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For the fourth consecutive
year, Alicia Miles won Missouri’s
state competition of the National Association of Teachers
of Singing. Don Guillot photo
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Discovered!
Alicia Miles’ lead professional opera role
as a student is a rare achievement in the opera world.
By Nancy Moen
Sacagawea was in her teens when she joined
the Lewis and Clark expedition. Vocal student Alicia Miles will
be only 21 when she steps on the professional stage at Opera
Memphis to portray the young Shoshone in a lead role.
Miles,
a senior, will sing the role of Sacagawea in the Opera Memphis
production of Corps
of Discovery on April 24 and 27. This achievement
is a first for Mizzou and a rare, if not unique, student
achievement in the world of professional opera.
“I’ve never hired a college
undergraduate before,” says Michael Ching, the artistic
director of Opera Memphis.
Ching, who composed Corps of Discovery,
decided Miles was right for the part after hearing her sing the
role with MU’s troupe in Charlottesville, Va., for the national
Lewis and Clark bicentennial. “I was impressed with her
performance,” he explains straightforwardly.
“Alicia has a special blend of
youth and wisdom in her personality,” Ching says. “She
combines it with a crossover approach to singing that brings to
it the beauty of classical singing and the immediacy of pop singing.”
Miles, who is understandably excited, thought
she had her singing career mapped out. “It’s starting
sooner than I thought,” she says. Her upcoming appearance
with Opera Memphis garnered attention in St. Louis as well. One
of the city’s most-watched TV shows, Show Me St. Louis,
featured her singing and in a live interview in late November.
Miles sings the role of Sacagawea for opening night at the
world premiere of Corps of Discovery in Columbia,
Mo. Pat Atkinson photo
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Since then, she’s been preparing for
her professional debut by traveling to Memphis for coaching sessions
with Ching, and she likes his style. “He takes his work
seriously but doesn’t take the fun out of it,” she
says.
Miles knows what a remarkable opportunity
it is to work with a composer in creating a professional role.
She will spend three weeks in Memphis rehearsing with the company
before the premiere, where she will sing with two alumni, who
also won lead and featured roles. Ryan MacPherson, BES ’97
music, will sing the role of the storyteller Private Shannon,
and Dewey Caddell, BA ’03 theatre, has the role of Sergeant
Ordway.
At MU, Miles studies with Associate Professor
Jo Ella Todd, a former professional opera singer with companies
in the United States and Europe. Miles gains confidence knowing
that her vocal coach has a professional background, and Todd enjoys
training this enthusiastic mezzo-soprano.
“It really is quite rare that
anyone so young gets an experience like this,” Todd says.
The role of Sacagawea is demanding. Todd
describes the technical voice requirements of the role as “a
mezzo soprano with a top quite like a soprano but a low like a
mezzo. That’s a special voice.”
In addition to her appearance at Charlottesville,
Miles sang the role of Sacagawea for opening night at the world
premiere in Columbia, Mo., and in a concert version at the Kennedy
Center. She is eager to take the professional next step.
“I expect that Memphis audiences
will love her,” Ching predicts.
 Tickets for the April 24 and 27 performances
at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts in Memphis are available
through the Opera Memphis box office at (901) 257-3100 or online.
Note: This story was published originally
in the winter 2004 issue of Mosaics, the magazine for alumni
and friends of the College of Arts and Science.
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Last Update:
March 12, 2007
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