Glasses were raised and applause resounded throughout the halls of the Clinton Presidential Center on March 19 as student vocalists from the UALR’s Opera Theatre serenaded guests with “Canti del Cuore” or “Songs of the Heart” during the annual Opera Gala event.

Proceeds from the gala support the vocal arts program at UALR.

The next UALR Opera Theatre performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 24, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 26. The vocalists will perform Il matrimonio segreto (The Secret Marriage) by Domenico Cimarosa in English translation.

“We not only have some of the best music students at UALR, we have some of the best performers in the state,” Dr. Rosella Ewing, director of opera studies at UALR, said as she introduced the Opera Gala Ensemble.

On March 19, Soprano Kelly Singer and tenor Daniel Foltz-Morrison led the ensemble’s opening number, “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici,” by Giuseppi Verdi (1813-1901), from the opera, La Traviata.

Brianna East, Alyssa Hicks, Daniel Morris, Andrew Gerstenberger, Camren Kvaternik, Amelia Loken, Nina Spinner, and Sara Wells each also performed various selections throughout the evening.

The gala included a reception where the vocalists, guests, and donors mingled before dinner was served. Loken, an American Sign Language Studies major, expressed the excitement she felt.

“I am not a music major, and here I am about to perform with this amazing ensemble,” she said. “Only at UALR can I fulfill my career goals by studying to become a sign language interpreter and still live out my dream of performing.”

Ewing directed the performances and Dr. Kyung-Eun Na, assistant professor of music, accompanied the performers on the piano and served as musical coach.