What opera could possibly be more WHAT than Bela Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle?
"Completed in 1917, Bluebeard’s Castle is a chilling psychological reimagining of Charles Perrault’s folk tale where Bluebeard’s three previous wives are locked away and his fourth wife is about to join them." Jeffrey Gantz, Boston Globe
“We are very excited to bring to our patrons Bartok’s only opera, which recently received excellent reviews when it was performed at the 15th annual Fringe Festival in Boston,” said WHAT Executive Director Mark Hough. “This is a unique opportunity to collaborate with the Boston Center for American Performance and the Boston University Opera Institute.”
The Boston Center for American Performance and the Boston University Opera Institute have adapted the opera for intimate settings like the Julie Harris in ways designed to appeal to modern audiences. It eschews an orchestra for a piano reduction performed by BU’s Opera Institute music director, William Lumpkin, and is sung in English instead of its traditional Hungarian.
The roles of the principals will be shared for each of the two performances.
Adrian Smith (Bluebeard), bass-baritone, is a second-year member of the Opera Institute at
Boston University, where he also earned the Master of Music degree in 2010. He has performed
as Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor and Colline in La Bohème.
Heath Sorensen (Bluebeard), Bass, is a second year student at The Opera Institute, He
recently portrayed Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette, and Sackett in The Postman Always Rings Twice.
Celeste Fraser (Judith), soprano, who has performed a variety of roles including Mimi in
La Bohème throughout the United States. She was a 2011 semifinalist for the Houston Grand
Opera Studio/Eleanor McCollum competition and the 2009 Florentine Opera Recital Award
winner for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions,
Meredeth Kelly (Judith) is a second year Performance Diploma candidate in the College of
Fine Arts after graduating with a Master’s of Music degree in 2010. She has performed the roles
of Madame Lisette Raquin in Tobias Picker’s Thèrése Raquin, Annunciata in the world premier
staging of William Bolcom’s comedy Lucrezia and Despina in Cosí fan tutte.
WHAT presents
Boston Center for American Performance and the Boston University Opera Institute
production of
Bluebeard's Castle
November 12 & 13, 8pm
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