Take hilarious peek behind scenes of an opera in 'Tenor'

Onstage, opera oozes drama and elegance, ornate costumes and incomparable voices singing in foreign languages.

"Lend Me a Tenor," which opens at the Fine Arts Center tonight, is not one of those stories. The play - not an opera or even a traditional musical - ventures into the chaotic and hilarious backstage drama of opening night for the Cleveland Grand Opera Company in 1934.

"It's a classic American farce," says Alan Osburn, the company's producing artistic director, who describes the show as light-hearted and accessible. "It's not high art. People don't speak in thees and thous, what people conceive as the theater."

"I call it high comedy, which I associate with big belly laughs," says Thaddeus Valdez, who plays Tito Merelli (aka Il Stupendo), the tenor in question.

If operatic sopranos are often considered divas - their high notes met with equally high-strung temperaments - the tenor is the male counterpoint, what Valdez calls a "divo."

Take one divo, add the traditional soprano diva, Diana, played by Nan Rubley of the Opera Theatre of the Rockies and the Colorado Opera Festival; Brian McClure, lead singer of the local band Head Full of Zombies, as aspiring tenor Max; and FAC favorite Brantley Scott Haines as the bumbling bellhop. Shake with an accidental drugging, mistaken identities, half-dressed women and lots of slamming doors.

"Tough to fall asleep through all those slamming doors," jokes Osburn, who insists that the only nonhilarious aspect of putting together the production was casting. "That's one of the greatest challenges of the piece: finding actors who can sing opera," he continues.

"We were fortunate to find really talented people who can do comedy and sing, which is really unusual."

"Crying is easy, comedy is hard," says Valdez, who focuses on timing and inflection to make sure every audience member is in on the joke. "(But) you also have to invest yourself in the character and what motivates them to create the situation that creates the joke."

The hard work of the actors pays off for the audience, who can sit back and enjoy the riotous performance.

DETAILS

LEND ME A TENOR

When: Opens tonight and runs 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays through April 5

Where: Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 W. Dale St.

Tickets: $31-$35/$26-$30 for FAC members. For tickets or more information, call 634-5583 or visit www.csfineartscenter.org.