Marcy Stonikas as Ariadne
(PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – Berkshire Opera Festival stages a new production of Richard Strauss’s “Ariadne auf Naxos” at the Colonial Theatre on Saturday, August 26; Tuesday, August 29; and Friday, September 1 at 7:30pm.
What happens when high art and lowbrow comedy collide? This hilarious “behind-the-scenes” opera answers the question when a wealthy patron who has commissioned two very different forms of entertainment for the evening finds that time is too short for both, leaving the artistic forces to combine their efforts. The result is a comedic masterpiece set to the exquisitely lush music of Richard Strauss.
American soprano Marcy Stonikas sings the title role. Tenor Kevin Ray will tackle the role of Bacchus, while Nicole Haslett has the coloratura role Zerbinetta. As the young Composer, mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala adds another Strauss role to her wide-ranging repertoire. Filling out the roles of Zerbinetta’s burlesque troupe and Ariadne’s nymphs is a supporting cast of up-and-coming young stars. All performances feature the Berkshire Opera Festival Orchestra.
BOF’s 2017 season will also include two recitals. The first, entitled Gods and Monsters, highlights the Berkshire Opera Festival Chorus and offers songs and favorite operatic selections on themes of gods and demons. It will also feature the world premiere performance of a new set of songs composed specifically for the occasion. The performance will take place on Tuesday, August 8, at 7:30pm at Saint James Place in Great Barrington.
The second program, an assortment of Richard Strauss’s greatest songs for voice and piano, will be presented Wednesday, August 16, at 7:30pm, at Ventfort Hall in Lenox.
Ariadne auf Naxos will be sung in German with projected English translations. Tickets are priced from $20 to $98. Tickets to each recital are priced at $30.
Nicole Haslett will sing Zerbinetta
Berkshire Opera Festival’s Summer 2017 Production
ARIADNE AUF NAXOS
Music by Richard Strauss
Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Sung in German with projected English translations
The Colonial Theatre, 111 South Street, Pittsfield, Mass.
Performances: August 26, 29, and September 1, 2017
All performances begin at 7:30pm
Approximate running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes with one intermission
Premiere: October 4, 1916 at the Wiener Staatsoper, Vienna, Austria
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