The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 10, 1997, Page 5, Image 5
SHSS3SS5B
. For th
^ t/SC junior Misty Brinkley b
OPERA USC and makes her
AMY SHANNON
Features Editor
From a sleazy, cleavage-bearing cig- y(
arette girl to a prim and proper young a
lady, USC junior Misty Brinkley has found ?
a way to showcase her beautiful voice as q
an opera singer for OPERA USC. p
^ But learning opera wasn't original- ii
^ ly a part of Brinkley's career plans.
"I didn't really start studying opera
until last year," Brinkley said. "It was f(
a late (start) because it wasn't a goal that gj
my parents encouraged. I'm going for the a
biggest dream anyone in my family ever ^
pursued.
"And it's scary. It's a big jump to go to w
school to learn music and how to write e.
songs. Many people don't call (studying
music) a real degree."
^ In contrast to what people might a
W think, the study of music presents a chal- t]
lenge, Brinkley said.
"It's a lot more difficult than I ^
thought," she said. "The curriculum is re- s
ally fierce. It's something you have to g
study, and it's something new. You're go- g
ing from the ground up, and it's hard." y
But Brinkley's not complaining. This
semester, she's carrying 18 credit hours, 0
singing in an opera and working at the Q
front desk at Bates West.
a And she wants to become more in- j
volved on campus by joining music or- C(
ganizations and possibly becoming a Res- f(
ident Advisor. t]
Right now, Brinkley balances her
school work, job and social life with re- ^
hearsals for OPERA USC's season open- v
er, The Marriage Contract, composed ^
by Rossini.
"The Marriage Contract is an ani- r
mated comedy," Brinkley said. The char- t
acters are really animated and not as realistic."
t
Set in the late 18th century in Eng- s
land, the opera is based on a love trian- q
gle between Brinkley's character, Frances, c
the poor man she loves and the rich man
she must marry.
* cuit
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Win a trip
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fnllppp Bp
What's the;
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ance and rock spiri
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equivalent) by Sep
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* THE 12TH ANNUAL 1
COLLEGE BAND SE/
e love of
sew ?
4
/
egins singing with ^
dream come true
/ 3
Vrancoo io a 1 fi. sfll
ear-old girl betrothed / iI
gainst her wishes to a % / V
wealthy Canadian. The \ |
ianadian promises to pay
'ranees' father for his daughter's hand
1 marriage. jhv
But Frances has other wishes. M \
"Frances is in love with a dif- M
irent guy who's poor," Brinkley
aid. "He and I come on stage
nd we do a sappy, lovely duet ||
jgether."
In the end, everything fcr|. i forks
out, and there's a happy ? i
nding, she said. V 111 /
Brinkley hopes a lot of peo- VJIl j V
le will come out to see the K* 1 I *
pera, even though it's not ex- EgpLf i
remely famous. |||P?
"The opera's not really well- ^
nraim hut the miisir'n crrwl " nhp \
aid. "Rossini's music is used in the |
tugs Bunny cartoons. It's fun mu- j 'f . ?
ic. Even though the opera's 200 f : ,
ears old, it's still funny." w
Brinkley will perform in the role
f Frances during the Sunday matiee
Oct. 12 as part of the second cast. i'yv.
The Marriage Contract will run Oct. ft v"**?
0 and Oct. 12 at Drayton Hall. Tickets
Dst $15 and $10 for the public and $5
>r students. They can be purchased at
lie Coliseum box office.
Small beginnings. Brinkley began
ler singing career as a shy 3-year-old
/ho was reluctant to sing with other chiliren.
"My mama had to practically push special t<
ne up front to sing because I didn't want
o do it. I was real shy," Brinkley said. Playing the
Later, Brinkley played in her school ?'r' 'a8t .8
iand before joining the choir. At first, pwsentatio
he simply wasn't interested in choir ^
ITien, she saw something that helped
hange her mind. opera set i
;h your way
late night
hsion! |
to New York J||
m O'Brien ^
no aearcni %
gig-' Make a five-minute
jf your band, VHS only. Send
I'Brien's College Band Search,
la, Room 4880E, New York, rH|
ust be received by October 15, HH rH
judged on creativity, perform- ( II
it. Band members must be
s and be 18 or older to enter; *Nj
jst be enrolled in college (or jj^^Kyl
tember 30,1997. For official
to: Conan Rules, 30 Rockefeller
i, New York, NY 10112. Rock on!
I0NAN O'BRIEN 1
iRCH IS PRESENTED BY: I
ETC
UI heard the '3 Tenors' on the TV in
ninth grade and fell in love with it," she
'It fit my voice.' In high school,
bnnkiey sang i ne star spangiea
E|Pi *|*JB Banner" at basketball games, and she
sang at pageants as part of the en"Before
I ever had any training, I'd
H said. "I originally came from a very
ISMPPk rural area in North Carohna,
and everyone in my family
listens to country or beach
and blues.
"But my brother told me
1 sounded like a trained
3SK. ninrrn* tmi/?A V?o#4 n
jj^ camera. Brinkley was so nerj^)i^"^^%
^ ^ V | pounds, she'd make a million
uuiims sixxgiixg upexa.
