Fall/Winter 1997
Volume XXIII No. 1
gM0** Stetson Weekend: Don't miss it!
Stetson Weekend, February
6-8, 1998, will be filled with
activity. In addition to the typical
events related to Homecoming, we shall
have Reunion programs for the classes
ending in '3 and '8, i.e. 1943, 1958, 1973,
... right up to 1993.
The weekend will also feature the
dedication ceremony for the new Hollis
Center, a musical program to celebrate the
life of the late Harold "Prof" Giffin, and an
update on the progress of the University's
$200 Million Dollar Campaign.
We are expecting the largest event
crowd in recent history. You do not want
to miss this special occasion, so be sure to
make your reservations as soon as possible.
We look forward to seeing you "back
home" in February.
Gary
Gary Meadows, '59, '63 MA
Executive Director, Alumni Association
Music alums' paths to success lead through Europe
T
Michael Lewis
wo Stetson University School of Music alumni are making
their way - internationally - in the world of opera and
musical theater.
Michael Lewis, '93, a bari-tenor,
stars as Marius in the German
production of Les Miserables in
Duisburg, Germany. He came to that
role from a production of Phantom of
the Opera in Hamburg, Germany,
where he played Christine's lover,
Raoul. Both shows are owned by
Stella, a company which produces
all the large shows in Germany.
Rather than take shows on tour,
Lewis said, Stella builds a special
theater for each one and German
theater-goers travel to see them.
Emmanuel "Mani" Cadet, '94, a tenor,
spent last summer in Austria, playing Sportin'
Life in the Bregenz Festspiele's English-
language production of Porgy and Bess, and
returns this summer to repeat the role. He is
now playing Kaleh in the Lyric Opera of
Chicago's world premier of Amistad, a true
account of an uprising on the slave ship
Amistad in which the slaves were eventually
freed.
Both students of Stetson music professor
and alumna Mollie Sandiford Rich, '59,
the two, who became friends at Stetson, went on to earn master's
degrees in voice performance from the New England Conservatory
of Music in Boston.
Lewis received his master's degree in 1995, then spent nine months
in New York City, before winning his spot in Phantom and moving to
Germany. Fluent in German, which he studied at Stetson, he now
performs eight shows a week in German.
Cadet received his master's degree in 1996, and since then has had
roles with the Florida Grand Opera in Miami, Lowell House Opera in
"Mani" Cadet
"Mani" Cadet
and Professor
Mollie Rich,
both Stetson
alumni, met in
Bregenz,
Austria, during
his summer '97
performances in
the American
opera, Porgy
and Bess.
Massachusetts, Des Moines Metro Opera in Iowa, and Shreveport
Opera in Louisiana; as well as musical theater roles in Baton Rouge,
La., and St. Louis, Mo. He hopes to spend a few years working and
studying in Italy in the near future.
"I enjoy traveling," said Cadet, who relishes the wide experience
he is getting. "In 1989,1 set some 10-year goals, and I've met them in
eight. Young performers must establish themselves in different areas
to get known. You need to 'pay your dues.'
"People are encouraging, but it's difficult," he said, because tenors
often play romantic leads, and some directors hesitate to cast black
men in such roles.
Lewis has the opposite problem: He feels typecast as a lover, and
while he enjoys his musical theater roles, he wants to do opera again.
He said he would also like to work again in New York: " I love New
York; so many wonderful things are happening there."
Essentially, however, Lewis said he is fulfilling his ultimate goal
right now: "To work as a singer and to enjoy doing it."
Cadet credits Rich with much of his success: "I've worked with
other voice teachers, but I always come back to her. She and her
husband (Robert Rich, '59, also a Stetson voice professor and
alumnus) saw my potential. I have a solid foundation."
Hard work and determination were also crucial: "I had the drive
to do it; not everyone does," said Cadet. "I don't know where I'll be
in five years, but I want a career as an opera singer. I have the
discipline and I think I can do it." — Betty Brady
