OPERA MEMPHIS ANNOUNCES 2012-2013 SEASON

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE FREE “30 DAYS OF OPERA” SERIES,?TWO CLASSIC MASTERWORKS AT GERMANTOWN PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE, INAUGRUAL MIDTOWN OPERA FESTIVAL

MEMPHIS, TN – Opera Memphis today unveiled its 2012-2013 season, a bold mix of classic masterworks and innovative new programs which will further the company’s tradition of artistic excellence while creatively expanding its audience for the future.

“This season celebrates the diversity of the opera,” says Ned Canty, entering his second year as general director of Opera Memphis. “We’ve got life, death, comedy, tragedy, true love, heartbreak, revenge, and chocolate cake on our city’s most intimate stages and all over the city.”

Opera Memphis’ 2012-2013 season is funded in part by generous support from ArtsMemphis, the Tennessee Arts Commission, the Adams Foundation, the Assisi Foundation of Memphis, AutoZone, Downtown Memphis Commission, Evolve Bank & Trust, and Watkins Uiberall.

The season kicks off with 30 Days of Opera Presented by Evolve Bank & Trust, a series of free opera performances and related events happening at events, festivals, parks, and other public venues throughout the Mid-South from September 15 through October 14, 2012. “We’re turning the opera house inside out,” says Canty. “We are grateful to Evolve Bank & Trust for helping us take opera to crowds at Cooper-Young, the Shelby Farms Greenline, the South Main Arts District, college campuses, parks, libraries, churches, and everywhere in between. It’s a fun and casual way to give people a delicious taste of the opera.”

Giacomo Puccini’s classic La Boheme begins the regular season at Germantown Performing Arts Centre, November 9 and 11, 2012. “If you see one opera in your lifetime, make it this one. It’s essentially the perfect opera,” says Canty. “A major part of Opera Memphis’ mission is celebrating the genre’s masterworks. Every society throughout history has had its artists, poets, and bohemians. That’s what makes La Boheme such an enduring and timeless classic.” La Boheme is the inspiration for several successful modernizations, including Baz Luhrmann’s Tony Award-winning 1990 update for Opera Australia and Jonathan Larson’s 1996 Broadway smash, Rent.

La Boheme will feature the first United States performance in seven years by Angela Fout, whom Opera Memphis welcomes back following her seven year tenure as the prima donna of Switzerland’s Theatre St. Gallen. The cast also includes a pair of rising stars, Zulimar Lopez Hernandez and Eric Barry, making their Memphis debuts. Canty will direct the production, conducted by Ari Pelto whose Opera Memphis credits include Barber of Seville and last year’s Don Pasquale.

The season’s second production, also Germantown Performing Arts Centre is Gaetano Donizetti’s Elixir of Love, February 2 and 5, 2013. “At its core, this is one of the most romantic operas ever written,” says Canty. “The agony of not realizing how much you love someone until they have moved on is a universal human experience. At the same time, it has some quintessentially American themes and comic characters, particularly Dr. Dulcamara - the snake oil salesman whose conniving antics set the plot in motion.”

Canty will direct this Old West-themed production, conducted by David Hayes of the Philladelphia Orchestra. Elixir of Love will include the Memphis debuts of Sarah Shafer, fresh from her debut at the Glyndebourne Festival, and Jordan Shanhan, who last delighted local audiences as Figaro in 2011’s Barber of Seville.

The season peaks with the inaugural Midtown Opera Festival at Playhouse on the Square from April 4 – April 7, 2013. Featured operas include Benjamin Britten’s classic The Rape of Lucretia and a special double-feature of Bon Appetit – a one-woman performance about Julia Child baking a cake – and Lee Hoiby’s This Is the Rill Speaking, based on an early work by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lanford Wilson. The productions – all regional premieres – will be joined by parties, micro-operas, public panel discussions, and other surprises to fill Playhouse during throughout the Festival’s four-day run. Area businesses, including Boscos Squared and Yolo, will add special menu items promoting the event and Opera Memphis.

“Playhouse on the Square is acoustically the best venue in the city. Its farthest seat is actually closer to the stage than the front row at the Met. We handpicked these shows for this venue, and we’re excited for opera to be play a significant role in the remarkable rebirth of Overton Square,” says Canty. “This festival is intimate, progressive, and filled with unexpected treasures – just like Midtown.”

Season subscriptions and individual tickets for all events are now on sale through OperaMemphis.org, by calling 901 257 3100 or by visiting the box office at the Clark Opera Memphis Center, 6745 Wolf River Parkway.

“A great city deserves a great opera company,” says Canty. “We know that Opera Memphis must continue to take risks and evolve if we are going to keep meeting the needs of our growing audience. I look forward to the whole city joining us on this journey.”