WHEN IN ROME

Jason Shaffer of Southeast played Monostatos in "The Magic Flute."

Enrico Marrucci of Rome played Papageno and Jeni Kafka of Cape Girardeau sang the role of Papagena in "The Magic Flute."

ROME, Italy -- This is the story of the Operafestival di Roma, a summer music program that took place from June 16 to July 28 in Rome. It was the creation of Dr. Louisa Panou-Takahashi, an assistant professor of music at Southeast Missouri State University, and her Italian partner Maestro Stefano Vignati.

The program brought together more than 80 singers and instrumentalists from across the U.S., from Canada, Italy, Japan and Israel. The musicians presented programs of chamber music, vocal recitals and the centerpiece of the festival, Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute."

Before I tell you about the festival and some of the things that happened there this year, I must take you back in time. It was three years ago that I first met Louisa Panou-Takahashi. One of the statements Louisa made to me during that first meeting was that she wanted to start her own opera company and music festival. I thought that was a very interesting idea, but that it would never happen; there were too many obstacles in her way. How wrong I was.

Producing opera was not new to Louisa or to Stefano, because for two years they had worked for a man in Rome who was running a summer opera program. However, they were not happy working for him and a year ago decided to start their own program.

When I stepped off the plane in Rome on July 5, I began to see immediately the results of the work they had done. Louisa met me at Leonardo Da Vinci Airport and took me to the Domis Pacis, the hotel where the members of the company were housed.

After unpacking my things, I went with her to the Istituto S. Alessio-Margherita di Savoia. The old buildings and gardens were once the residence of Pope Pius V and were built in 1566. One of the buildings is now used as a home for elderly blind women and another is a school for blind children.

We went to Louisa's office where she showed me the costumes for the opera. They had been made by Stefano's mother and were absolutely beautiful. Outside was the stage for "The Magic Flute." Stefano himself had built both the stage and the sets.

He and Louisa had searched through flea markets in Rome for some of the props, such as the crown for the High Priest and the bonsai tree which Papageno would use to "hang" himself.

There were so many details still to be worked out, so many people to supervise, so much music to be rehearsed. I was dizzy trying to comprehend all she was telling me.

That evening, there was a rehearsal by one of the casts of the opera; there were to be six performances of it with three different casts. It was very strange to see the singers on stage performing in T-shirts and shorts. They all looked like a bunch of young people who had just wandered in from the beach.

On July 6, the dress rehearsal for "The Magic Flute" took place. The singers were in their make-up and costumes and the performance was to be videotaped. Nerves were frayed and confusion was everywhere as all the details had to be put into place and be perfect.

One person complained that her costume didn't fit, another wailed that he didn't remember his part, others were convinced that they had lost their voices and would never sing again.

You would have thought these people had not the faintest idea of what they were doing. Then, suddenly, absolute quiet. Stefano walked to the conductor's podium, and the beautiful overture in the key of E flat began. As each singer stepped onto the stage, it became apparent that they knew exactly what they were doing and they all sang beautifully.

Of course, during the break between Acts I and II, everyone was complaining that their costumes didn't fit, they would never be able to sing, they had forgotten their lines. All of this was their way of dealing with the tension of the performance. I came to the conclusion that the best opera of all is the one the audience never sees!

On July 8, the opera had its first performance before a paid, sold-out audience of nearly 500 people; an Italian audience no less, and they can be very unforgiving. This one was enthusiastic.

Southeast student Donna Smith of Cape Girardeau sang the role of Princess Pamina, Jason Shaffer, a Southeast University student from Iowa, was the wicked slave Monostatos, and the delightful Jeni Kafka of Cape Girardeau was Papagena.

What a treat to see them up on that stage on a beautiful summer evening in Rome singing one of the most glorious operas ever written by Mozart. They were all so good.

For me, the most stunning moment of the performance came when Donna Smith and Ross Tucker Crolius, who is a member of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus, sang together as Princess Pamina and the High Priest, Sarastro.

I have a feeling that one of these days, Donna herself will be standing on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. She is a singer of enormous elegance and poise and her voice is clear and golden.

One of the best parts of my stay in Rome was the opportunity to meet so many interesting people. Ross Tucker Crolius has been a member of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus for 12 years. His wife is also a member of the chorus.

Ross said he was very pleased to have the opportunity to sing the role of Sarastro, since chorus members rarely have a chance to sing solo parts. The two Italian singers who shared the part of Papageno are members of the chorus of the Rome Opera.

Gwendolyn Wyatt, director of the West Los Angeles Spiritual Chorus, had brought her group to the festival to sing the choral parts in "The Magic Flute" and also to give a concert of spirituals on July 17. She started this group six years and they have traveled to Spain, Majorca, Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and now Italy.

One of their objectives is to preserve the music of the spirituals, which are not sung as much as they were in years past. This group is enormously talented and they were one of the biggest hits of the festival.

Louisa wanted to make sure that the people who had come to participate in the festival were given an opportunity to experience different events in Rome. With this in mind, she arranged for all of us to attend the general audience of Pope John Paul II on Wednesday, July 12.

We arrived at St. Peter's Cathedral about 9 a.m. and were quickly allowed to enter the area near the audience hall. Louisa was very nervous, which is unlike her, and I wondered what was wrong. We were stopped by a Swiss guard who asked to see the invitation for the group.

It was to admit 35 people, but there were 70 of us! Stefano had not arrived with the invitation for the other 35 people.

As we dutifully raised our hands for the guard to see who was in our group, he looked at the invitation, then at all of us and asked in amazement, "Thirty-five people?"

"Yes," said Louisa, "thirty-five." Then she turned to us and whispered, "Put your hands down."

The very puzzled guard let us enter the hall.

"Our" choir sang for the Holy Father and was wildly applauded.

There were so many concerts, so I have chosen to tell about only a few. On July 21, Dr. James Sifferman, a professor of music from Southeast Missouri University, performed Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23. This was broadcast on the Italian Radio network and the performance was wonderful.

Two of Sifferman's students also performed during the festival. Patryce King, who just completed her freshman year at Southeast, accompanied a number of the singers and on July 15 played a solo of Sergei Prokofiev"s "Diabolical Suggestion."

A former student of Sifferman's, Akiko Kamimura, played Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 2 on July 11. Both of these young women are outstanding pianists who have received their training at the university in Cape Girardeau. Akiko now studies in Austria.

On July 13, a concert entitled "Concert for the Peace of the World" was presented. There were performances of Japanese music, Hawaiian music and dance, Spanish songs and spirituals. One of the most intriguing segments was presented by a young woman from the Fond Du Lac Indian reservation in Minnesota. She is a member of the Ojibwe Nation and she sang three enchanting Indian songs.

So many people from so many different backgrounds and nations all brought together because each one of them loves music.

Barbara Herbert hosts "Sunday Night at the Opera" on public radio station KRCU.