The 1891 Fredonia Opera House continues the 2012-13 season of Live at the Met high definition opera broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera with Thomas Ades' The Tempest on Saturday at 1 p.m.
"This week's offering, The Tempest, presents a wonderfully distinctive staging of Shakespeare's classic tale and is a Met premiere," says Opera House Executive Director Rick Davis. "It's likely the most unique presentation in the Live at the Met roster this season."
British composer Ades makes his Met debut conducting the first-ever Met performances of his opera, which has been widely praised as a contemporary masterpiece. Baritone Simon Keenlyside stars in the central role of the sorcerer Prospero. The cast also features gifted singers in the opera's numerous major roles, including Isabel Leonard as Miranda; Iestyn Davies as Trinculo; Alek Shrader in his Met debut as Ferdinand; Audrey Luna as the air spirit Ariel; Alan Oke as the brutish Caliban; Toby Spence as Antonio and William Burden as the King of Naples.
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British Composer Thomas Ades’ contemporary opera The Tempest will be screened live in high definition at the 1891 Fredonia Opera House Saturday starting at 1 p.m. Called “one of the most inspired, audacious and personal operas in years” by the New York Times, The Tempest offers incredibly unique staging by acclaimed Director Robert Lepage.
The opera retains the magical and human elements of Shakespeare's play and features a new libretto adapted from the master playwright's legendary text. Robert Lepage, who directed last season's Ring cycle has created an innovative new production that recreates Milan's famous opera house, La Scala, as the magical island venue for Prospero's otherworldly arts.
The New York Times praises the production calling it "one of the most inspired, audacious and personal operas to have come along in years which offers a superb cast, headed by the charismatic baritone Simon Keenlyside in the role he created in London: Prospero, the former duke of Milan, who has been stranded for 12 years on a remote island, his throne having been usurped by his brother, Antonio."
The production lasts three hours, notes Davis. "There is one intermission," he adds, "during which the Opera House will have snacks and beverages available for purchase in the trustees room on the second floor of Village Hall. (No food or beverage is allowed inside the theatre.)"
Live at the Met opera broadcasts are made possible by Dr. James M. and Marcia Merrins, who funded the purchase of the satellite transmission and projection equipment used in the series. Additional support comes from Bob and Shirley Coon, Bob and Susan Dilks, Steve and Mary Rees and DFT Communications.
Tickets to The Tempest are $20 ($18 for Opera House and Met members, $15 for students) and are available in advance by calling or visiting the Box Office at 679-1891 Tuesday Friday, 1-5 p.m. They also may be purchased online anytime at www.fredopera.org. The Opera House also is offering a new flexible opera subscription consisting of nine tickets that can be used however the patron wants one at a time to nine different operas, all at once for nine people, or anything in between. The flexible opera subscription is $161.
Chautauqua County's only performing arts center presenting its own programming year-round, the 1891 Fredonia Opera House is a member-supported not-for-profit organization located in Village Hall in downtown Fredonia.
For a complete schedule of events, visit www.fredopera.org.
