Director Peter Kazaras, fresh from the curtain folds of Falstaff, had his work cut out for him with the Seattle Opera Young Artists production of Ariadne auf Naxos, which he likens to “Teatro ZinZanni invading the production of Tristan and Isolde.” The libretto blends low comedy and tragedy with its show-within-a-show conceit: A wealthy nobleman’s dinner party runs late, so the two acts he hired as the evening’s entertainment must go on at the same time. Spunky Zerbinetta and her troupe of devotees—hipster clowns dressed in highlighter hues—play the “wacky bunch” that inhabit the same deserted island as the tragic, Greek-inspired heroine Ariadne. What could dissolve into silly farce is lifted by the transcendental power of Strauss’s music; insightful staging by Kazaras—who manages to fit the entire opera into a theater that seats 435 people rather than 3,000; and the musicianship of the show’s three sopranos.

I talked opera with two of the stars—fellow Oberlin Conservatory graduates Megan Hart (Zerbinetta) and Marcy Stonikas (Ariadne) —in between performances this weekend.

How did you get started with opera?

MH I went to my first opera when I was two, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles—and there was an elephant in the opera. That’s all I remember [laughs]. I stumbled upon a video at one point of Anna Moffo singing La Traviata and I just completely fell in love; I wanted to be her. I was probably 11—I didn’t even know I could sing. It wasn’t until I joined choir [in high school] that I realized I was louder than the other people; they stuck me in the mezzo section.

MS It’s the plight of the loud voice [both laugh]. I didn’t go to my first opera until I was 18. I didn’t know anyone else who had a voice that sounded anything like mine, so it wasn’t until I heard Carolyn Betty singing the lead in Carlisle Floyd’s Slow Dusk that I figured out I wanted to be Carolyn Betty. I idolize her.

What was your reaction to getting cast as Zerbinetta and Ariadne, respectively?

MH I tried not to laugh. I don’t sound like any Zerbinetta I’ve ever heard. The biggest problem for me was in the coloratura passages. Because I generally accompany myself on the piano when I’m learning, I make room for my voice where I want to. As a result, I wasn’t rhythmically accurate at the beginning, and that drove the coaches nuts. I had to adapt a little bit—no, a lot bit.

MS During my first audition for the Seattle Opera Young Artists Program, I sang one aria and [music director] Brian Garman typed something on his computer and flipped it toward [artistic director] Peter Kazaras, and it just said, Ariadne? I found out later, after I had been rehearsing for weeks, that they literally hired me with the intention of doing this opera. I’m glad I didn’t know sooner—that would have been a lot more pressure.

What is it like working under Peter Kazaras?

MS He’s superbly talented at making a beautiful stage picture.

MH He kind of reminds me of Roberto Benigni in Life Is Beautiful and how he somehow manages to make funny things from completely tragic situations.

Don’t miss Megan and Marcy on the Bellevue Meydenbauer Center main stage for the final two performances, April 9 & 11.

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