Vienna, VA (Top40 Charts/ Wolf Trap Foundation For The Performing Arts) - The Wolf Trap Opera Company, one of the nation's most highly regarded residency programs for emerging professionals in the opera business, proudly presents Zaide, The Turk in Italy, and A Midsummer Night's
Dream for its 2010 summer opera performances. The three operas will transport audiences to new lands, including the Mediterranean, Fellini's Italy, and a fantastical world where mortals and magical creatures collide. All operas will be sung in the original language with projected English translations. The company's 40th season will feature 16 Filene Young Artists performing lead roles and 12 Studio Artists in supporting roles.
Wolf Trap Opera is committed to nurturing our audiences and artists.We are very proud to be able to stretch our artists' creative boundaries while simultaneously reaching out to our patrons and their families with the entire force of our marvelous roster.
Known for breaking down barriers in the classical music world, the Wolf Trap Opera Company once again enters unchartered territories in 2010. The Company will present the first North American production of Mozart's unfinished masterpiece, Zaide, with the ending of each performance to be decided by the audience. For its second opera, Wolf Trap has selected a rarely heard Rossini showpiece, The Turk in Italy, which has only been produced four times in the United States in the last 20 years-one of which was Wolf Trap Opera Company's 1993 production. The last opera of the season will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, adapted from the classic Shakespeare play of the same title. Last presented at The Barns at Wolf Trap nine years ago, A Midsummer Night's Dream will feature all but two of the 2010 roster of Filene Young Artists.
To complement its operatic performances, Wolf Trap Opera Company will offer a diverse array of programming, including two recitals featuring company members accompanied by GRAMMY award-winning pianist and artistic powerhouse Steven Blier. The company will also present collaborative programs with local arts organizations, education opportunities for the community, and interactive family events to engage audiences of all ages.
'Wolf Trap Opera is committed to nurturing our audiences and artists,' said Company Director Kim Pensinger Witman. 'We are very proud to be able to stretch our artists' creative boundaries while simultaneously reaching out to our patrons and their families with the entire force of our marvelous roster.'
The Repertoire
OPERA: (performed at The Barns at Wolf Trap)
Zaide, June 11, 8 p.m.; June 13, 3 p.m.; June 15, 8 p.m.; June 19, 7:30 p.m.
In Mozart's unfinished opera, a man and woman are held hostage in a foreign land, finding love in one another's arms. How the story ends will be determined by audiences at each performance of this two-act opera, sung in German with dialogue in English and projected supertitles.
The Turk in Italy, July 9, 8 p.m.; July 11, 3 p.m.; July 13, 8 p.m.
This new production of Rossini's comic opera in Italian tells the story of a writer in search of suitable material for a new comedy, and a pursuant love story that develops. The music is vintage Rossini, full of vocal pyrotechnics and irrepressible ensembles. Sung in Italian with English supertitles.
A Midsummer Night's Dream, August 13, 8 p.m.; August 15, 3 p.m.; August 17, 8 p.m.
Benjamin Britten's opera, based on Shakespeare's play, celebrates its 50th birthday this year. This tale of mischief, fickle teenage love, magic, and comedy is the most beguiling of all Britten's operas. The piece will be performed in English with supertitles.
RECITALS: (performed at The Barns at Wolf Trap)
Latin Days, American Nights, July 18, 3 p.m.
Pianist and commentator Steven Blier of the New York Festival of Song joins singers of the Wolf Trap Opera Company to bring you sultry days and simmering nights with Ginastera, Guastavino, Cole Porter, Thelonius Monk, and more.
Invitation to the Dance, August 1, 3 p.m.
Pianist and commentator Steven Blier of the New York Festival of Song joins singers from the Wolf Trap Opera Company to offer the music that makes us dance-from Brahms and Respighi to Bacharach and Gershwin.
COLLABORATIVE, FAMILY AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING:
Backstage Buzz, June 8, June 29 & August 3
In a format popularized by Bravo's TV show Inside The Actor's Studio, audience members participate in a lively moderated panel discussion with cast and crew members at Center for Education at Wolf Trap.
Inside the Opera, one hour prior to every opera performance at Center for Education at Wolf Trap
Kim Pensinger Witman, director of the Wolf Trap Opera Company, reveals her unique perspective on the show-don't miss your opportunity to become an insider.
Vocal Colors, July 8 & July 22 at Wolf Trap's Center for Education and the evening of July 22 at the Phillips Collection
In two locations and three live programs, Filene Young Artists respond to visual art from the Phillips Collection with a personal, multimedia musical exploration that bridges musical genres and styles as inspiration beckons. www.phillipscollection.org
Instant Opera!, August 3-7 at 11:15 a.m. at the Children's Theatre-in-the-Woods
Opera is turned upside down as the ever-popular 'Opera by Mad Libs' returns to Children's Theatre-in-the-woods. Never the same show twice, members of the Wolf Trap Opera Studio create instant operas on the spot, with characters and stories made up by the audience. Both parents and children will love this hilarious introduction to opera.
Behind the Curtain, August 16 at The Barns at Wolf Trap
Your family jumps out of the audience and into the spotlight! Tour behind the scenes of The Barns, watch make-up transformations, craft opera-related props, meet the 2010 resident artists, take a family photo on stage, and lunch together with company members.