1 ' 4 "And then last year I told
*'" * It :> them I was going to be an
.v% M opera singer," she said. "It
V\ JKV fit my voice."
X%; " %? Preparation. Brink<
^ ,^-?{ ley first studied voice foryB*'
mally under Maureen
^f| Simpson, a USC doctorm
al candidate. Simpson
^ ^ ^ encouraged Brinkley to
Jp derful and she helped me
said. "I auditioned for the
p. * Brinkley currently
|f takes voice lessons
HEP Hl:' ] iA?wi iuuii[A3uu auu viuiaucj aic yvwc,
B"W S smart women who love to teach and love
to help," Brinkley said.
3 THE GAMECOCK Brinkleys voice training prepared her
part of a ffirtatiouB cigarette weU for ^ National Association of Teachpring
in OPERA USC's ers.of SinPnS (NATS) competition last
n of 'Carmen,' USC junior springikley
will sing a lead role Brinkley won the state round and
triage Contract,' a comedic went on to win the regional round. She
in the 18th century. had to sing in front of voice teachers from
universities throughout the entire Southeast.
gliBM|, 411 '.^^'W, ^^ H9I|
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"It was more pressure than singing I Site of
on the opera stage, she said. But, it was
all really exciting and ateally good ex- /f
perience." f
Precautions. Singing all day in class I If
and then rehearsing at night can over- \ I I
strain a singer's voice. But more than
anything else, bad habits such as
smoking or drinking will weaken your I J riMM
voice, Brinkley said.
"I can't go out," she said. "It's not that
I don't want to, but if I do, I'll have to EtiSaSS
make up for it. I'm in training. You
have to be prudent. You can't take your CONCE
voice out and put it in a case in the band
room. It's like an athlete. You have to
be in the best condition." * dayroom,
If her sinuses are swollen, Brinkley
is careful not to sing in the upper range The Niel
of her voice because of possible tissue TBA, Sept.
scarring. And her voice can reach up to ro, NC)
the stratosphere.
"I have a lyric coloratura soprano # Ajbert ^
range, which is a real light soprano that Room
can perform arias with agility," she said.
"I can go up to really high notes, Mariah
Carey notes." Soup, TI
Those are the notes that break the
microphone if it's turned on, Brinkley Dokken,
sa*d- Blues (Myrl
But opera singers don't use microphones.
They are trained to project their .. ..
voices over a 12U-member orchestra and ~ ,
into the audience. Oct.2,Block
"It takes a lot of training to learn how
to do that without killing your voice,"
Brinkley said.
ETC. BR
'A dream come true.' Brinkley hopes
to graduate next year with a bachelor's
degree in music performance. She wants I own Ine
to continue at USC for a master's degree 8011
in the opera program or in vocafl peda- The mus
gogy. Town Theat
A degree in vocal pedagogy would en- ^ 4, Ti<
able her to teach high school students beloved she
the basics and earn a living, since for seniors;
opera has become veiy competitive, Brink- *or y?u"
ley said. 8 p.m. exc<
I166S 8i13 d r
"There are so many singers that want
to sing opera," she said. "The field is so
competitive because it's worldwide. You Frankens
can get any girl with a gorgeous voice,
but she has to have a complete package? The real i
the gorgeous voice with the body that fits classic tale i
the role." creator and
Despite the stiff competition, Brink- on stage tn
ley said she still feels that opera singing torium froi
is worth the hard work. times are 8
"When you work so hard and look to urday and i
all the professionals that you admire, are av a
and then you actually get to participate Ctt
in the one thing you love the most, it's j ,0r
pretty much a dream come true between
the experience and the love of doing it,"
she said.
fa, tit i rm a a a .1 tv
Y wed.- inurs. s:uu in me kussi
H NextWei
Wed.- Thurs. @ 8:00 in the Russel
I If IKE your
thcMDay
WT CALENDAR
TBA, Sept 10, Elbow Room
ds w/ Michelle Malone,
11, Cat's Cradle (Carbor
[ill, TBA, Sept. 18, Elbow
3A, Sept. 18, Rockafellas
, TBA, Sept. 26, House of
;le Beach, SC)
Luscious Jackson, TBA,
Jbuster Pavilion (Charlotte,
!EF?
atre kicks off 79th sealical
"Hello Dolly!" opens at
re on Sept. 12 and runs unlets
to this irresistible and
>w are $14 for adults, $11
and full-time students and
is. All performances are at
spt for the Sunday matin.
Call 799-2610 for details.
item" arrives at Theatre
story of "Frankenstein," the
ibout the struggle between
. creation, will be depicted
USC's Drayton Hall audin
Sept. 19 to 28. Curtain
p.m. Tuesday through Sat}
p.m. on Sundays. Tickets
e at the Longstreet Box Ofit
$10 for the general pubSC
faculty/staff and $6 for
mm
ell House Theater
*k ^
l/Ami S
?
Sfli ?
i H
M *
a>
1 House Theater
, ?it!