Presented at Asbury University, “A Night at the Opera” showcased students’ talents and classical music while glorifying God through musical expression.

As part of Asbury’s music department’s fall semester, the class chooses a specific area of music to focus on for a vocal study. For the production earlier this month eight students trained and rehearsed to not only learn vocal areas of opera but choreography and character development as well.

“The music overlaps like waves in the ocean,” Director Dr. Jill Campbell said in a prepared statement. “If you want to laugh, laugh. If you want to cry, cry. God gave us the gift of the arts to respond to his love for us.”

Included in the set was a variety of well-known operas such as “Carmen” “Madame Butterfly” and “Don Giovanni.” Campbell said the production was a selection of pieces chosen to reflect themes of love, hope, struggle and persecution.

Gabriel Chandler, Asbury alumni and a former music student at the university, said she was impressed with the show. The small class size in the performance worked as an advantage for the students, she said.

“Each member of the cast shined in their pieces,” Chandler said in a prepared statement. “I could tell the hard work that the students, directors and stage management put in and their commitment to sharing God’s gift of music to the best of their abilities.”

For more information, visit asbury.edu/Music.