Alumni Dazzle

Caption: Opera stars Deborah Voigt and Rod Gilfry are delighting audiences this summer in "Annie Get Your Gun." Download Photo

Music alumni Deborah Voigt and Rodney Gilfry are sharing the stage this summer in a production of “Annie Get Your Gun” that has been dazzling audiences and critics alike at New York’s annual Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown.

Resplendent in cowboy hat and fringed leather duds, Voigt sings the title role in the Irving Berlin classic, while Gilfry, Class of ’81, portrays hunk Frank Butler. Both opera stars — recipients of the university’s Distinguished Alumni Award — have been featured in recent New York Times stories.

Off stage, Voigt is working on her autobiography, which HarperCollins is set to publish in 2013. Glimmerglass audiences got an advance peek during her one-woman autobiographical show, “Voigt Lessons,” which also debuted at the festival.

As enthusiastic supporters of their alma mater, both Gilfry and Voigt have returned to perform in university events, including the opening of the Clayes Performing Arts Center and Front & Center. Titan Magazine has featured Gilfry and Voigt in separate cover stories.

Their path to stardom is no surprise to College of the Arts Dean Joe Arnold, who joined the faculty in 1973. "We produce more opera stars here at Cal State Fullerton than any other university west of the Mississippi,” he said.

More images from the show can be seen on flickr.

Aug. 15, 2011