It is in the darkest depths of Hades where the fate of two lovers will ultimately be decided.

Standing upon a stage in the music building on the campus of Olympic College, the voices of students Aoife Lurlay and Ashley Knight intertwine and rise and reach in music and emotion as they portray the two lovers, Orpheus and Euridice, in a scene from Christoph Gluck’s opera of the same name.

The scene is one of many to be presented tonight during “Night at the Opera,” the latest presentation by the Olympic College Opera Program and students of the college.

The presentation will include works by well known composers such as Gluck, Mozart, Verdi and Rossini and will be open to the public with no admission charge.

The works will be the latest in the music program’s opera offerings and will be directed by instructor Susan Trainer, who was instrumental in creating the opera program at the college 20 years ago.

Tuesday, she took a moment to stand and offer insight to the singers and then returned to her seat to count out a rhythm as the music began again.

After rehearsals, Trainer explained that although some people are hesitant to attend opera offerings, they should not be.

“Opera is filled with passion and larger than life portrayals of life’s greatest emotions,” she said. “It carries you away with these emotions and its sheer beauty.”

Trainer said she fell in love with opera while studying music at college and wanted to share her passion with her students as well as the public.

“I loved being in musicals when I was young,” she said. “I started into classical training when I was in college, and I realized you could take your voice to greater heights and portray emotions more easily in opera than in lighter music.”

The whole idea was to let the students feel the magic of being in an opera, she said. After the first time she was hooked and never wanted to do anything else.

Trainer’s students also find the passion and romance of opera exciting and said they also hope the public will attend the event.

Megan Leibold, one of Trainer’s students, is also an aspiring music professional who will perform in multiple scenes during the event.

“The great thing about opera is that it is a timeless genre of music,” Leibold said. “I don’t think it is appreciated enough. People have a love-hate relationship with opera, but I have seen people walk out of performances in tears who have never seen opera before.”

Leibold said Trainer is a talented director and instructor who is dedicated to students as well as the production.

“She is wonderful, I have been working with her since I was 15 years old,” Leibold said. “She is the reason that I actually got into classical music to begin with. She is the reason that I love opera and I am going to school for it.”

The vocal program in tandem with the theater department produces a major opera every two years. On alternating years, such as this year, the opera department produces scenes from operas such as “Orpheus and Euridice.”