Quigley-Duggan Goes Out on a High Note BY EMILY KESEL
F
or Dr. Susan Quigley-Duggan, a lifelong career of music had its roots in the fantastical world of Disney. So it was only fitting that her last Opera Workshop as full-time faculty at Central Methodist University was full of “Frolic, Folly, and Fairytales.” She can’t remember the name of the song itself, but the tune of it still comes back to her easily as she recalls the roots of her musical life. “My first recollection is that my brother and I used to swing in the backyard and sing together, the Walt Disney tunes from way back,” she said. “We had a neighbor, a little old lady down the street, who called my mother and said, ‘You ought to give those kids music lessons. They sound pretty good!’” Their mother took that advice, and Quigley-Duggan began piano and voice lessons, but it wasn’t until college at the University of Hartford (Connecticut) that she was introduced to opera. She got the chance to play some roles in her first year and fell in love with the discipline. “We had a really great Hungarian professor who loved to teach us about acting, drama, and so forth and how to move on the stage and evoke emotions,” she said. “If you want to sing and develop your voice, [opera] requires development for fine voice, and plus you can move with the music and the music is so dramatic. I just enjoyed it.” More than 30 years later, her enjoyment hasn’t waned, whether she’s teaching in
The CMU Opera Workshop performs “Frolic, Folly, and Fairytales.”
18 The Talon | Spring 2022
