The last time soprano Jane Drebert made a splash on stage she wasn't singing. She was doing handsprings as one of three mimes inserted into Anchorage Opera's November production of "I Pagliacci" -- and, frankly, upstaging the singers.
We got to hear her Saturday afternoon at the University of Alaska Arts Building Recital Hall, when she won the local chapter of the National Association of Teachers Singing Artist Award.
She will next compete at regional competitions in Portland, Ore., on April 11.
The determination of who would represent Alaska came down to Drebert and another soprano, Lauren Green. They've been onstage rivals before; in UAA's 2006 production of "The Magic Flute," Drebert sang the heroine Pamina opposite Green as her maternal nemesis, the Queen of the Night.
Each had a 15-minute program -- stretched by awkward and nerve-wracking pauses between numbers while the judges made their notes and decided which selection from a pre-submitted list to instruct the contestant to sing (from memory) next.
The art songs presented by Green seemed more adventurous. They included a couple of Rachmaninoff songs, a Monteverdi madrigal and contemporary composer Tom Cipullo's "Putting Down the Cat," which drew a sigh of dismay from the feline fanciers in the crowd.
Drebert's choices fell more into the mainstream of repertoire. She seemed particularly delighted when the judges requested that she sing a piece by Joaquin Turina, a nice vehicle for her lyric vocal qualities and one which also gave her the chance to display her Spanish. The contestants were prepared to sing in Czech, Russian, German, Italian and English among other languages.
Drebert took the lead early with the "Song to the Moon" from "Rusalka," managing the languid, ingratiating aria with good breath control, careful pitch and a high note that she could nail at full volume.
Green, on the other hand, may have overreached with her mandatory opera selection, "Chacun le sait" from "La Fille du Regiment," a flamboyant showpiece that has given prima donnas fits for 170 years.
A free program by winners of local voice competitions will take place at the UAA Recital Hall on March 27.
Find Mike Dunham online at adn.com/contact/mdunham or call 257-4332.
By MIKE DUNHAM
mdunham@adn.com