Today and tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in the Studio Theater in CFA, Sandra Ross will be directing this year’s Opera Scenes, which will feature scenes from Hansel and Gretel, The Marriage of Figaro, La Traviata and Die Fledermaus. The performances are free and open to the public.

Ross is the teacher and director of the opera workshop at Ashland University. This is her fourth year directing opera scenes and teaching the workshop.

“It’s been a long-standing class at the university. I look forward to the spring semester each year to teach this class,” she said.

This year’s scenes will include moments from Hansel and Gretel by Humperdinck, a rousing ensemble scene from La Traviata by Verdi, Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss and the Marriage of Figaro by Mozart.

Opera scenes has a cast of seven students this year, including musical theater and computer graphics majors, not just music majors.

“They have worked hard all semester learning music and blocking. I have also included the students in all aspects of creating a program such as props, costumes and management. The end product is really a student-run effort,” Ross said.

For Ross, the most exciting part of this class is watching the students develop into their characters. After long hours of learning music and memorizing, “it’s fun to watch the finished product.”