By Kelly Ferjutz
Growing up as an Air Force brat meant that Steven Daigle was exposed to various forms of entertainment and social situations. Although he now claims Louisiana as the major place of his younger years, he has no very good or solid evidence as to why he became what he calls ‘a theater geek.’ Apparently, that’s only the way the ball bounces, one would guess.
Presently, he is Professor of Opera and Head of Opera at the Eastman School of Music, where he has served on the faculty at the Eastman School of Music since 1997. In 2008 he was named chairman of the voice and opera department.
With the Ohio Light Opera Company (OLO), he has served as stage manager (1990-93), assistant director (1994-95), and general director (1997-98) under the guidance of Dr. James Stuart. In 1999 he was appointed artistic director for the company. In the summer of 2008, the company celebrated its 30th anniversary and produced its 100th title. Over 50 titles have been added to the company’s repertoire during Steve’s tenure as Artistic Director.
The lyric theater industry should try to bottle the ingredients that brought him to this point, in the hope of convincing ever more talented young people to indulge.
If you read his bio, it lists him as: actor, singer, dancer, stage manager, director, etc. One of his more important activities of late is missing. That of “musical detective.” Certainly there are enough lyric theater works to keep any company that specializes in pieces of that nature very busy for any number of years, but that isn’t sufficient, in the eyes of Mr. Daigle. No, no. He delights in delving deeply into libraries and music collections everywhere in the hope of finding yet another buried treasure – and bringing them into the 21st Century!
Steve says, “Theater is really a way of adapting to life; students of today are much more informed than in previous years.”
The first show he ever directed was Annie, saying, “I figured that since it had both kids and dogs in it, anything that followed would have to be easier!” Maybe. But that show really is the total package for stage personnel, as it demands acting, singing, dancing – and talking so that the audience can hear and understand the words. All essentials for any potential actor or actress.
He credits Emerich Kálmán’s Countess Maritza for awakening his interest in musical theater. He’s repaid that debt countless times in the years since then. OLO has probably performed more Kalman operettas than any other such company in existence. At least in recent years. This season’s The Little King brings the total to 11 different productions, some of which have been done in multiple years.
This season at OLO, Steve is directing five shows. One is by Kálmán (more on that later); one by Victor Herbert (almost a world premiere); the first ever OLO production of a work by Irving Berlin — Call Me Madam; one by Jerome Kern — Oh, Lady! Lady!!; and to the surprise of everyone, Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance for the first time ever! Even though this one was performed most recently in 2011, we’re promised a perhaps more “period” setting than other productions have been, with more attention paid to the resort town of Penzance as it was then.
It’s totally amazing to consider the PREMIERE in 2014 of a work by Victor Herbert in 1906. But that’s exactly what is happening here with Dream City and the Magic Knight. Its birth was still during the ‘vaudeville’ period that presaged the musical theater era, and was in fact a sort of partnership with the famous team of Weber & Fields, with Joe Weber to play the lead part of Mr. Dinglebender. There was even a part in it for Diamond ‘Lil’ Russell. Unfortunately, it never happened, or at least not as the composer envisioned it. It was to be a sort of dramatic ‘fantasy’ pipe in two puffs.
Basically (as I understand it, anyway) it was to begin in a rural setting, with one song titled “A Farmer’s Life” and another “A Shy Suburban Maid.” (You get the idea, right?) Then in the second puff, the action moved to Dream City. As if that wasn’t enough of a jolt, a 30-minute musical interlude titled “The Magic Knight” is inserted in the middle, which was a spoof of Wagner’s opera Lohengrin. (Can’t imagine why it didn’t work, can you?) The vaudevillians made changes and deletions, with which the composer did not agree. There were lawsuits, and the ragtime-y, blues-y, syncopated music was put away, perhaps never to be seen again.
They didn’t count on Steven Daigle finding enough of it to really pique his interest, while researching another musical entirely. He is nothing if not persistent. While scouring various musical files for Oh, Lady, Lady, he found four more songs for Dream City! Steven Byess, who is the conductor for the production, also added orchestrations and reconstructions where necessary, making it possible for all of us to actually attend the Premiere of a work written in 1906!
And, finally, there is Emerick Kálmán’s operetta The Little King, which is actually based on a true story, and may have contributed to its long hibernation. In the first decade of the 20th Century, when there were still numerous little kingdoms in Europe, the 19-year-old King of Portugal met and fell madly in love with a French dancer/chanteuse. His attentions switched to her instead his kingly duties, and disaster followed. Absolutely material for an operetta! It was predicted to be a ‘great success’ but fate intervened.
The female star became ill after opening night and withdrew, and her co-star followed, due to a ‘both or neither’ pact between the two. A lawsuit soon appeared, and the promising show closed after 75 performances. The OLO production is certainly the first English-language production ever, and possibly the first anywhere in the past 90 years. The forward-looking Kálmán even included a tango! The erstwhile detective Daigle also prepared a singable translation (with the assistance of a literal English translation by Alexander Butziger) and the English Performance Edition. (P. S. The king died at the age of 43 in 1932, an exile in London.)
And to think, all of this music and mystery happens right here in Ohio! In Wooster, to be exact, which may be close enough to be considered part of NEOhio, right? All seven productions will be repertory at the Freedlander Theatre on the campus of The College of Wooster.
Tickets or information are available on-line at ohiolightopera.org or by calling 330.263.2345. OLO’s 36th season run through Sat 8/9.
[Photos, top to bottom: Die Fledermaus; Call Me Madam; Oh, Lady! Lady!!; The Pirates of Penzance]
From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz, who writes: My most recently published book is Ardenwycke Unveiled (e-book and trade paper). Cerridwen has another contemporary romance from me, But Not For Love, currently available only as an e-book, but perhaps will be in print later this year. I hope to soon get around to completing some of the 30+ incomplete books in my computer!And now, after more than a few requests, I’ve started a blog about writing. You can find it here.
Wooster, OH 44691