On with the Show: Soprano Sweep

Three local women are taking Wilmington’s theater scene to new heights with their work both on stage and behind the scenes.

Professional performer and dancer CARSON HOBBS has garnered acclaim for her exciting choreography and directing. BETH STOVALL is a soprano who enchants both opera and musical theater fans. And MYRA GRAHAM QUINCE is a singer and actor who mesmerizes audiences with her bold voice and vivid character portrayals.

By passionately pursuing their dreams, each of these women has overcome whatever obstacles lay in their way to make it on the big stage.

BETH STOVALL, one of Wilmington’s prominent opera singers, has a lyric, lilting voice that thrills audiences. This summer, Stovall took on her most important role to date, that of Violetta, the title role in Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata.

“La Traviata was a big step for me,” Stovall says. ‘It was the biggest role of my life. I was a healthy amount of terrified but really excited to step up to the challenge, and I love those types of opportunities.”

In fact, Stovall has taken on challenge after challenge throughout her career. At age seventeen, with little background in the esoteric aspects of classical music, she auditioned for college voice programs. Though Stovall was rejected by school after school, she kept trying until she was accepted into the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s vocal performance program.

Three years into her studies, Stovall seized a new opportunity: competing in beauty competitions, which she saw as a way to gain confidence and get feedback on her singing and acting skills. Stovall’s effort paid off. She won the title of Miss North Carolina as well as the talent section of the Miss America pageant.

After fulfilling her Miss North Carolina obligations, Stovall once again struck out in a new direction and transferred to East Carolina University to complete her undergraduate degree, then earned her master’s degree in vocal performance at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Knowing she wanted to make Wilmington her home, Stovall returned to the area in 2019 to teach voice at UNCW and pursue her theatrical career. Here, the soprano made her first foray into musical theater, playing the role of Maria in Opera House Theater Company’s production of The Sound of Music in 2020. She also performed the role of Papagena in Opera Wilmington’s production of The Magic Flute.

For all the roles she sings, Stovall spends hours upon hours alone at the piano perfecting and polishing her performance. She also dives into the play, learning as much as she can about her character, the other characters in the play, and the times the play reflects.

The extensive background work is necessary if Stovall is to be believable on stage, she says.

Though Wilmington’s opera scene isn’t as big as that in larger cities, Stovall has found that it is the perfect spot for her.

“There is so much appreciation for the arts here,” Stovall says. “I consider myself lucky to sing here. This is my community, and opera is so loved here.”

There is so much appreciation for the arts here. I consider myself lucky to sing here. This is my community, and opera is so loved here. – Beth Stovall

To view more of photographer Madeline Gray’s work, go to madelinegrayphoto.com.

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