Opera is a complicated art form that most of us enjoy without ever having to think about all of the work that goes into each production. But there are a myriad of people who are busy behind the scenes that make the magic happen. They design the sets, create the costuming, figure out the lighting, build the props, and more. It’s kind of like a small army of folks with special knowledge and talents.

With a career extending over forty years, Christopher Mattaliano, General and Artistic Director of OrpheusPDX, a Portland opera company that presents professional opera on an intimate scale with an ensemble company of artists in summer residence, knows all of the ins and outs of creating opera productions. As a young aspiring opera director, he got to know the ropes and credits the many seasoned professionals (read this Opera America interview) who helped him. 

So, with OrpheusPDX – which Mattaliano founded in 2022 – he has created the Pathways Program for young professionals to learn the various specialties that make a great opera experience. It offers on-the-job training through a mentorship program, and each participant is paid to help make one of the OrpheusPDX productions a reality.

The 2024 Pathways Program gave six young professionals the opportunity to work on OrpheusPDX’s productions of Handel’s Acis, Galatea, and Polyphemus and The Rose Elf by American composer David Hertzberg. I was able to talk with five of the six mentees, who hit the ground running and enjoyed the experience. 

Lighting design

In the Pathways Program, Rachel Errico and Jillian Catanzaro were the assistant lighting designers for Acis, Galatea, and Polyphemus and The Rose Elf, respectively. Mentored by Solomon Weisbard, Associate Director and Theater Program Coordinator at Portland State University’s School of Music, Errico and Catanzaro – both 21-year-old seniors at PSU – used a computer program called Vectorworks to plot all of the lights that would be used in the opera. 

Through the Vectorworks program, stage designers can create 3D models of the opera sets and allow the lighting designers to see how the lighting will interact on the stage. A lot of that work is scoped out before moving into the theater space. Because Lincoln Performance Hall, where the operas are performed, is a union shop, the designers work with electricians who actually handle the lights.

How many lights are we talking about?

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“200,” said Catanzaro calmly.

Yep, Lincoln Performance Hall is equipped with 200 lights. Holy cow!

“We work with systems of light,” said Catanzaro. “Lighting can come from the front, back, and sides. Most of that is used in any show. So that is where we start. Since we have worked in this theater before for PSU theater productions, we knew where they would be placed for this opera. So we didn’t have to change much with those basic systems of light. But we had special lights that are super high tech for this opera. You could point and change the color and the shape.”

So how do you focus a light?

“The lighting designer goes on stage,” explained Catanzaro, “and you stand in the hot spot of the light – where the light is most bright – and stare directly into the light until your eyes focus. There’s a little circle, and you can tell when that circle is dead center in the light – and that is when you know that the hot spot is on you.”

How long does this take you?

“It takes several hours,” replied Catanzaro. “When the focusing is done, and you walk away, you can’t see anything.

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“There’s a lot of attention to detail,” added Catanzaro, “It took one hour to fix a dead spot in the lighting after the dress rehearsal for The Rose Elf. No one else would have noticed this dead spot, but Weisbard and I did. It was killing us.”

Acis, Galatea, and Polyphemus presented special challenges for Errico and Weisbard. That production featured a huge painting of a boulder that was suspended above the stage. At a crucial point in the opera, it was lowered in order to crush Acis.

The lighting designers are responsible for focusing each light. They might have to pan or tilt a light to get it focused just right. 

“The one thing that we kept changing the most was when the boulder descended,” recalled Ericco. “We changed the lighting and the timing for that over and over – up until the very last day. They had to choose which one was the best. We ended up choosing the minimal one that required the least amount of work.”

What about the large mirror? It was on the floor during the final scene.

“The mirror on the floor wasn’t an issue,” said Ericco, “but when it was on the stand next to the bench and the singers sat on the bench, and we tried to light their faces, then you end up blinding three seats in the audience because the light was bouncing off of the mirror.” 

We go to the theater and don’t even think about the lighting…

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“And that’s how you know that you’re doing a good job,” chimed Errico, without missing a beat.

Set Design

Another crucial element of any opera production is set design. The Pathways Program enlisted Alyssa Jewell to help stage director Chas Rader-Shieber with the production of Acis, Galatea, and Polyphemus. Jewell graduated from PSU in 2019 and then matriculated to Boston University from which she earned a Masters of Fine Arts in Scenic Design in 2023.  Although she has done a lot of theater and film, the experience with OrpheusPDX marked the first time that Jewell, 27, has worked on an opera. 

