Faculty members Nick Benson and Jennifer Wojcik, accompanied by other faculty chaperones, took their students to the Metropolitan Opera, Yale Repertory Theater, and Connecticut Repertory Theater to experience a number of theatrical and operatic performances from classical opera to commedia del arte. Students from sophomore Honors English, Italian Studies, performance, and humanities attended the performances “This was a real revelation for the kids,” said Nick Benson. “The kids were reluctant at first, but they were later happy that they went to these top-level productions.”
When designing this series, Jennifer and Nick worked together to see what productions matched the studies they were teaching. “This series started in the Italian Studies senior seminar,” said Jennifer. “With New York City so close to us, we thought it would be a missed opportunity if we didn’t take advantage of all the arts community had to offer.” The Troubadours (Gunnery’s elite singing group) was especially excited to attend a performance of Armida and the opening night of the Metropolitan’s production of La Traviata.
At Yale Rep’s production of Carlo Goldoni’s A Servant of Two Masters, the students were caught off guard by the slapstick and silliness of the production. “They had to decode and read between the lines of something that was completely goofy,” said Nick. “They realized that the humor was driving some serious content.”
Most recently, performing arts department faculty member, Dan O’Brien ’05 took students from the History of Rock and Roll to see Connecticut Repertory Theater’s production of The Who’s Tommy. “It was a very visual show,” said Dan. “The students were caught off guard at first, but they loved the production.”
“The kids don’t get enough opportunities to see theater and opera. We are only two hours from NY and one from New Haven,” said Nick. “We did three trips this year; maybe we can double it next year.”