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News • Arkansas • United States • 2012-06-03

Opera in the Ozarks\' 62nd Season Begins June 22

Opera in the Ozarks is not only a premier operatic training program, it’s also an opportunity for the public to catch performances by up-and-coming opera stars. The 62nd season runs for four weeks and features 25 performances beginning June 22 and running through July 20. It takes place primarily at Inspiration Point in Eureka Springs with three performances at Arend Arts Center in Bentonville.

This year’s repertoire includes “La Boheme” by Giacomo Puccini, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” and “A Little Night Music” by Stephen Sondheim. The outdoor venue of Inspiration Point lends itself to an intimate look at each of these acclaimed operas. Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. for all Eureka Springs shows and 4 p.m. for all Bentonville performances. Tickets are $20 and $25 and may be purchased online at Opera.org/or by phone at 479-253-8595.

A non-profit organization, Opera in the Ozarks has been the training ground for serious artists for 62 years. Each year singers are selected from national auditions. This year more than 250 singers from 33 states tried out for the coveted roles. Opera in the Ozarks has launched the careers of many talented singers, such as Chris Merritt who has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Covent Garden, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Santa Fe Opera. Another accomplished alumnus, William Johns, has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, Musica Bayreuth, La Scala and Covent Garden.

The staff members come from professional opera companies and outstanding college music faculties. Opera in the Ozarks also attracts independent specialists in areas such as stage combat, and wigs and make-up. The music staff numbers 22 with an orchestra of 26 representing professional symphony players combined with advanced college players.

Longtime General Director Jim Swiggart said of the upcoming season, \"I am very excited about the 62nd season, which will bring incredible talent and exciting performances to The Natural State. So many people are amazed at the level of our performances and have become patrons who travel each summer to experience opera in an intimate, exciting venue. Last year they traveled from 26 states. There is magic on the mountain at Inspiration Point!\"

2012 REPERTOIRE

A Little Night Music

BOOK: Hugh Wheeler

MUSIC & LYRICS: Stephen Sondheim

The romantic and achingly beautiful A Little Night Music deals with the universal subject of love, in all its wondrous, humorous and ironic permutations.

In turn-of-the-century Sweden, middle-aged Fredrik Egerman brings his 18-year-old bride Anne to a play starring his former mistress, Desiree Armfeldt. Soon, Fredrik and Desiree resume their romance, incurring the wrath of her current lover, a pompous Count. The situation culminates in a weekend at a country estate, with Fredrik, Anne, Desiree and the Count in attendance, as well as Fredrik\'s son (who is hopelessly in love with Anne), Desiree\'s illegitimate daughter, the Count\'s manic-depressive wife and the Egermans’ lusty maid. And there, under the summer night, things are set to right.

Sophisticated, literate and stylish, A Little Night Music is also disarmingly warm, funny, charming and very human. Its well-constructed book is one of the best ever written, featuring a strong ensemble cast of vivid, memorable characters that span all age groups. The lilting Ravel-inspired score in three-quarter time accommodates both strong and less accomplished singers and contains Sondheim\'s popular song, the haunting \"Send in the Clowns.\"

The Magic Flute

COMPOSER: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

The story is based on circumstances connected with the mysterious worship of Isis, a deity of the ancient Egyptians. Its action is consequent upon Sarastro, the high priest of the Temple of Isis, having borne away Pamina, the daughter of Astrifiammante, the wicked Queen of Night, from her mother in order that she may be trained in the ways of virtue and wisdom. Tamino, a handsome Egyptian prince, is saved from a monstrous serpent by the Queen’s servants. They show him a portrait of Pamina, and he falls in love with the unknown original. He is told the story of her having been stolen by Sarastro, and he vows to rescue her.

Before starting he is presented with a magic flute, by which he is enabled to give alarm and invoke assistance in cases of peril; while Papageno, the silly bird-catcher who accompanies him, is furnished with certain musical instruments which, when played, transform anger into mirth and provoke a desire for dancing. Developments need not to be detailed. It is only necessary to say that Tamino, instead of bringing back Pamina, becomes a noviate in the Temple; meets Pamina there; goes through, like her, a severe testing probation; is ultimately proved worthy, and marries Pamina, while his companion, Papageno, also finds a mate.

La Bohème

COMPOSER: Giacomo Puccini

La Bohème, the passionate and timeless story of love among young artists in Paris, can stake its claim as the world’s most popular opera. It has a marvelous ability to make a powerful first impression (even to those new to opera) and to reveal unsuspected treasures after dozens of hearings. At first glance, La Bohème is the definitive depiction of the joys and sorrows of love and loss; on closer inspection, it reveals the deep emotional significance hidden in the trivial things (a bonnet, an old overcoat, a chance meeting with a neighbor) that make up our everyday lives.

In La Bohème, you will meet some of the most famous characters in world literature – Puccini’s “bohemian” crew. There’s Rodolfo, the writer, and Marcello, the painter. There’s delicate, sensitive Mimì and brassy, seductive Musetta. Puccini so clearly paints an arty Parisian underworld — a world of garrets, cafés and nights of ribaldry — that these depictions persist to this day.

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