I want to be part of it. Some of that enormous talent can be seen in any FBN show. Currently, Schlaefer hires a variety of singers, mostly in their 20s and 30s and based in South Carolina, on a per-show basis. Each holds a master s degree. Indeed, some of her earlier performers have moved on to the New York City Opera, the U.S. Army s Singing Sergeants and Juilliard.
Current members teach voice at nearby colleges and are ministers of music at churches.
Schlaefer supports herself as a freelance director of opera and plays across the country most notably as production stage manager four months a year with The Santa Fe Opera. It averages 40 performances a year in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Virginia. Those aren t her only goals, though. After their money is stolen by an adult street performer, a group of schoolchildren chase him down and get the money back. Although Krasa was executed, his opera written to be performed by children was resurrected with the 50th anniversary of the Holocaust.