FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 13, 2015
FROM KEVIN SCHOONOVER, FLYING WHALE STUDIOS
315-719-1499
PHOTOGRAPHS BELOW
Geneva Light Opera presents “Cosi fan tutte” on stage at Smith Opera House
GENEVA, N.Y. — Geneva Light Opera presents its summer production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte” – subtitled “The School for Lovers” – a sublime and sometimes startling mix of hilarious farce and poignant drama by Vienna’s Imperial court poet Lorenzo Da Ponte, at 7:30 p.m. on July 23 and 25 and at 3:00 on Sunday, July 26 at the Smith Opera House, 82 Seneca St.
Staged and directed by New York City Opera veteran Neil Eddinger and conducted by James Blachly with the assistance of pianist Elizabeth Rogers, the production, featuring some of Mozart’s most sumptuous arias, duets, and ensemble pieces, is sung entirely in English.
Two young men make a bet with an older friend that their fiancées will remain faithful under any circumstances. The friend, claiming to know better, arranges for the men to leave the girls, who are sisters, and then return in disguise. The girls waver, and soon fall headlong for each other’s fiancé. When the mean-spirited trick is revealed, all we can know for certain is that those relationships will never be the same.
Appearing in the cast are operatic bass baritone Jimi James, soprano Michelle Seipel, dramatic coloratura Alexis Cregger, mezzo soprano Andrea McGaugh, local baritone Charles King and a chorus of area singers.
Tickets are $30 general admission, $45 for couples, $18 for college students and senior citizens; children in grades k-12 are admitted free of charge. A limited number of VIP tickets are available to the Saturday performance for $60; $90 per couple. Tickets are available at the Smith Opera House, by calling 315-781-LIVE (5483) or toll-free 1-866-355-LIVE (5483), and online at www.TheSmith.org. Box office hours are weekdays between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. They can also be purchased at Area Records and Music in Geneva, The Copy Shop in Seneca Falls, and Mobile Music in Canandaigua.
Following the triumphs of "The Marriage of Figaro" and "Don Giovanni," "Così fan tutte" is the third and final collaboration of the gifted librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte and the brilliant Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. But among these three key monuments of Western musical culture, “Così" has been the least understood. It was once considered risqué, if not immoral, and during the 1800s, Mozart’s music was frequently performed with an entirely different libretto bearing no resemblance to the original.
The theme of testing the constancy of women by improvising a trial can be traced into deep antiquity, but the treatment provided by Mozart and Da Ponte deliciously dissects the social mores of the late 1700s and demonstrates the young composer’s astonishing skill.
Neil Eddinger sang with the New York City Opera for 32 consecutive years, during which he worked with some of opera’s most successful and renowned producers and directors, including Frank Corsaro, Tito Capobianco, Stephen Wadsworth, Rhoda Levine, Jonathan Miller and Hal Prince. Engaged by Beverly Sills, he appeared regularly in the chorus and performed solos in "La Bohéme," “Carmen," "La Traviata," "Don Quichotte," “Candide," "Sweeney Todd," and was a featured soloist in two “Live from Lincoln Center” telecasts: Mozart’s "Die Zauberflöte" and Benjamin Britten’s "Paul Bunyan.”
James Blachly is the artistic director of the New York-based Sheep Island Ensemble, performing imaginative programs in unusual venues, and the co-founder of Make Music NOLA, an El Sistema-inspired program in New Orleans. This season saw debut performances with the Spokane Symphony Orchestra, Boston Philharmonic New Directions, and two concerts in Venezuela, where he was invited as guest conductor.
Jimi James is considered a performer of unusual versatility. The artist has amassed a varied and extensive repertoire, now counting more than 30 staged and concert roles from Puccini’s Baron Scarpia to Gilbert and Sullivan’s Wilfred Shadbolt and Mozart’s “Requiem” to Orff’s “Carmina Burana.” The baritone is well regarded for his active stage presence, as witnessed in his stilt-walking Papageno, leaping Escamillo, frequent tumbling pratfalls and juggling Figaro. Born in Hawaii, raised on Cape Cod, and making his home in Yonkers, Jimi’s performance credits are as varied as his travels. Staged characters include Tonio, Guglielmo, Leporello, The Pirate King, Emile de Becque, Capulet, Silvio, Dr. Bartolo, Billy Bigelo and Germont.
This production is presented by Geneva Light Opera under the sponsorship of American Landmark Festivals in honor of its founding director conductor/pianist Francis Heilbut.
“Francis' knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, opera, Mozart and The Smith remain inspirations,” noted ALF Executive Director Gena Rangel.
From the stage of Geneva’s landmark Smith Opera House several of the greatest actors and singers of all time have been heard, including Frieda Hempel and Gustav Mahler’s wife Alma Gluck. The exceptional acoustics that have been its hallmark since it opened in 1894 continue to make it the perfect venue for live and lively arts, more so since the space was air-conditioned in 2013.
For more information contact Geneva Light Opera at info@GenevaLightOpera.com or visit www.GenevaLightOpera.com.
# # #
| Jimi James | Neil Eddinger | James Blachly |
 Photo by Kevin Schoonover |
 |
 |