Many people wouldn’t think to compare E! reality show people to the high art of opera, but they may have more in common than what first appears.

“Operas are just human drama set to music,” said Julie Wieck, associate professor of music.

Students and community members can watch the drama of opera unfold for free at 8 p.m. tomorrow in Bryan Hall when the WSU Opera Workshop performs its show, “A Magical Night of Opera.”

Wieck and her ensemble of 17 students have been hard at work since the first week of the semester putting the show together, she said.

“A Magical Night of Opera” is made up of scenes from four different operas, all with hints of wizardry and love peppered into the stories.

“I like to be working with a theme,” Wieck said. “Whenever I choose things I try to think about who will be in the audience.”

One scene in particular was pulled from Mozart’s famous “Cosi fan tutte.”

“It’s a staple in operatic repertoire,” said Nathan Straub, a graduate student working toward a master in vocal performance.

In “Cosi fan tutte,” Straub plays a young man who makes a bet with a friend that they can’t seduce each other’s suitors.

“I get jealous because my friend is very successful with my fiancé,” Straub said.

Other scenes will include witches plotting the destruction of young love, shepherds consulting a wizard on how to win each other’s affection, and a naive man being sold a love potion, which is actually just alcohol.

The term opera is scary to people, Wieck said, but many of the stories heard here have a timeless quality to them.

The songs will be sung in English to make it easier for the audience members to enjoy, she said.

The WSU Opera Workshop is composed of students from many different majors, and anyone interested in joining is encouraged to try out on Dec. 8 and 10 in Kimbrough Hall for the Mom’s Weekend performance of “The Addams Family.”

Reporting by Dustin VandeHoef