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INDIANA UNIVERSITY OPERA THEATER ANNOUNCES 50TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. Fifty years ago, the opera program at Indiana University began its upward trend from a small, regional vocal ensemble to the nation's leading university opera program, in which singers, orchestral musicians, designers, conductors, directors and other artists prepare for the professional stage. The IU Opera Theater marks its golden anniversary season in 1998-99 with an eclectic mix of both popular and uncommon works.
The 50th season will begin Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. in the Musical Arts Center with Jacques Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld, a comic parody of the Orpheus myth. Offenbach's famed operetta centers around Orpheus and Eurydice, a quarreling husband and wife bored with one another. When Eurydice decides to join her lover, Pluto, in his underworld realm, Orpheus reluctantly follows to save her and a chaotic chain of events ensues. The score features the famous gallop dance known as the "can-can." Additional performances are Sept. 26, Oct. 2 and 3.
Georges Bizet's 1838 masterpiece Carmen will open Oct. 23 and continue Oct. 24, 30 and 31. The tragic tale of a bewitching, free-spirited gypsy girl, Carmen is arguably Bizet's finest opera. The music is lyrical and the dramatic scenes are handled with a freedom and compactness that helped shape modern opera. Audiences of the day were shocked by its vivid descriptions of promiscuity, and Bizet did not live to see its enormous success.
Considered to be W.A. Mozart's first theatrical masterpiece, Idomeneo has been absent from the IU Opera Theater repertoire since 1976. Productions this season are scheduled Nov. 13, 14, 20 and 21.
Idomeneo, the king of Crete, is returning home victorious from the Trojan War. To escape death in a horrible storm, he makes a vow to Neptune that he will sacrifice to the sea-god the first person he meets on shore. Unfortunately, this person turns out to be his own son. To avoid having to fulfill his promise, Idomeneo concocts a scheme to get his son off the island. Neptune threatens vengeance, and the musical climax boasts some of Mozart's finest melodies.
A perfect opera for children, Gioacchino Rossini's Cinderella (La Cenerentola) is a classic fairy tale that comes to life with comedy and graceful melody. Set in 18th-century Salerno, the familiar cast of the prince, the evil stepsisters, the cruel stepfather, the fairy godmother and Cinderella are beautifully woven into Rossini's enchanting score. Performances are scheduled Feb. 5, 6, 12 and 13.
Richard Strauss's Arabella -- last performed at IU in 1973 -- is scheduled Feb. 26, 27, March 5 and 6. The last collaboration between Strauss and the Austrian poet, dramatist and essayist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, the plot centers around the Viennese Waldner family and the search for the wealthiest husband they can find for their eldest daughter, Arabella.
Although the young woman has several suitors, she is not pleased with any of them until she sees a handsome stranger outside the hotel where she lives and and decides he is the right man. The story does not end there, however, as a series of jealousies and mistaken identities lead the couple through a comic plot. Strauss's music includes several fine duets, and numerous waltzes and Balkan melodies are woven into the score.
The 50th anniversary season ends with Leonard Bernstein's Mass in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the composer's birth. Performances are scheduled April 16, 17, 23 and 24.
Modeled after the form of a Roman Catholic mass, this monumental work makes a dramatic inquiry into the conditions of faith in our time. The "street people" in the cast struggle as they search for faith amid pain, confusion and disillusionment. The Celebrant, too, struggles to retain his faith as he becomes increasingly burdened with the sins of society. The pageantry of musical forces includes elements of rock, jazz and blues, as well as a children's choir and dancers.
All IU Opera Theater productions are in the Musical Arts Center on the Bloomington campus and include projected supertitles in English.
Subscribers who wish to keep the seats they had for the previous season must renew before May 15. New subscription orders are now being accepted at the Musical Arts Center box office and will be filled after June 1. The deadline for all subscription sales is Sept. 2; series tickets will be mailed after Aug. 18. Single ticket sales will begin on Sept. 9. For ticket information call the MAC box office at 812-855-7433.