Opera is a dramatic art with as much acting and as much expression as any theatre production. Some performances have a bit more drama than others, like Dorothy Freeman-Wittig's junior recital.

Her vocal talent had the audience so enthralled that many people watching assumed that when Freeman-Wittig started to waver and stumble in the middle of her third set that it was further proof of her skill as an actress.

"At first I thought she was just getting emotional about the song," said spectator Jeff Pederson."If you look at the lyrics to 'Aimon-nous' it says: 'Let us love and sleep without dreaming of the rest of the world.' I think she subconsciously internalized the lyric."

The about 50 audience members were shocked to subsequently watch her collapse into the arms of her music instructor, Janelle Celaire, who had started sprinting toward the stage from the back of the hall the moment her disciple's voice had begun to waiver and missed a piano cue-in.

Freeman-Wittig literally sang the whole way down as she gently fainted and then was laid prone on the floor in an attempt to get blood flow back to her brain.

"She missed her cue twice and looked really tired," Celaire said.

After Celaire's initial catch everyone understood this wasn't supposed to happen and many in the audience, including a majority of Freeman-Wittig's friends and family made a B-line for the stage in an attempt to help her.

When she regained consciousness a few moments later she had no idea what happened and couldn't understand why she was on the floor.

She got some water and remained sprawled in front of the piano for a few minutes, surrounded by familiar faces from the crowd.

The intermission was called two songs early as Freeman-Wittig recovered. The consensus of the Music Department was that the show shouldn't go on, so the show was wrapped before her set of German and English music and without finishing the last two French songs by Saint-Saens.

Freeman-Wittig was willing to continue. Her family attributed her collapse as being due to a combination of things like stress, heat and lack of proper nutrition.

According to WebMD, fainting spells, called syncope, while not common to adults can occur at least once in three percent of the population.

"When I sing my voice can sometimes get tired, and so can the support muscles," joked Freeman-Wittig at the reception after her recital.

Pederson, who works at the Geophysical Institute, was impressed by her singing and acting.

"She's a superb singer," he said. "I believe she has a serious chance for a future in it if she wants to choose it."