Spring Operas: Albert Herring & Pelléas et Mélisande
BU School of Music: Opera Institute and BU School of Theatre present this season of operas at the Paramount and Cutler Majestic
Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Music: Opera Institute and School of Theatre announce the upcoming season of operas: Albert Herring and Pelléas et Mélisande. This unique performance collaboration is expanding deeper into the Boston theatre scene with operas to be performed on the stages of the Paramount Center and Cutler Majestic at Emerson College.
Albert Herring is set in the imaginary East Suffolk town of Loxford at the turn of the 20th century. The score contains some of Britten’s wittiest musical invention and his gifts for parody and caricature. Far from a mere farce, Albert is a sympathetic and credible figure who, tied to his mother’s apron-strings and frustrated by small-town pieties, embarks on a debauched ‘rake’s progress.’ This opera will be performed in February on the Robert J. Orchard Stage at the Paramount Center at Emerson College.
Pelléas et Mélisande, based on Maeterlink’s symbolist play, tells a story of passion veiled in mystery set in an imaginary land in an unknown time. It is a love-triangle fraught with jealousy and human frailty ultimately ending in tragedy. Debussy’s evocative and rarely heard impressionist opera paints a psychological world full of hope and despair with haunting harmonies, penetrating melodies and lush orchestration. Pelléas et Mélisande will be performed in the spring at the Cutler Majestic Theatre.
William Lumpkin, Artistic Director of the Opera Institute, will conduct both Albert Herring and Pelléas. According to Lumpkin and Managing Director Oshin Gregorian, the season “provides a unique and varied selection of repertoire that is at the same time challenging and rewarding for our student performers and designers. As we continue our mission to provide Boston University students and area audiences with compelling and theatrically driven operatic experiences, we invite you to join us as we extend roots deeper into Boston’s thriving opera-theater scene.”
Albert Herring (February 7-10)
Wednesday, Feb 7, 7:30pm | Thursday, Feb 8, 7:30pm | Friday, Feb 9, 7:30pm | Saturday, Feb 10, 2pm
Presented by Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Music: Opera Institute and School of Theatre
Music by Benjamin Britten | Conducted by William Lumpkin | Stage Direction by Crystal Manich
Paramount Center at Emerson College – Robert J. Orchard Stage 559 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111
Tickets – $20 General • $15 BU Alumni, WGBH & WBUR members, senior citizens • $10 CFA Membership • $5 Students with valid ID • Free with BU ID, two tickets, at the door, day of performance, subject to availability. www.emersonparamount.org
Pelléas et Mélisande (March 31 & April 1)
Saturday, March 31, 7:30pm | Sunday, April 1, 2:00pm
Presented by Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Music: Opera Institute and School of Theatre
An opera in five acts with music by Claude Debussy | Conducted by William Lumpkin | Stage Direction by E. Loren Meeker | Sung in French with English supertitles. Approximate running time: 2 hours 40 minutes
Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre 219 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02116 cutlermajestic.org
Tickets – $20 General Public • $15 BU Alumni, WGBH and WBUR members, senior citizens • $10 CFA Membership • $5 Students with valid ID • Free with BU ID, two tickets, at the door, subject to availability. www.bu.edu/cfa/opera