The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University

Three Rare Operas in French at Peabody, Oct. 19

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRESS CONTACT ONLY:
Margaret Bell
410-234-4525
m.bell@jhu.edu
Richard Selden
410-234-4526
rselden1@peabody.jhu.edu

Annual “Opera Potpourri” is Part of Free Fall Baltimore

October 7, 2009, Baltimore, MD: Betrayal, alcoholism, and spousal abuse: suitable topics for comic opera? Yes, at least in the 18th and early 19th centuries, especially when sung in French.

A performance at Baltimore’s Peabody Institute on Monday, Oct. 19, will showcase three such works: Adonis by Jean-Philippe Rameau; L’ivrogne corrigé (The Drunkard Reformed) by Christoph Willibald Gluck; and Rita by Gaetano Donizetti. Part of the citywide Free Fall Baltimore program, Opera Potpourri: A Trio of One-Act Operas in French will take place at 7:30 pm in Peabody’s Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall, 17 East Mount Vernon Place. To reserve free passes, call the Peabody Box Office at 410-234-4800.

Adonis, first presented at Versailles in 1748, is the story of a beautiful young man (the title role, played by Benjamin Shaver) lured by Cupid (Nola Richardson) away from Diana (Sara MacKimmie) into the arms of Venus (Elizabeth Merrill). As an opéra-ballet, the performance will also include dance. Roger Brunyate, director of opera programs at Peabody, is the stage director; Carol Bartlett, artistic director of Peabody Dance, is the choreographer; and faculty artist Adam Pearl, harpsichord, will conduct the Baltimore Baroque Band, a student early-music ensemble.

L’ivrogne corrigé was first performed in Vienna in 1760. The drunkard of the title is a merchant named Mathurin (Nicholas Fichter) who has promised the hand of his niece Colette (Hilary LaBonte) to his drinking buddy Lucas (Matthew Sullivan). But Colette wants to marry Cléon (William McCullough), so Mathurin’s wife (Alana Kolb) comes up with a theatrical plan to change her husband’s mind. Brunyate serves as music director, with Ta-Wei Tsai, a junior, at the piano. Graduate student Stephanie Miller is the stage director.

The third, later work, Donizetti’s Rita of 1841, was unperformed in the composer’s lifetime. The title character (Solen Mainguené) is an innkeeper whose first husband (William Schaller) beat her and who now beats her second husband (Curtis Bannister). The score includes one solo aria each for soprano, tenor, and baritone; a duet for every combination; and a trio finale. Brunyate is the stage and music director, with pianist John Wilson, a senior, accompanying the singers.

The Opera Potpourri performers are undergraduate and graduate Voice students at the Peabody Conservatory, one of the world's most highly regarded music schools. Several have sung leading roles with Peabody Opera Theatre, which presents two fully-staged productions with orchestra annually. This fall's production will be Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, with performances Nov. 19-22. 

Please note that while admission to Opera Potpourri is free, passes must be obtained in advance by calling the Peabody Box Office at 410-234-4800. The Box Office is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and one hour before performances. For more information, visit www.peabody.jhu.edu/events.

Free Fall Baltimore is made possible by a grant from Mayor Sheila Dixon and the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts. For the complete schedule, visit www.freefallbaltimore.com.

DOWNLOAD HIGH RES IMAGES

Curtis Bannister, shown here in Peabody’s production of The Adventures of Sharp-Ears the Vixen, will appear in Opera Potpourri on Oct. 19.

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About the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University
Located in the heart of Baltimore’s Mount Vernon Cultural District, the Peabody Institute was founded in 1857 as America’s first academy of music by philanthropist George Peabody. Today, Peabody boasts a preeminent faculty, a nurturing, collaborative learning environment, and the academic resources of one of the nation’s leading universities, Johns Hopkins. Through its degree-granting Conservatory and its community-based Preparatory music and dance school, Peabody trains musicians and dancers of every age and at every level, from small children to seasoned professionals, from dedicated amateurs to winners of international competitions. Each year, Peabody stages nearly 100 major concerts and performances, ranging from classical to contemporary to jazz, many of them free — a testament to the vision of George Peabody.