Opera Week – On Being A Super

It’s National Opera Week! We have guest blogs this week from members of the Utah Opera family, explaining their love and relationship with opera. Are you also touched by the opera bug? Tell us about it on our Facebook page, or comment on any of the Opera Week blogs!

On Being A Super
By Gunter Radinger

In 1998, Michelle Peterson called me to ask if I could help out with a performance of Turandot since one of the supers had to have an emergency kidney operation. It was in the middle of the run and I had not had the benefit of any rehearsals. It was very frightening, but the chorus and cast were very helpful and supportive and I lived through it. Of course, I was hooked from then on.

I asked Michelle that I was to be signed up whenever she needed a super. I’m now in my 24th opera as a super, and I cannot think of anything that I would rather do. It is very addictive, and offers a chance to perform in operas without having to sing. We get to wear the great costumes and sometimes do really crazy things on stage, such as fight scenes, romantic encounters, and also play both “good guys” and “bad guys”. I think my two favorite roles were very small ones, but the most fun. First, I played the notary in the Barber of Seville. This was a cameo role and I was even named in the cast of characters ( a large ego boost ); the second was the devil in Orpheus and Eurydice. It entailed wearing a very elaborate costume with six inch platform shoes and a red Cardinal’s robe with Kiss makeup. There are many other parts to name, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed doing. In addition, one gets to meet the finest artists, directors, conductors, and performers in the chorus, which is, perhaps, the most rewarding aspect of all. The people who perform in the chorus are like a family and one feels very much a part of that family over the years.

Someone asked me once if supers received a salary. My answer is that I could not be paid enough to be a super. I mean that sincerely- there is nothing that I would rather do, and I could never allow anyone to pay me for it! Thank you, Utah Opera for allowing me to be a part of your history for the last thirteen years.