Weekend Spotlight

Opera at Penn State? Go Figaro

In his continuing search for artistic enlightenment, Student No. 2 has found a campus strewn with possibilities -- and closed minds.

"Figaro! Figaro! Figaro!" No. 2 sings (or tries to) in the dorm shower coated in mildew. The jarring echo and fuzzy din of the splattering water mask enough of his voice to make it sound like he comes vaguely close to hitting some of the notes.

In the middle of a high note, a bar of soap zooms over the stall wall (just missing No.2's well-lathered head), smacks against the retro-'70s tile and slides to the floor. It surprises him, and his boisterous vocals break off sharply.

"Figa-- what the hell was that?"

"Shut up!" Unfriendly Dorm Guy (UDG) snaps from the next shower stall.

"Sorry, I was practicing," No. 2 politely apologizes.

"Well, it's not helping you any," UDG snarls.

"But I'm not going to be singing -- I'm going to go and listen to the Opera Gala at Recital Hall Sunday night. I need to expand my musical horizons beyond Shania Twain."

"Good for you, @!#%," UDG replies.

"You don't need to be so rude about it, you know. I wasn't the one loudly discussing some girl I @#!% in the hallway at 5 in the morning."

"At least there are girls who will @!#% me."

The rest of this conversation, unfortunately, was deemed inappropriate for publication, but the Opera Gala will still occur at 8 p.m. Sunday in the Music Building's Recital Hall.

In addition to selections from The Marriage of Figaro, the program, titled "A Night of Arias" and performed by students and faculty of the School of Music, will include arias from La Boheme, Candide and other operas. Tickets are $4 and are available at the door and in advance by calling 865-0431.

-- by Melissa Dugan

Astronaut to boogie with orchestra

Houston, we have a concert.

Set all coordinates for Eisenhower Auditorium, where the Nittany Valley Symphony will present its annual family-oriented production "Out of This World! A Symphonic Space Adventure!" at 3 p.m. tomorrow.

Penn State astronaut James Pawelczyk will appear as the musical crew's special guest.

As commander of the multi-media journey through space, music director Michael Jinbo will navigate through a program including music from Holst's "The Planets" as well as the "Star Wars" theme and "E.T." excerpts by John Williams. The program also airs a premiere work for orchestra and narrator created by State College High School graduate Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum.

The Nittany Valley Symphony, Central Pennsylvania's only full-sized community orchestra for 32 years, also will transmit the pulses of violin concerto movements by Keller Young Soloist Competition co-winners Amie Weiss and Jeffrey Zehngut.

Interested earthlings can buy tickets at the Eisenhower Ticket Center or by contacting 863-0255. Tickets cost $7.50 for full-time students, $14.50 for senior citizens and $16.50 for general admission. Group rates are available for full crews.

The venture is sponsored in part by Bell Atlantic and State College radio station WZWW-FM (95.3).

For more information, check the symphony's Web site at www.nvs.org.

-- by Nikki Petrowicz

Magician, juggler, "geek" visit HUB

Watch out, Penn State -- Scott the "professional geek" is coming with his tag team of entertainers to take over your weekend.

"The Cabaret Magic Show," a free event, arrives with two shows starting at 10 and 11:30 p.m. tomorrow on the HUB ground floor.

Scott Sullivan will come to the HUB along with Ben Salinas (senior-political science), who performs magic, and juggler Steve Patient.

Together the three acts make for quite an unusual show.

"Ben Salinas and Scott Sullivan are PSU students who work professionally out at a big resort in the Poconos. They've worked there for over a year now," said John Harlow, director of HUB Late Night.

The performers work for an entertainment company and are considered professional performers.

-- by Chris Witkowsky

A tribe called "Graffiti" to harmonize

John Elway and the Broncos aren't the only good things to come out of Denver.

The Denver-based a cappella group Graffiti Tribe will hit Penn State at 10 p.m. today on the HUB ground floor as part of HUB Late Night activities.

The Tribe has appeared on national TV and radio as well as winning a recording contract with Warner Brothers. The Tribe won second place in the national finals of the influential Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival in 1995 and 1997. In 1997, Tribe also won awards in the National Finals of the Harmony Sweepstakes for Best Arrangement and a special Judges' Award for Best Vocal Percussion.

Known for more than its awards, Graffiti Tribe sings a wide range of musical styles from pop to gospel to hard rock in both its own songs and covers.

Graffiti Tribe's last performance in the area was at a concert at Berks-Lehigh Valley College this past November.

-- by Kathryn Graham