Growing up, Smagur sang in choir and musicals, but he never had an interest in operas.
“I just wanted to sing Backstreet Boys and just jam,” Smagur said. “But then I had a voice teacher that showed me opera, and it took me a couple of years, but I got into it after that.”
At 8 p.m. Friday, “The Magic Flute” will open at the Musical Arts Center, and Smagur will make his IU debut as Tamino for the Saturday performance.
“The Magic Flute” follows Tamino and Papageno in their quest to find and rescue the Queen of the Night’s daughter, Pamina. The queen’s ladies in service give a magic flute to Tamino and silver bells to Papageno to ensure their safety in their journey through the mythical land.
When Smagur was cast as Tamino last fall, he said even though he has already been in this opera two times before, he still had to take time to prepare for his role before they started ?rehearsals.
“There’s lots of coaching and individual time you have to put in because you have to basically come in with the role learned,” Smagur said. “You want to come in with the role 85 to 90 percent learned already.”
This production will be sung in German with English subtitles. Smagur said he has sung the entire opera in German and English, which he said was really helpful when he started preparing his role in the IU ?production.
“Now that I’m back in German, I still have the English running through my head, and so it makes it easier to kind of translate and portray what I’m trying to say in German,” ?Smagur said.
Smagur explained the importance of breathing while singing throughout the show.
“If you went to 100 voice lessons today, 90 of them would be about breath because it’s the hardest thing,” Smagur said. “It takes a long time, and it’s muscular so you have to train your body how to stand a certain way, and that has to do a lot to do with projection.”
In addition to the singing, Smagur said “The Magic Flute” is a Singspiel, which means it will have more dialogue than the average opera. This poses a challenge because none of the actors will be miked, and they have to project in an area as big as the MAC.
“You have to take your voice up so that it will carry out to the back of the hall into a more resonant position,” Smagur said.
Helena Binder, stage director for the show, said one of the biggest things she worked on with the performers is fostering natural performances when they speak.
“Very often this aspect is kind of given short shrift,” Binder said. “I try very hard to have natural, real performances as opposed to people getting up there and doing these kind of operatic gestures.”
Smagur said he thinks costumes are a big part of a performance because they really put him in the zone of actually becoming his character on stage.
“I think it looks like a Jedi robe, which I think is awesome,” Smagur said. “My costume is not very grand, but I think it reflects well on the story and the fact that I’m searching for ?enlightenment.”
With IU Opera and Ballet being such a well-known entity that works with professional crew and directors, Smagur said he feels the pressure but does not focus on that aspect too much while performing.
“You’re going to be nervous, but when you get on stage, you’ve done it so much that your body just kind of takes over,” Smagur said. “That makes you scared, but just as much excited because if you do it well, it gives you a lot of energy for sure.”
In addition to his studies next year, Smagur is also the recipient of the Georgina Joshi Graduate Fellowship. The fellowship will pay for tuition, fees, books, supplies, living and local travel expenses and other costs related to studying and living in Bloomington. Smagur said it is a big honor.
“I don’t have any distractions of financial obligations trying to make my rent or anything along those lines, but what I have to do in return now is sing or learn languages at an accelerated rate,” Smagur said.
Smagur said if people are hesitant to go to an opera for the first time, “The Magic Flute” is one he recommends they see.
Binder said opening night is sure to be a fun, joyous and festive atmosphere of entertainment.
“Magic Flute is about personal journey to seek truth and self-knowledge, but I hope the atmosphere will be one full of laughter,” Binder said.
