Mainely Opera Bangor voice teacher give local flair to MPR program

The day opera disappeared from Saturday afternoon radios a year ago will be one that most opera fans – if not a few programmers at Maine Public Radio – will never forget. Take away our opera, they warned, and we will storm the castle.

Not only did the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts return to the airwaves, but Charles Beck, vice president for radio services, called Ann Mills, a singer and former local TV and radio personality. Mills, best known in Bangor as a voice teacher with a studio on Main Street, also happens to be crazy for opera, owns a huge collection of recorded music, and has the fond memory of days when opera was one of the more standard forms of radio entertainment. The combination, said Beck, made Mills an attractive candidate to host “Mainely Opera,” a local broadcast that airs 9 p.m. Mondays on MPR.

“Ann had the perfect experience and knew opera, and here was a way we could provide more programming with a local slant that was important to us,” said Beck. “I like the fact that she’s passionate about opera and lives here in Maine and can connect with that audience.”

For Mills, who lives in Lincolnville and commutes once a week to tape her hour-long program, the opportunity was straightforward: “Opera happens to be my favorite music.”

Mills’ show differs from the Met show in that she plays segments of recorded operas – some old, some new – by some of the leading singers in the field. So far, Mills has used only her own recordings – “I love the idea of putting my collection to good use like this,” she said – but she also has access to the extensive music library at the station.

After the signature lead-in to the show – the overture to “The Marriage of Figaro,” of course – Mills greets listeners with details of opera events in the state. Often, she recounts plot lines of the opera. Sometimes, she makes last-minute switches. The first Monday after Sept. 11, for instance, she simply presented, in memoriam, Mozart’s Requiem. The show, however, is usually upbeat, informative and inviting.

“People didn’t want a classical vocal pablum,” said Mills, regarding the format of the show. “They want to hear Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner. They want more adventure. My whole point of view is that maybe a young person will hear it and think it’s really beautiful and want to imitate those sounds.”

That is, after all, Mills’ story. Growing up, she listened to Frances Langford, Dinah Shore, Doris Day, Eileen Farrell, Kate Smith. “They were fabulous singers and the sounds were everywhere,” extolled Mills.

A career in singing seemed like an obvious choice when Mills entered the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, but so many other activities interested her, she decided to follow another path. She married a career military man, spent time living abroad and raising a family. In Germany, she saw “La Boheme” 30 times in one year. During a stint in Maine, she studied at Colby College. Then, in Taiwan, Mills began teaching voice. “I didn’t know what I was doing,” said Mills of those early days of teaching, “but I loved it and people got a little better.”

Eventually, Mills and her husband settled in Maine, where she began teaching privately and studying to complete a degree in music at the University of Maine. She continues to teach in Bangor and at the University of Southern Maine. Her work with “Mainely Opera” is entirely volunteer.

With the opera show, Mills casts herself in both an advocacy and teacherly role. In addition to the pieces she plays, Mills interviews others involved in opera in Maine. Karen Eisenhower, a former opera singer and founder-artistic director at Maine Grand Opera in Camden, said Mills’ show offers the community vocal music that isn’t often played on classical music programs.

“It’s a chance for people who love opera to hear snippets of opera they don’t otherwise get,” said Eisenhower. “She adds wonderful comments and she’s a wonderful, passionate person.”

In her private voice lessons, Bangor teacher Karen Pendleton encourages serious opera-minded students to tune in on Monday nights. Typically, she leads inexperienced singers through musical theater toward opera, which, Pendleton cautions, is not appropriate for every student. But when a student responds enthusiastically, it’s important for him or her to hear and study exemplary voices. Opera CDs often are very expensive, so Mills’ show, the Saturday Met broadcasts, annual touring operas and Maine-produced operas are giving young opera hopefuls the exposure they need.

“Up here there is so little opportunity to hear opera,” said Pendleton, who studied voice with Mills. “It’s so nice to hear that opera, and Ann’s program shows the station recognizes the importance of opera. As some people say, opera was a dying genre because it was seen as not pulling a young audience in. But I think that’s changing. ”

As an overriding philosophy, Mills said she believes: “Singers are like birds in a big people kingdom. I feel sorry for those kids who are drawn to opera. They don’t know where to go to get deeply into their art form.”

Now, however, they can go to their radios on Monday night.