit” from her team, including Cameron Maxwell, youth opera coordinator, and Jesse Martins, music director.
Sitting in the middle of the opera house was Sarasota Opera Maestro Victor DeRenzi, whose watchful eye immediately set upon a cellphone in the audience.
DeRenzi walked across the opera house and politely asked a visitor to refrain from texting, making phone calls or taking selfies. It’s not only the kids that have to be minded in the opera house; it’s audiences.
The maestro’s admonition is a reminder that “The Hobbit” is a big-time production with professional standards. No amateur hour at Sarasota Opera House.
Sarasota Youth Opera’s immersion of its members in all facets of opera production is what sold Maltese’s mother on the value of the program.
The daughter of Italian and Spanish immigrants in Venezuela, Perez understands English, but answered an interviewer’s questions in Spanish, which her daughter translated.
“It’s not just singing. It’s dancing, it’s acting, it’s makeup, it’s wigs,” Perez says. “Opera is everything in one.”
Maltese says when she was young, she thought that “opera was only for rich people, not just being in it, but going to it.” Joining Sarasota Youth Opera changed her impression of the art, she says.
“Being in an opera opens up this whole new world,” Maltese says. “It’s just so much fun.”
