Opera fosters 'stronger' bonds in colleges

To best accommodate the 500 additional students that will be phased into the undergraduate student body, administrators and students have been busy evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the current residential college system.

More than just dorms and dining halls, the residential colleges offer a packed calendar of social opportunities for freshmen and sophomores, as well as an informal setting in which underclassmen can rub elbows with faculty members and graduate students who serve as masters and faculty fellows.

Sometimes, as in the case of Mathey College faculty fellow Albert Viola and students Estratios Minakakis '02, Majel Connery '01 and Lida Le '02, these interactions kindle harmonious relationships and even lead to creative collaborations. Tonight, Connery and Le will perform in the premiere of the 20-minute chamber opera, "The Stronger," directed by Viola and arranged, accompanied and musically directed by Minakakis, at 8 p.m. in Mathey College.

"As a Faculty Fellow," Viola said, "I have been working with many students in Master Acting Workshops and interacted with them through talks and speeches and a special workshop with a one-act play last year. "However," he said, in the case of "The Stronger," "I wanted to work with students on a small production and go through the creative process with them. I never had this kind of opportunity when I was a student."

The performance unites the musical gifts of Minakakis, whose compositions have been commissioned and performed in Greece and recognized by the Minos Dounias Award, in addition to Princeton's Martin Dale Award, with the "remarkable talent of the lovely Majel Connery," another recipient of the Martin Dale award and a music composition major. Connery has appeared in the title role of the Music Department's production of "The Coronation of Poppaea," and Princeton Shakespeare Company's productions of "As You Like It" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Lida Le performed multiple roles in the recent production "The Visit" and is also a member of the women's tennis team.

Viola's resume is long and diverse, spanning a range of performances and contributions to theatrical academia. He is a veteran director, actor, producer, writer and master teacher who has appeared on Broadway, Off Broadway, in television and motion pictures, and is a published author of produced plays, musicals and screenplays in addition to acting and publishing manuals. He has conducted master acting workshops and seminars throughout the country, and at Mathey College.

Viola's adaptation of "The Stronger" is based on Edith and Warner Oland's translation of the August Strindberg play, a version that particularly captivated him," he said.

"As I was writing the adaptation, I was astonished by the use of speech and silence and its revelation of the shifting balance of power between two individuals within a remarkable short period of time. Who is the stronger? Who is the weaker?"

To find out, and to experience the fruits of that student-faculty interaction that is one of the greatest strengths of the residential college system, come see "The Stronger" tonight in Mathey College at 8 p.m.