2021-22 Butler Opera Center Season
L’elisir d’amore
BY GAETANO DONIZETTI
MATTHEW SCHULZ, STAGE DIRECTOR
DOUGLAS KINNEY FROST, CONDUCTOR
In Italian with English surtitles
In vino veritas! Donizetti’s bubbly romantic comedy follows Nemorino, a shy and hapless peasant, in his pursuit of the betrothed heiress Adina. After meeting a charlatan and purchasing a magic “elixir of love” – in truth, just a bottle of cheap Bordeaux – Nemorino is sent down an unlikely path that may in fact prove the powerful efficacy of wine in love. Sensual, sentimental and bright, The Elixir of Love is a triumph of sincerity that features one of the best-loved romanzas, “Una furtiva lagrima.”
October 22/29, 7:30p October 24/31, 4:00p
McCullough Theatre
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BUTLER OPERA CENTER: SONG REIMAGINED SERIES
Tamara Sanikidze, Producer/Music Director
Libby Jantz, Lighting Designer
Pearls of the vocal chamber repertory are reimagined in this new collaborative recital series between the Butler School of Music and the Department of Theatre and Dance. Fusing text and music with creative multimedia and lighting, the series bursts with colorful artistry and a stellar cast.
Maurice Ravel: Shéhérazade – Talin Nalbandian, mezzo soprano/Annabel MacDonald, flute/Tamara Sanikidze, piano
Benjamin Britten: A Charm of Lullabies, Op. 41 – Page Stephens, mezzo soprano /Tamara Sanikidze, piano
Modest Mussorgsky: Songs and Dances of Death – Yanging Wang, bass baritone/Dongwei Shen, baritone/Tamara Sanikidze, piano
November 10, 7:30p
McCullough Theatre
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DER KAISER VON ATLANTIS (THE EMPEROR OF ATLANTIS)
BY VIKTOR ULLMAN
MATTHEW SCHULZ, STAGE DIRECTOR
DOUGLAS KINNEY FROST, CONDUCTOR
WITH NEW MUSIC ENSEMBLE
In German with English surtitles
During their imprisonment in the Nazi concentration camp Theresienstadt, composer Viktor Ullmann collaborated with fellow inmate and librettist Peter Kien on this thought-provoking drama, in which Death itself is personified. A cruel emperor decrees a universal war, and feeling usurped by the declaration, Death goes on strike. The masses are then unable to die and attempt to imagine a world without fatal conflict, “where only love can unite us.” Though Ullman and Kien died while imprisoned, their manuscripts were preserved and the work was premiered by the Dutch National Opera in 1975.
February 24/26, 7:30p February 27, 4:00p
McCullough Theatre
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CARMEN
BY GEORGES BIZET
HELEN SOHYUN PARK, STAGE DIRECTOR
DOUGLAS KINNEY FROST, CONDUCTOR
In French with English surtitles
Set in southern Spain, this four-act nineteenth-century opera tells the story of Carmen, a seductive cigarette factory worker whose “heart is free as the air”. She is pursued by Don José, a naive and possessive soldier, who chooses to abandon his childhood sweetheart and relinquish his military duties in favor of Carmen’s tempting allure. But before long, his jealousy casts an ominous shadow and Carmen’s freedom is jeopardized. Against a sumptuous Spanish backdrop, Bizet explores common life and the desires of the heart in this thrilling, beloved masterpiece.
April 22/29, 7:30p April 29/May 1, 4:00p
McCullough Theatre
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