Seven or eight of our graduates sing professionally in Europe. The Greater Buffalo Opera Company recently performed Richard Strauss' Salome , a one-act music drama based on the stage poem by Oscar Wilde, at Shea's Buffalo. At Artpark this summer the GBO plans to do two operas in conjunction with the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, both of which Burgess is directing. Madame Butterfly with be performed at the main Artpark theater on July 8,9,10. There's not just music, there's also singing, scenic design, costuming and make-up.
Opera involves many other art forms.
There's drama on stage, and visual aspects to help people enjoy what's happening. Strangely enough, while music events that take place on the UB campus draw strong audiences from Buffalo, Burgess thinks it's harder to draw audiences for such events from the UB population itself. But while the general public takes advantage of what we have, UB students, faculty and staff are here all day and tend not to come back in the evening. But we need a better audience from UB, now more than ever. What we offer is a major part of education.