[Perform-talk] blind opera singer in The Magic Flute this weekend

Thu Oct 28 01:35:46 UTC 2010

NFB member, Jessica Bachicha, to sing lead in Mozart’s opera, “The Magic Flute”

WHAT:

Opera: CUA to Stage The Magic Flute
Blind Doctoral Student to Play Queen of the Night
President John Garvey Appears in Walk-on Role Oct. 29
  WHEN:
Thursday, Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m., preview performance
Friday, Oct. 29, and Saturday, Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 31, 2 p.m.

  WHERE:

The Catholic University of America
Hartke Theatre
620 Michigan Ave., N.E.
Washington, D.C.

DETAILS:

Blind doctoral candidate Jessica Bachicha will 
perform the role of the Queen of the Night in the 
Oct. 29 and 31 performances. To read a story 
about Bachicha, click 
<http://publicaffairs.cua.edu/releases/2010/10JessicaBachicha.cfm>here.

On Oct. 29, Catholic University President John 
Garvey will appear in a walk-on role in CUA’s 
production of The Magic Flute, an opera in two 
acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Sung in German 
with English dialogue, the production is directed 
by Jay D. Brock, lecturer in the drama department 
and artistic director of Opera Alterna based in 
Washington, D.C. David Searle, assistant 
professor and director of orchestral activities 
and conducting studies, will lead the CUA Orchestra.

The opera, with libretto by Emanuel Shikaneder, 
chronicles the rescue of Pamina  daughter of the 
Queen of the Night  from Sarastro by the hero 
Tamino, who is armed with a magic flute. Mozart’s 
final masterpiece is filled with enigmatic 
references to the Freemasons. The composer and 
librettist were friends and members of the fraternal organization.

Rife with ritual and symbolism, the fairy-tale 
opera is a playful but profound look at man’s 
search for love and his struggle to attain wisdom 
and virtue. The opera features the virtuosic 
arias of the Queen of the Night and the 
folksong-like melodies of the bird catcher Papageno.

Tickets for the Oct. 28 performance are $10 for 
general admission and $5 for students, seniors 
and CUA alumni, faculty and staff. Tickets for 
the other performances are $15 for general 
admission and $10 for students, seniors and CUA alumni, faculty and staff.

For more information, contact the Benjamin T. 
Rome School of Music at 202-319-5414.
  SPONSOR:
  Benjamin T. Rome School of Music

30
#053

Oct. 20, 2010

Blind Doctoral Candidate Blossoms at CUA’s Music School

Jessica Bachicha to Play Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute

[]

Singer Jessica Bachicha with her voice coach 
Sharon Christman, associate professor and chair of the voice program.

Catholic University doctoral candidate Jessica 
Bachicha stands next to a grand piano in Ward 
Hall, rehearsing the Queen of the Night’s 
difficult vengeance aria for the upcoming 
production of The Magic Flute at Hartke Theatre. 
As her voice rises, so do her hands.

A beaming Sharon Christman, associate professor 
and chair of the voice program, says “That was 
beautiful.” But Christman notices that her 
student’s hand movements do not reflect the drama 
in her voice. She takes Bachicha’s hands in her 
own as she demonstrates more expressive gestures. 
Bachicha focuses on memorizing the movement of her teacher’s hands.

As the practice session ends, Bachicha turns and 
reaches for a water bottle. Her hands rest for a 
second on a bottle of hand sanitizer, and then she finds the water bottle.

The winner of a concerto competition at CUA 
earlier this year, Bachicha happens to be blind. 
(To watch a video of Bachicha rehearsing, click 
<http://voice.cua.edu/bachicha.cfm>here.)

Eroica, which recorded Bachicha’s “Illuminations” 
CD, notes that Bachicha “sings with the freshness 
of Charlotte Church, the vigor of Maria Callas, 
and the resonance of Kiri Te Kanawa.”

A resident of Baltimore, Bachicha expects to 
graduate in 2011 with a Doctor of Musical Arts 
degree. She was accepted at CUA’s Benjamin T. 
Rome in 2008 following an audition that amazed 
Christman and other music faculty. At the time, 
Christman knew that she wanted to work with 
Bachicha, but she realized she would need the support of other professors.

“When I heard Jessica, there wasn’t a doubt in my 
mind,” says Christman, herself a renowned soprano 
who sang the Queen of the Night role at the 
Metropolitan Opera in New York City. “Jessica has 
a potential performance career. Her voice is 
lovely; she is beautiful and personable  the 
total package  but her stage experience had been somewhat limited.”

Bachicha says, “At Catholic University, it’s been 
so refreshing to work with musicians who 
recognize me as a peer and realize that’s it not 
that different from working with a sighted 
singer. The thing that matters most is 
musicianship and the faculty here judge me on that alone.”
[]

Jessica Bachicha

At the conservatory where Bachicha earned a 
master’s degree in vocal performance before 
coming to CUA, she notes that she learned a lot 
from the faculty. She performed as a soloist in 
recitals and in concerts with orchestra and 
chamber groups. But she did not have the chance to perform a major opera role.

With a voice like Bachicha’s, Christman notes, 
there’s a responsibility to provide the 
opportunities she needs to realize her full 
potential. “We have no right to set limits on 
Jessica when she doesn't set any on herself,” Christman notes.

And what better place to grow as an artist than 
at Catholic University, where faculty members 
routinely go the extra mile for their students, says Christman.

David Searle, assistant professor, director of 
orchestral activities and conductor of the CUA 
Orchestra, says that when working with Bachicha, 
he sometimes gives her an audible cue  a loud 
breath  “when there’s no audible pulse in the music.”

Bachicha’s academic resume is impressive. In 
addition to earning her master’s in vocal 
performance at the New England Conservatory, 
Bachicha spent a year as a graduate research 
student at the University of Leeds in England, 
and earned bachelor’s degrees in music and 
foreign languages from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.

As part of her doctoral work at CUA, she is 
designing interdisciplinary courses that explore 
the ways in which music reflects philosophical 
and theological truths. As she explains, “music 
is a door between the worlds of intellect and 
affectivity. Beautiful music infused with meaning 
can bridge the gap that often exists between the 
two and, more importantly, the longing for 
realization which moves the will to moral action.”

Bachicha notes that her role in The Magic Flute 
and the opportunity to work with the music 
faculty has enabled her to grow significantly as a musician.

“I have a lot more confidence in myself and in 
what God wants to do through me,” she says. “It’s 
so important to be an instrument of the music and 
to ask ‘how can I do that better?’ The more 
confidence you have to have in yourself, the more 
you have to let yourself go and just think about 
how can I serve better as a musician.”

<http://publicaffairs.cua.edu/newsandinfo/newsreleases.cfm>More news from CUA

30
#058

Last reviewed: October 20, 2010
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