Glen Ridge singer receiving recognition

GLEN RIDGE, NJ — Glen Ridge eighth-grader Julian Novoa will be performing tonight in the Opera Theatre of Montclair’s abridged narrated production of Gian Carlo Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors” at the Montclair Art Museum. The production will be performed only once, but because Julian is also enamored with musical theater, there is a good chance he will be heard again in a future “Gas Lamp Junior” show, having recently appeared as Mr. Wormwood in that company’s production of “Matilda.”

“Music has always been a big part of my life,” Julian said in a recent interview. “Opera offers a sense of confidence. It’s a bit harder than musical theater, which has more of a sense of acting.”

The role of Amahl is not Julian’s first foray into opera. Last year he appeared in the children’s chorus in the OTM production of “Hansel and Gretel.” He said a difference between opera and musical theater is that there is a focus on acting in a musical, but in opera, since its dialogue is completely sung, a singer must concentrate on getting the notes right.

“A lot of pitches in opera are dependent upon one another,” Julian said. “If you get that wrong, the other person is dependent upon you. The way Menotti wrote the music, everything just flows together. And if you forget a line in opera, it takes a lot of work to improvise.”
Microphones are not used in opera, he said, so the singer must project their voice and get their breathing right. But in musical theater, with microphones, a singer does not have to think about those techniques as much.

Julian then displayed some operatic technique, briefly opening his mouth wide. He said that when singing opera, the jaw must be dropped so that rounded tones are produced, and the neck needs to be relaxed. He said his voice teacher, an opera singer, would like him to take a more operatic approach to training.

Julian then spoke about his roles of Amahl and Wormwood.
“They’re two completely different things,” he said. “Amahl has a lot of moments that make you want to cry. But Wormwood is the father of a genius girl and he’s suppose to be stupid. He sings, “All I Know,” explaining why TV is better than books. He makes stupid assumptions.”

He said Amahl has two arias. One is “Don’t Cry Mother Dear.”
“He reassures his mother, who is afraid they will become beggars,” Julian said.
The other aria is “Don’t You Dare.”

“Amahl’s mother steals gold from the three kings,” he said. “A page of the king’s attacks her and Amahl responds by attacking him.”
But Julian said, for an actor, Amahl and Wormwood have to be approached in the same way.

“You have the content of the character,” he said. “Either in musical theater or opera, they have nuances.”
OTM Director Mia Riker-Norrie praised Julian in an interview for his intuitive approach to acting, ease on the stage and voice quality.

“My suspicion is if we did “Amahl” next year, we wouldn’t have Julian,” she said. “He a boy soprano and knows how to use his voice very well. The role of Amahl is a challenging part with a big range. It’s a challenge for a boy soprano.”

Julian has also appeared in the Gas Lamp Junior production of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and the Ridgewood Avenue School production of “Guys and Dolls.” He said he would like to pursue theater in college, and minor in science.

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