Opera Lovers (continued from Page 2)

4
October 2010
www.artsmagazine.info
Magazine
Most recently, they attended the Opera Viva production
of The Magic Flute at the University of Virginia (UVA).
The student-run opera company had a 20-piece student
orchestra, a student-painted backdrop, and costumes created
by third-year student Martha Eason, who is on the executive
committee of Opera Viva and played one of the Three Ladies.
[Martha, the daughter of Beverly and Mark Eason, Abingdon,
Va., was a Bristol Music Club scholarship winner in Voice
in 2004, 2006 and 2007.]
Jana notes, “Our son Johnny, a first-year student at
UVA, was the lead baritone in the role of Papageno. He was
definitely the comic relief, adding his own humor to the role.”
Johnny says, “It was easy to get into the character of
a happy man wanting the simple pleasures of fine food and
drink and a female companion.” He admits that learning
seven arias and all the lines took the better part of any
free time a first year might have, but “it was a fantastic
experience. I hope to be in other productions in future years.”
Opera Lovers. . . Continued from page 2
Dennis says, “Our daughter attended her first live opera
at The Kennedy Center nearly four years ago. It was the
Washington National Opera production of Jenůfa, a Czech
tragic opera by composer Leos Janácek. Winner of the Olivier
Award for Best Opera Production, Jenůfa was promoted as
the ‘must-see’ opera of the season. The Kennedy Center
website described the opera as ‘the unsentimental and
realistic portrait of ordinary people; a grim story of infanticide
and redemption, yet the strength of the human spirit and
the power of forgiveness triumph in the end.’ Our daughter
actually cried during the performance!”
He adds, “We were very excited when the Met began
their HD simulcasts here in Bristol. My family and I try to
attend all the broadcasts at Tinseltown and have been doing
so for the last two years. We have even brought some of our
daughter’s friends to performances; one of them has come
with us several times.”
Dennis concludes, “We still travel to D.C. two to three
times a year to see the opera live. Watching opera through an
HD simulcast has benefits, but in my opinion there is nothing
like seeing it in person.”
John and Jana Dreyzehner’s Sons
Convert Them to Opera Lovers
John is a Preventive and Occupational Medicine specialist
living in Abingdon. His wife Jana is a psychiatrist practicing in
Bristol, Va. Jana says, “We became opera lovers -- converted
by our sons, Johnny and Jason.”
As President of Venture Crew 71 (a Boy Scout program),
Jason arranged for the Crew, as well as friends and family,
to attend the 2009 Met Opera simulcast of La Sonnambula at
Tinseltown, calling it an “Opera-tunity.” Eighteen youth and
eight adults attended — all but five for the first time. Jana
says, “The comments afterwards were positive from people
who never thought they would go to an opera. Scoutmaster
Mary Jane Miller Loves the “Details”
Earlier this year, John Dreyzehner and Martha Eason,
both from Abingdon, Va., performed in the opera The
Magic Flute at the University of Virginia-College at
Wise. Both are Bristol Music Club scholarship winners.
Barry Proctor was one of the first-timers; at the next scout
meeting, he joked that there are some things you just
assume you are not going to like (for example, brussel
sprouts), but he was pleasantly surprised.”
The Dreyzehners also traveled to North Carolina to see
local baritone Mark Davis star in the Asheville Lyric Opera
production of Rigoletto in 2009. Jana remembers, “It was a
tremendous performance.”
Mary Jane is an interior designer in Bristol, Va. The first
opera she ever attended was Aida in Rome, Italy when she
was 17. She says, “For decades I have spent plenty of time in
New York City and often end up at the Lincoln Center for the
Performing Arts to see the Met. One of my Connecticut friends
is on their opera guild so, with him, I attended the 40th
anniversary production of I Puritani starring Joan Sutherland.
The audience was black-tie and star-studded.”
She adds, “Even though the Lincoln Center is a gorgeous
venue, it is so large that it is difficult to see the details and
faces. Now I get to half the performances broadcast at
Tinseltown [in Bristol] and would probably attend more if my
work travel schedule allowed.”
Mary Jane continues, “As an interior designer
specializing in detail, I was excited to see some of these new
productions introducing ‘virtual scenery’ and the producers
going backstage for interviews and technical information for
the audience. The first opera broadcast I attended in Bristol
was The Damnation of Faust. The cinematography was
fabulous — the audience could see every little
detail on stage — too much so, maybe. The
main ‘love interest’ in this opera is Margaurite.
At one point, she is brushing her hair in her
boudoir. I stared in horror because her brush
was some cheap, plastic, contemporary utensil
with vinyl bristles. It should have been either
“Opera-tunity”
Jason Dreyzehner (kneeling on left side
in white T-shirt) organized a group trip
to see a Metropolitan Opera broadcast
at Tinseltown theatres in Bristol, Va.
Behind Jason are his father John and
brother Johnny. Also on the back row are
DeeDee Goldsmith, Bill Campbell, Ruth
Grunstra, Beth McCoy, Anne Proctor,
Sarah Hawsey, Shelley Goldsmith, Grace
Grunstra, Annie Forrest, Adrian Carico,
and Solonia Thorn. Kneeling in the
middle are, from left, Bea Dietzen and
Julia Buechting (German Exchange students), Luke Quigley, Rachel Grunstra,
Tim Grunstra, Scott Roblee, and Brandon
Holmes. Reclining in front of the crowd
are John and James Salyer. Not pictured
are Barry Proctor (getting tickets) and
Jana Dreyzehner (taking the picture).