12 GAY PEOPle's ChronICLE NOVEMBER 13, 1998

EVENINGS OUT

Mozart's Magic Flute as you probably never saw it

Lesbian mezzo says institute's production explores her character's sexuality

by Richard Berrong Cleveland-The opera department of the Cleveland Institute of Music offers as its fall production Mozart's truly magical comic opera, The Magic Flute. Along with its tuneful, well-known music, it offers a story that speaks to today's gay audiences as well as straight ones, because it is about finding a balance between being controlled by one's senses to the point that one becomes selfdestructive, and being so rational that the pleasures of the senses are denied.

Mozart and his librettist, Schikaneder, present these two extremes with the characters of the Queen of the Night, who is a queen in more ways than one, and Sarastro, who has suppressed all emotion out of fear of it to the point that he becomes almost stationary. The solution, the text suggests, must come from a union of these two extremes in the form of a marriage between Pamiha, the Queen's daughter, and Tamino, a handsome young prince.

It is therefore particularly appropriate that with the institute's upcoming production, director Gary Race has spent a great deal of time having his performers consider the events that occurred before the curtain rises, why the Queen and Sarastro have become such extremes.

Denise Knowlton, a lesbian mezzo who will sing one of the three ladies, spoke to me the other day about how enjoyable these performances will be.

Among other things, she explained, her character and several others will be exploring sexuality, as the Queen and Sarastro begin to lose control of their respective worlds.

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Though still young, Knowlton already has a significant history of involvement in vocal music. She was first lured to singing while in high school in Flint, Michigan, by a madrigal group from the University of

Denise Knowlton

Michigan that toured local schools. Once Knowlton heard them, she decided she had to become a part of that, and a few years later she did.

From there she went to Bowling Green for her M.A., where she sang roles inLa Traviata, Gianni Schicchi, and Dame Quickly in Falstaff. She also served as resident artist with Toledo Opera, appearing in Hansel and Gretel and their touring school-oriented productions. This fall, in addition to

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I am a woman or man who believes that there IS a God, that Jesus IS the Christ whose life, death and resurrection are the basis for a personal relationship with God and that the Holy Spirit IS ready to daily help me as a follower of Jesus Christ.

I have acknowledged my homosexual feelings and wondered how they fit in with my Christian beliefs.

I am troubled about the anti-homosexual opinions of Christians whom I respect.

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The life of a homosexual with a strong Christian commitment can be confusing at best, self-condemning at worst. But genuine Christian faith and homosexual life can be integrated.

Many other gay men and lesbians are on the same journey – living as members of the Body of Christ, worshipping their Lord and Savior, seeking the deeper Christian life, growing in the grace and knowledge of God.

If you are interested in meeting with other like-minded Christians to strengthen each other as members of the Body of Christ, call 216-671-4189 for more information.

working on The Magic Flute, she sang in Cleveland Opera's recent presentation of Carmen.

She knows that getting a career off the ground can be particularly difficult during the early years, when engagements are still few and money can be a problem. Fortunately, she is also a qualified optician, so she does not have to take the traditional route of waiting tables or other odd jobs. In the future, she would like to focus on Dame Quickly, and somewhere down the road consider Carmen and Azucena in Il Trovatore. She would also like to sing new operas that deal with lesbians, and found one story while she was coming out that she feels would make a perfect libretto.

Before getting too involved in a career, however, Denise also dreams about taking

time out to travel, both on the West Coast and through Europe.

She concluded by asking me to mention that she has a very loving girlfriend who has been with her for two years, and who has been wonderfully supportive through the difficult and demanding moments of Denise's life as a performer.

Clevelanders will have a chance to see Denise and a new take on a great classic when the Cleveland Institute of Music brings The Magic Flute, sung in English, to University Circle November 11, 13, and 14 at 8 pm.

For tickets call 216-791-5000, extension 411.

Richard M. Berrong is a freelance writer living in Kent, Ohio.

Both parts of Angels can now be seen together

by Dawn E. Leach

Cleveland Heights-Dobama Theatre presented Cleveland's first indigenous production of Angels in America part one: Millennium Approaches to sold-out audiences in April and May of this year. The theatre assembled an impressive collection of local talent for the endeavor under the skilled direction of Joel Hammer.

The same cast and crew, with minor changes, has added Angels in America part two: Perestroika and is now presenting both halves of the play in repertory November 20 to December 20.

In spite of the flashy spectacle associated with the touring production which made the play famous, Angels in America is wellsuited to a small, intimate theatre like Dobama. In Kushner's notes to directors, he said "the play benefits from a pared-down style of presentation...which makes for an actordriven event, as this must be."

RIQUE WINSTON

Laura Perrotta and Scott Plate in Angels in America.

Dobama's production of Angels in America is truer to this direction than the Broadway version. Rather than dazzle and distract the audience with fireworks, it draws you into a personal relationship with the people in the story. It certainly has its moments of technologically produced magic, but the most magical part is how the small cast brings alive the characters that people Kushner's story.

Set in 1985, the many-faceted story focuses on themes of barriers and defenses being broken down, including the line between dream and reality. Appropriately subtitled "Millennium Approaches," it is full of a sense that great, catastrophic change is coming.

Kushner's play suggests that gays will play a critical role in a righting of wrongs in the coming millennium, that "we [gays] are a deliberate device placed by God to re-order creation," said actor Scott Plate, who plays Walter Prior in the production.

On three Sundays during the show's run, Dobama will be presenting part one and part two on the same day. Theatregoers can see part one at 2 pm, have enough time to have dinner at one of the many restaurants within walking distance in the gay-friendly Coventry neighborhood, and come back for the 7 pm showing of part two. Tickets to see both parts on those dates are sold at a discount over the cost of seeing the parts separately.

Audiences who already saw Millenium Approaches have been eagerly awaiting the double-bill performance. If ticket sales for the sold-out spring production are any indication, tickets may go quickly. For reservations, call 216932-6838.

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