AthenaOpera UGA Opera Ensemble will present Verdi’s Falstaff tonight at Hugh Hodgson Hall at 8 p.m.. The Athens Banner Herald has an article on the performance and the impact of UGA professor and Metropolitan Opera baritone, Frederick Burchinal:

When asked if students are intimidated by the presence of artisans like Burchinal and Ford on stage, Burchinal says, “I don’t think so. (The students) know that I expect them to do their job, and I hope they get some inspiration from watching me do mine. But there’s certainly a level of respect between us in that we’re all colleagues there to get a job done and to put the opera together. Even in a professional setting, you’re working with multiple levels of accomplishment and backgrounds.

“I remember when I was working with some of my idols, James McCracken or John Vickers or Placido Domingo, there is that level of awe of the other person and what they’ve accomplished,” he adds, “but at the same time you try to absorb and learn from their work – which is where it becomes valuable to mix the students with the professionals, so they get to see what we’re hoping they’re able to eventually accomplish.”

Tickets are still available atthe Performing Arts Center box office, 706/542-4400