“I walked through the show with a director’s lens,” said Jewell, “which is a different perspective for me. I helped to make his concepts come to life through drafting and conversations with other groups in the production, like the props team and the lighting team. When Chas was on the East Coast, I was able to go to PSU and check things out.”

In many ways, Jewell was a sounding board for Rader-Shieber.

“I didn’t change things around,” said Jewell. “I heard Chas’s ideas. I offered different ways of executing his ideas. which gave us an array of options. Observation was a key element of my role. I’m used to making all of the choices for the set design and all of the changes. From Chas, I learned a lot about the directing side – how to create space for the story and the needs of the actors in the story.”

The opera featured two large paintings. One showed a colorful rustic scene for Acis and Galatea. The other depicted learned men in black and white, which dominated Polyphemus’s side of the set.

“Both of the paintings were predetermined by Chas,” said Jewell. “He wanted to build both world views based off of the paintings. For Polyphemus, we got a 10-foot ladder. That helped to create a sense of separation for his space – to separate it more from Acis and Galatea’s space. The ladder was aluminum, but our wonderful scene painter, Ray, painted it so well – made a wood grain that fit in with the world we were trying to make.”

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The telescope at the top of the ladder provided more context.

“Telescope helped to identify Polyphemus as a cyclops, which came from the legend,” noted Jewell. “His world was thick with astronomy and books and technical stuff. Acis and Galatea’s side of the stage was colorful, full of life, and very playful.”

“I really enjoyed the opportunity to do this work,” continued Jewell. “Working on this opera with OrpheusPDX was really wonderful.”

Costume Shop

The Pathways Program also gave Melissa Heller her first working experience with opera. As the costume shop manager, Heller, 38, oversaw the costuming for both OrpheusPDX productions with mentor Lucy Wells, Costume Shop Advisor for the Pathways Program. Heller has a degree in apparel design from Oregon State University. Since she has ten years of experience as costume shop manager at Pacific University, Heller was ready to step into the role at OrpheusPDX. 

So what does a costume shop manager do?

“I work with the designers to make sure that I have interpreted their sketches correctly,” explained Heller. “I make sure that each item for each costume is ordered, procured, or created. I use a big spreadsheet that I have designed. It has a lot of columns packed with information.”

Even with her background, Heller acquired some new skills.

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“I have a lot of experience,” said Heller, “but there is always something for me to learn – like budgeting for labor. I did this at Pacific University, but that is all done through work-study. In theater, I usually have a six-week process, but with OrpheusPDX we had a very short amount of time to get the costumes ready. So, I showed up the first day with my checklist and my task list, and the professionals knocked it out of the park.”

One task that Heller took over was that of the head stitcher.

“For OrpheusPDX, I found stitchers and became head stitcher,” explained Heller. “The head stitcher is the one who talks to the draper and costume designer. The head stitcher makes the plan for the other stitchers to execute the designs.”

Heller was especially impressed by how quickly and efficiently the OrpheusPDX company moved from design into production. She tipped the hat – or at least a wig – to the opera singers too.

“Opera singers show up on day one and have everything memorized,” remarked Heller. “So we get into the show right away. I’ve done a lot of musical theater, and it’s not that way.”

Stage Management

Annissa Allred, a 20-year-old senior at PSU, was the stage management intern for The Rose Elf, working under the direction of production stage manager Alayna Powell. 

“I’ve been shadowing Alayna,” said Allred. “We have a stage management team. I’m part of the team. I run part of the deck backstage. I also help to arrange a schedule for everyone – also for the director – and communicate it to the others so that it is easy to understand.”

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So, does that mean spreadsheets?

“Yes, I make a lot of spreadsheets for props, wardrobe change, all entrances and exits of the singers,” replied Allred. “We love making our spreadsheets. “

Also, working on The Rose Elf marked her first experience with opera. 

“Everything is based around the music,” noted Allred. “Reading music is not a requirement, but it is recommended. I used to play classical guitar and can read music on a basic level. Alayna has a degree in music and taught it too. It would be great to get to her level.”

Lighting, set design, costumes, stage management – there’s a lot going on under the hood to make the opera engine run smoothly. Kudos to OrpheusPDX in its quest to develop new talent so that opera will thrive into the future.