History Chapter 6

By Alexis Needham, Opera-Lytes Intern

What can we expect from Opera-Lytes in the future? After the devastating Covid-19 pandemic that constricted theatrical performances has subsided, the company leans into its mission to perform Gilbert & Sullivan and other operettas. This was a challenge that singers and actors everywhere had to overcome.

When everything ground to a halt in 2020, Opera-Lytes had to adjust to the changes demanded by the pandemic. Following CDC guidelines, the company went virtual and then performed outdoors. These adaptations was crucial for the members of Opera-Lytes to continue their mission and remain connected to the organization and one another during a difficult and isolating time when singing and acting were considered high-risk due to Covid.

First, the production scheduled for spring 2020 was canceled. Opera-Lytes music directors Paul Waara and Eric Van Pyrz conceived the plan of hosting an online concert consisting of 10 video performances by 12 group members. Singers were tasked with first recording their vocals, then recording a video of themselves lip-syncing.

Paul said, “It was a lot of busyness just because there were so many performers on that program.” Everybody filmed the videos from home and sent their files to Paul and Eric. “It was a lot just between what I was learning and what he [Eric] knew. Really making sure these were foolproof instructions for everybody to do this successfully from home because we all were figuring it out as we went at that time. It was really makings sure the instructions read really clearly and really sticking with people to deadlines.”

Wendy Swihart, member since 2008, also enjoyed learning something new and being involved with this project. She said, “I’m not used to hearing myself recorded and listening to your own voice is—it was very humbling.”

“Because the group couldn’t be performing on stage at the time, it was a good way to connect with everybody again. It was a nice way to see everybody. Opera-Lytes is a very social group,” said Paul. “It was nice to be asked to be involved with it. It was fun to host.” The online concert was presented via Zoom in January 2021, and the recordings are all available on the Opera-Lytes YouTube page.

Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury and the Victorian rarity Mr Jericho were presented on a double bill outdoors in September 2021. The cast faced the challenges of nature, like the wind blowing around props, hats, and hairdos, and bees bothering bouquets. Microphoned or not, outdoor opera is difficult to acoustically accommodate to as well. Opera-Lytes persevered.

“I just kept saying you know this is really less than ideal but we’re doing something, I’m just glad we’re doing something,” Wendy Swihart said. “You just have to laugh and be like well, this is what we’ve got and we’re just going to make the best of it. And we did.”

In 2022, with Covid still very much a concern, Opera-Lytes performed Man with a Load of Mischief, which had been postponed from 2020. As Mischief has only six characters, they hoped to avoid Covid trouble, but the virus struck, and the show had to be postponed for a month. That meant the members of the three-piece orchestra were no longer available, but pianist Michael Serio was able to step in at the last moment, and the show went on to small but enthusiastic audiences. Later that year, the annual concert was directed by Paul Waara. In 2023, Opera-Lytes presented an ambitious production of Ruddigore, and then a staged production of the one-act operetta, Cox in Box, together with a concert conducted by Nicholas Mark Czaplicki.

In time for its 30th anniversary, in 2024-2025, Opera-Lytes resumed its pre-Covid performance schedule of two fully staged shows and a concert. Ciaran Krueger and Lisa Berglund directed HMS Pinafore at Amherst Community Church; Ted Smeltz and Lisa Berglund directed a sold-out run of The Merry Widow at Alleyway Theatre (including a gala performance with a champagne toast to the company!); and an anniversary concert of Gilbert and Sullivan and Broadway favorites, led by Paul Waara, was enjoyed by an overflow crowd at Amherst Community Church.

Challenges continue to arise: two performances of HMS Pinafore were canceled due to Covid, and the group now recruits understudies for most major roles and has a longer rehearsal schedule to allow for illness, precautions that add to the cost of its productions. But the company continues to flourish, strengthened by its shared history and by a powerful combination of enthusiastic ticket holders, committed donors, and increasingly supportive foundations.

The future of Opera-Lytes is firmly grounded in the original mission: to stage the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, bring light opera, operetta and classic musical theater to audiences in WNY through stage performances, concerts, recordings, and educational programs. They are a strong team of talented actors, singers and directors with a bright future ahead.

Up Next, Opera-Lytes Presents its 31st Season: Gilbert & Sullivan’s Iolanthe, or the Peer and the Peri, will be staged in November 2025 at St. Mary’s High School, in Lancaster, with stage direction by Michael McFadden, vocal direction by Joseph Spann, and music direction by Ciaran Krueger. Nicholas Mark Czaplicki will conduct a spooky Friday the 13th concert in February, featuring the music of Gilbert and Sullivan and the Broadway stage. Concluding the 2025-2026 season in April and May will be four performances of Gilbert and Sullivan’s only tragedy, The Yeomen of the Guard, with Jaman Dunn-Danger as music director and Lisa Berglund stage director.