Intensity grew as Julius Caesar's armor-clad soldiers faced off against Tolomeo's bare-chested Egyptians with dramatic lighting and powerful singing adding to the mood.
The Ball State University Opera Theatre presented "Giulio Cesare in Egitto," which is Italian for "Julius Caesar in Egypt," last weekend and will perform the opera again at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday in Sursa Hall.
The opera tells the story of Caesar's time in Egypt, including his conflict with Tolomeo, the king of Egypt, and his love for Cleopatra, the Egyptian temptress and queen. Actors sing in Italian while the English translation is projected on a screen above the stage. Although the same story will be told both nights, don't expect the same performance.
Joseph Levitt, Ball State Opera Theatre's artistic director, chose two contrasting casts for this year's opera. "Julius Caesar in Egypt" is a baroque opera, meaning it came from the period between 1685 and 1760, Levitt said, and Georg Handel composed it.
The traditional baroque casting calls for a mezzo-soprano to play Caesar who, in this case, is a woman and for a countertenor, a man who sings in a high range, to play Tolomeo. In the modern version, a bass-baritone plays Caesar and a bass plays Tolomeo. The traditional cast will perform Friday, and the modern cast will perform Saturday.
Doctoral student Loralee Songer plays Caesar in the Friday cast. She said the tone of the deep male voices in Saturday's performance along with the interactions among characters make the performances different. Having the opera double-cast takes the pressure off of an individual performer because both people learn it together, Songer said.
Levitt, Songer and Colleen Meier, a graduate student who plays Cleopatra in Saturday's cast, said they would suggest going to both performances because of the dichotomy.
Songer went through a semester-long transformation to create a believable masculine Caesar.
"I have certain mannerisms and gestures that are naturally feminine," she said. "You can't do that on stage."
Songer said she cut her hair and imitated the way male cast members walked and how they carried their weight. It was a challenging experience that she was honored to be part of, she said.
Levitt said people who come to the opera can expect to see beautiful costumes, melodies and dancing. Actors sing their lines instead of saying them and have such powerful voices that they don't need to use microphones, he said.
"You can expect something that is bigger than life," he said.
Songer said the opera isn't necessarily what people have in their minds. She said they might be surprised by the delicacy of baroque opera.
Meier agreed and said she thinks students should experience the arts, including opera. You can say you saw an opera in your life, Meier said, and then make your own decision about it even if you hated it.
"For someone like me, it's unfathomable to understand why people don't go to the opera," Levitt said. "When you go to the opera, it stays with you. In a hundred years, everyone will remember Mozart and Handel because it's great music."
People in larger cities pay hundreds of dollars to see an opera, Levitt said, and that's why students, faculty and the Muncie community should take advantage of this opportunity.
"You can't get Starbucks for $5. You can't go to a movie for $5. It's an unbelievable value and something that shouldn't be missed."
Tickets are $5 for Ball State students with ID and $12 for adults.
The Ball State Opera Theatre is a group of students and faculty members who produce an opera every year. Students auditioned for "Julius Caesar in Egypt" during the spring and rehearsed throughout Fall Semester and into January.
Newswatch producer Kaitlin DeLaCruz contributed to this report.
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