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South Dakota opera fans introduce art through local stars
by Cara Hetland, Minnesota Public Radio
June 10, 2003

Louis Otey had to choose between being a band teacher in South Dakota or an opera singer. Otey grew up in Flandreau, South Dakota. He now performs wiht the Metropolitan Opera in New York. (Cara Hetland)

Opera's rebirth continues. La Boheme is on broadway. Opera tickets are selling well just about everywhere. Opera lovers in Sioux Falls are trying to light the flame in hopes of it catching on there. Two South Dakota natives who are now opera stars perform scenes from several operas as a way of introduction.

Sioux Falls, S.D. — Louis Otey once dreamed of being a basketball player.

"But with a three inch vertical leap and small hands, what are you going to do?" laughs Otey.

He didn't set out to be an opera star. As a boy, he sang along to Beatles and Elvis records. He dreamed of making it big. But it wasn't until his senior year at Flandreau High School that he even joined the choir.

He went to South Dakota State and majored in Brass Instruments. He played the tuba. He was going to be a band teacher. Someone asked him to participate in the school variety show the "Cotton Tail Capers" which showcased music from the 1930's to the 1960's.

"And so they said, 'Will you do Elvis?' And I said, 'Oh yeah, I'll do Elvis!' Because I sort of had the Memphis hair-do, you know. So I did this Elvis act and we ended up taking it out to other places like the Holiday Inn. I remember this band there asked me to sing with them, and I did it a few other places, and that was my aspiration at the time," says Otey.

Otey took his Elvis act and his deep baritone voice to Memphis, for a summer job. While there he decided to take voice lessons. His teacher offered him a vocal scholarship at the audition. He had to decide between teaching band in South Dakota or trying opera.

Otey says he had never heard an opera until he sang in one. Now he's a start with the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Critics regularly praise his dramatic and incisive interpretation.

Otey says opera is about emotion and intended for every body. He's quick to point out the most popular television shows are soap operas. They are stories dealing with every range of emotion. He says going to the opera should not be intimidating or high brow. And opera is becoming ever more popular. It's one of the fastest growing forms of entertainment among 18-35 year olds. Otey says that's great. But he recognizes opera is expensive to produce. Most of the financing comes from individual donors.

"So you have on one hand the popularity of Opera among people rising and yet the ability to support the art form falling at the same time," he says. "So you have companies cutting performances. Where you might do five at one place you do two or three or they do six productions now they're only going to do four. So there is in one sense there is more appreciation for it and less work."

The Sioux Falls showcase features Otey and Vermillion native Carla Connors. The program includes highlights from well-known operas such as Carmen, The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro. Otey says the concert displays the full operatic range.

"It shows that opera singers aren't just one dimensional. We can be funny, we can be serious. We can be romantic, we can be angry, we can be sad. Hopefully it will show a lot of the dynamics and the flexibility we have as performers," says Otey.

Organizers say they want people in South Dakota to appreciate opera and demand more of it. The vocal showcase is one night only at the Washington Pavilion.

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