IN EARLY MARCH 2020, the cast of Portland State Opera’s production of Otto Nicolai’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor” was deep in music rehearsals, preparing for an April opening. Students were thrilled to be a part of a fully staged opera—a high point of their academic careers. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought the production to a swift halt on March 13, 2020.The cancellation came as a blow. “To be honest, it was really crushing,” recalls Reid Duhrkoop, a senior playing the role of Fenton. “There were so many hours of practicing and rehearsal that we had put in, and in a matter of a few hours one day, it was all gone. I think out of frustration, I actually threw away my music, because it was hard to look at.” Like so many, the students found it to be a bewildering time. “I was disappointed because I had worked so hard on the role and felt like I was finally finding my footing when the show got shut down,” says Ava Price, a master’s student in vocal performance playing Meg Page. After the cancellation, classes in the School of Music and Theater continued online, with instructors meeting with vocal students via Zoom—not an ideal method for teaching such a physical art. “One of the things I work hardest on in my lessons is my posture,” Price says, “and to not have my professor physically present to correct it was very difficult.” Practicing opera at home presented other challenges, too, like worries that full-throated singing might disturb the neighbors. But PSU’s return to in-person classes in fall 2021 paved the way for a triumphant reboot of “The Merry Wives of Windsor” in April 2022, with some unexpected benefits. “Despite its various challenges and disappointments, the hiatus has allowed many of our singers to grow into their roles,” says Harry Baechtel, voice area coordinator. For example, the role of Falstaff was originally assigned to professional opera singer Richard Zeller in 2020, but two years later, student Wyatt Jackson—a bass-baritone who shares the role with John Gladen—had developed enough the arts OPERA RETURNS Silenced by the pandemic for two years, Portland State Opera sings again SO-MIN KANG “Though students experienced a roller coaster of anticipation, disappointment and delay, they came back ready to take the stage.”
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