Students in the department of music showed how a story could be told entirely through song Saturday night in the Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall.

Iowa State University’s Opera Studio, under the direction and coaching of Mary Creswell and Paul Pisano, presented “A Mozart Gala,” featuring small sections from the operas “The Marriage of Figaro,” “Cosi fan tutte” and “Die Zauberfl”te.”

The Mozart Gala was a good first experience for someone who is not familiar with the performance style, said Lindsey Shutt of Cedar Rapids.

“It was a new experience for me,” Shutt said. “I thought it was really good. It must take real talent to sing opera and have to hit some of those notes.”

The cast of students showed expressive acting, vivid costumes and much vocal depth in their parts, whether soprano, tenor or baritone.

In the first portion of the show, “The Marriage of Figaro,” the ISU operatic singers opened strong with Miles Morgan, junior in music, and Anna Hersey, senior in music, who portrayed the characters of Figaro and Susanna, respectively.

The character Figaro is angry because the master of the house plans to seduce his bride-to-be Susanna, and he vows to make sure nothing goes ill while he stays at the master’s castle. Susanna is soon placed in a very precarious position when the master comes to visit her.

The second portion of the Gala was from “Cosi fan tutte” or “The School for Lovers.” This piece, first performed in the late 1700s, was modernized and the scenes have moved from Naples, Italy to a country club in Naples, Florida.

The costumes in this play were quite humorous and the actors and actresses pulled off a whimsical modern take on an old work. The costumes range from preppy tennis wear, complete with tied sweater, to swinging euro-sixties retro-wear.

The two main characters, Ferrando and Gugliemo, played by Matthew McCue, junior in music, and Joseph Wilgenbusch, freshman in music, are confident in the fidelity of their lovers Dorabella and Fiordiligi, played by Cindy Boote, senior in music, and Stephanie Kasper, senior in music. They are so confident that they accept a bet from Don Alfonso, played by Nicholas Meyer, freshman in music, to test their girlfriends’ faithfulness.

Slyly, Don Alfonso goes to the two girls and tells them their lovers have left for the front line in the war, and then proceeds to tempt them with other men, who turn out to be not so unfamiliar.

The final portion of the Gala featured special guest Simon Estes, Iowa State’s distinguished artist in residence, singing a portion of “Die Zauberfl”te,” or “The Magic Flute.” Estes wowed the crowd with his deep, perfected vibrato, and at the urging of members of the crowd, sang the second song of his performance seated. The audience was appreciative of his comfortable stage presence and world-class voice.

The Gala was an overall success, said Lila Roher of Victor.

“I thought it was wonderful,” Roher said. “Simon Estes has a great voice and great vibes that can be seen in the audience. I thought everyone played their parts very well.”

Luke Rolfes is a junior in English from Polk City.