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Phone (678) 839-6464, FAX (678) 839-6645
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Opera performances at TCPA
March 4, 2004
CARROLLTON, GA - The University of West Georgia’s Opera Workshop will offer a glimpse of Italy when it presents Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci on Thursday, March 11, and Saturday, March 13, in the Townsend Center for the Performing Arts.
The two Italian operas premiered in 1890 and 1892 and are famous examples of the verismo movement of the time, a trend toward realism that included raw emotions and on-stage violence. They will be presented in English and will follow the tradition of being sung together because of their short length.
Both operas are based on plays that were popular in the early 1890s and feature love triangles that end in violence. In the one-act Cavalleria, a rejected young woman betrays her unfaithful lover to a jealous husband, with tragic consequences. In the two-act Pagliacci, a play within a play is the setting for an on-stage murder of passion.
Audiences will recognize famous arias in both works, especially “Vesti la giubba/Ridi, Pagliaccio” (in English, “Put on your costume; laugh, Pagliaccio!”) which has been famous from the time of Enrico Caruso for its heartbreaking melody and tragic burst of bitter laughter.
The UWG student singers are: Richie Arnold, Melissa Huckeba and Niki Weide of Carrollton; Valerie Beck of Cordele; Bridget Bohman of Alpharetta; Michael Burnaman of Woodstock; Dale Edwards of Vidalia; Philip Jones of Union City; Jameson Linville of Newnan; Emily Maniccia of Peachtree City; Debbie Monroe of Tallapoosa; Elizabeth Mote of Villa Rica; Benjamin Pruett of Rock Spring; and Darshena Wood of Palmetto.
Dr. Larry Frazier, associate professor and director of opera music, is the stage and musical director, and graduate student Charlene Wiggins of Hogansville will play the orchestral reductions on piano. The stage sets and design are by the Charles H. Stewart Company, with costumes by Melanie Evans Perry of Creative Costumes and lighting by Jason Conner of Carrollton.
Both performances will begin at 8:15 p.m. Tickets are available in the Townsend Center and are $7 for general admission, $5 for senior citizens and free with a UWG student ID. For more information, contact the Department of Music at 770-836-6516.
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