MONDAY, MAY 6, 7:30 P.M.
THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE
The Gilbert & Sullivan You Ought to Know

Over a twenty-five year partnership, the unlikely pairing of W. S. Gilbert and Arthur S. Sullivan wrote a series of pieces that define light opera to this day. But who were these two men? And how did they create masterpiece after masterpiece despite their extraordinary differences?

Guest Speakers:
Hugh Macdonald
Avis Blewett Professor Emeritus of Music, Washington University

Ryan McAdams
Conductor

Seán Curran
Director

James Schuette
Designer

MONDAY, MAY 13, 7:30 P.M.
IL TABARRO & PAGLIACCI
What’s So Real About Verismo?

Puccini and Leoncavallo were among the foremost composers in the verismo (or “realism”) movement in opera. But how can stories of such extreme passion and music of such soaring vocal heights be considered “real”? Or is there something “realer” to verismo than meets the eye?

Guest Speakers:
Kelly Kaduce
Nedda in Pagliacci

Ward Stare
Conductor

Ron Daniels
Director

MONDAY, MAY 20, 7:30 P.M.
CHAMPION
Down for the Count

The musical languages of jazz and contemporary opera fuse in the world premiere of Champion – but what do these two styles (one traditionally European and formal, the other quintessentially American and lose) have to say to each other? And on what shoulders is a new opera like Champion created?

Guest Speakers:
Gerald Early
Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters, Washington University

Terence Blanchard
Five-time Grammy Award-winning composer

Denyce Graves
Emelda in Champion

George Manahan
Conductor

James Robinson
Director

MONDAY, JUNE 3, 7:30 P.M.
THE KISS
Setting the Stage for Feminism

Smetana’s The Kiss was written at a time of great change, at the dawn of the suffrage movement. While many operas of this era (Carmen, La traviata, Tosca) feature a strong female lead, challenging the pre-conceived notions of womanhood, The Kiss was unique, in that its libretto was written by a female playwright. How did opera change the way in which we saw women at the turn of the 20^th century?

Guest Speakers:
Sarah Bryan Miller
Classical Music Critic, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Anthony Barrese
Conductor

Michael Gieleta
Director

James McNamara
Designer