{"id":78657,"date":"2021-04-20T08:00:15","date_gmt":"2021-04-20T12:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/?p=78657"},"modified":"2022-08-02T14:03:43","modified_gmt":"2022-08-02T18:03:43","slug":"bu-opera-stages-mansfield-park-in-booth-theatre-for-virtual-audiences","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/news\/articles\/2021\/bu-opera-stages-mansfield-park-in-booth-theatre-for-virtual-audiences\/","title":{"rendered":"BU Opera Stages Mansfield Park in Booth Theatre for Virtual Audiences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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April 20, 2021<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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Mansfield Park<\/em> premieres Friday, April 23, 2021<\/h3>\n

Over a year of modified performances, upended expectations, and creative problem-solving has led to an incredible virtual production from the Boston University Opera Institute<\/a>. Staged in BU’s Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre and filmed over the course of several days earlier in the Spring 2021 semester, the opera premieres online on the evening of April 23, 2021.<\/p>\n

The opera is based on the novel by Jane Austen, with music by Jonathan Dove and libretto by Alasdair Middleton, by arrangement with C.F. Peters, publisher and copyright owner.<\/p>\n

[bu_slideshow show_id=”78681″ show_nav=”1″ transition=”slide” nav_style=”icon” autoplay=”1″ transition_delay=”5″ width=”auto” shuffle=”0″]<\/p>\n

Jim Petosa \u2022 stage director
\nWilliam Lumpkin \u2022 conductor
\nAngela Gooch, Matthew Larson, Allison Voth \u2022 pianists<\/p>\n

CAST<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Fanny Price \u2022 Gabrielle Barkidjija
\nLady Bertram \u2022 Myka Murphy
\nSir Thomas Bertram \u2022 Hyungjin Son
\nMaria Bertram \u2022 Kaileigh Riess
\nJulia Bertram \u2022 Madalyn Luna
\nEdmund Bertram \u2022 Erik Danielson
\nAunt Norris \u2022 Maureen Brabec
\nMary Crawford \u2022 Caroline Corrales
\nHenry Crawford \u2022 Ryan Lustgarten
\nMr. Rushworth \u2022 Jangho Lee<\/p>\n

Production Team<\/h5>\n

Scenic Designer \u2022 Adam Hawkins
\nCostume Designer \u2022 Emma George
\nLighting Designer \u2022 Kevin Dunn
\nSound Designer \u2022 Sean Doyle
\nPrincipal Coach\/Supertitle Consultant \u2022 Allison Voth
\nCoach \u2022 Matthew Larson
\nAssistant Sound Designer \u2022 Jacob Montgomery
\nTechnical Director \u2022 Marco Liguori
\nTechnical Director \u2013 Decking \u2022 Johnathon Utter
\nAutomation Operator \u2022 Kendall Khan
\nPaint Charge Artist \u2022 Lydia Anderson
\nScenic Artists \u2022 Brenda Dziadzio
\nMaster Electrician \u2022 Isaak Olson
\nAssistant Master Electrician \u2022 Klara Ballay
\nMoving Light Programmer \u2022 Qian Chengyuan
\nDeck Electrician \u2022 Morgan Strange
\nLight Board Operator \u2022 Molly Beall
\nStage Manager \u2022 Natalie Main
\nAssistant Stage Manager \u2022 Em Dupcak, Lee Speth
\nProduction Manager \u2022 Ricky A. Moats
\nAssociate Production Manager \u2022 Eric Sprosty
\nVideography \u2022 Chris Dempsey
\nVideo Operator \u2022 Madeline Horvat
\nVideo Editor & Supertitles \u2022 Shady Hartshorne
\nSchool of Theatre Production Manager \u2022 Johnny Kontogiannis
\nOpera Institute Managing Director \u2022 Oshin Gregorian<\/p>\n

Behind the Production<\/h5>\n

According to Opera Institute Artistic Director and conductor William Lumpkin<\/a>, upon completing\u00a0the recording of the Virtual Fringe Festival<\/a> in the fall of 2020, they turned their attention to finding an ensemble opera that could feature each of the ten students in the Opera Institute. “We discovered the wonderful adaptation of Jane Austen\u2019s Mansfield Park <\/i>by composer Jonathan Dove with a libretto by Alasdair Middleton. The ten characters in Dove\u2019s version are a perfect match vocally (and dramatically) for the ten Opera Institute students, and we are extremely proud of their commitment to the project. <\/span>After having enjoyed their work on the solo projects for the Fringe Festival, they were eager to work together as an ensemble in rehearsal and in recording, and we developed advanced safety protocols to achieve this.”<\/p>\n

Lumkpin continues, “our production continues the highly valued collaboration with our School of Theatre colleagues in set, costume and lighting design as well as stage management, and it was an exhilarating experience to see the students and faculty from both schools enjoy the shared experience of creating art during a pandemic. This type of shared learning is at the heart of the mission at the College of Fine Arts, and as we faced the challenges of finding opportunities for the students in the face of a pandemic, it became astonishingly clear how important and valued these experiences are to all of us.”<\/p>\n

The health and safety of students, faculty, and staff was top of mind for the production team, and for the duration of the production process the team abided by the Boston University COVID-19 Health and Safety Protocols, including face coverings, social distancing, symptom monitoring and testing. They\u00a0created dual rooms for safe coaching, allowing for a singer and the coach to be connected in two separate rooms with a non-latent audio and video connection. In an effort to preserve the critical aspect of the exploration and discovery during staging rehearsals, face coverings were worn at all times and singers employed the method of \u201cmarking.\u201d For the final recording, they filmed the company as an ensemble with face coverings and appropriate distancing.<\/p>\n

Check out their incredible efforts in the live-streamed premiere! Can’t make it? Check back later to stream Mansfield Park<\/em> for a limited time.<\/p>\n

Stream Mansfield Park<\/a><\/p>\n

Mansfield Park<\/em> premieres on Friday, April 23, 2021 at 7:30pm ET. Tune in to the livestream at bu.edu\/cfa\/livemusic<\/a>. Learn more at bu.edu\/cfa\/opera\/news<\/a>.<\/p>\n