Soprano Lisa Hopkins, a Washington resident, is one of the 19 fortunate Filene Young Artists chosen for a summer of residency with Wolf Trap Opera Company. They come from young artist programs and conservatories nationwide for the same kind of intensive training that has propelled past WTOC participants to international careers.
A graduate of Yale University with a bachelor’s in theater studies and master’s from Manhattan School of Music, Hopkins is appearing currently in “Volpone” as Corvina, the raven. Corvina was not in Ben Jonson’s poetic work from which the opera is adapted, but was given life by librettist Mark Campbell, who morphed several of Jonson’s characters into three menacing birds.
Like the raven, a bird of prey that manipulates other birds to kill, Corvina looms throughout the plot as an ill omen. Her stage persona is an imposing, overbearing woman in her 50s.
“She’s a wonderfully comedic character, filled with greed and lust,” Hopkins says. “Corvina is waiting for Volpone to die, not knowing that he’s been playing games and looking forward to seeing how much he can get out of her.
“In order to secure her position, she must disown her son and claim Volpone as her heir, so she blames the son for her errors. However, when he ends up in ruin and is taken to court, she blames everything on Mosca [Volpone’s accomplice] because she doesn’t want her son to go to jail. It’s a matter of greed versus religion, or good versus evil, but the con artists get away with a lot in the end.”
Musto’s music, unlike any Hopkins has studied, ranges from gorgeous melodies sung by the more likable characters to dissonant outbursts suiting the troublemakers.
“Because the pitches are all over the place, we trained our ears to listen to each other quietly to see how our part fits into each complex piece,” she says. “It all ends up making perfect sense.”
‘Volpone’
» When: 8 p.m. today and 2 p.m. Sunday
» Venue: The Barns of Wolf Trap
» Tickets: $58
» Info: 703-938-2404,www.wolftrap.org
