The Adventures of Pinocchio by Jonathan Dove will bring its magic on to the eTown Hall stage. The enchanting music and its incredibly gifted cast, The Adventures of Pinocchio proves another installment of the Family series perfect introduction to opera for the young generation.
Casey Klopp received her Bachelor of Music degree at Baylor University and her Masters of Music at the University of CU Boulder.Her operatic performances include Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Hansel in Humperdinks’ Hänsel and Gretel and Madame Larina in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. More recently, she performed in Boulder Opera Company’s production of The Magic Flute as The Second Lady and Operatizers as The Announcer. Now she will be bringing her talent and experience to the titular role in The Adventures of Pinocchio.
With a character as famous as Pinocchio, he hardly needs an introduction. However, Klopp shared her thoughts on the character. “Pinocchio is curious and kind, but he makes questionable choices! He is naive and often puts his faith into characters he shouldn’t trust.” Klopp explains, “However, in the end his caring nature prevails.”
Mezzo-sopranos such as herself are typically tasked with portraying characters of varying ages, genders, and motivations. She has portrayed mothers, evil women, men and even young boys! She may be familiar with these types of characters, but Pinocchio is a unique character. “Pinocchio is experiencing life for the first time,” Klopp explained, “There’s a certain sense of innocence embedded into everything he does. Unlike my character, Hansel in Hänsel and Gretel, the audience can’t expect him to ‘know better’. He has never been taught right from wrong. He’s learning everything as he goes. Vocally, she is working to achieve the sense of simplicity and child-likeness that would come with a character like Pinocchio. “Generally, when speaking, children are direct and confident. I’m trying to make Pinocchio’s vocal quality similar to speaking while still maintaining vocal beauty and a sense of musical line.”
To every performer, resonating and connecting with the audience is one of the biggest and most important objectives. Even if that means connecting with small children decades younger. The balance between making the role engaging for children so that they are entertained while also maintaining the emotional depth for the adult audiences can be a challenge - but not for Klopp. “Audience members of all ages will find moments that resonate with them. For example, I imagine kids will laugh at the scene in the woods when Pinocchio needs medicine, but he won’t take it until he gets some candy. He gets candy, gobbles it down, and immediately demands more, still refusing to take his medicine,” she adds, “Adults might relate more to the next moment, though. The Blue Fairy pushes him to take the medicine again, but Pinocchio boldly claims that he would rather die than take his medicine. He gets a glimpse of his coffin, and immediately changes his mind and cries for the medicine.”
Now, when asked what is one piece of advice she would give her character, she answered, “Listen to your elders!”
The Adventures of Pinocchio will play at eTown Hall on Saturday, December 14th at 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM and Sunday, December 15th, 1:00 Pm and 3:00 PM. Adult tickets are $30.00 and children’s tickets are $20.00. Get your tickets here.
