Opera Company Celebrates 65th Anniversary Season

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - May 16, 2016 - PRLog -- Media Contact:

Erin Jones
502.774.0767
erin@inmodemarketing.com

Kentucky Opera Announces BROWN-FORMAN 2016/17 Season:

Opera Company Celebrates 65^th Anniversary Season

January 6, 2016. Louisville, KY. Kentucky Opera announces its BROWN-FORMAN 2016/17 SEASON. This will be the 65^th anniversary season of Kentucky Opera and audiences will be treated to a trio of well-known, beloved productions: MADAME BUTTERFLY, THE ABDUCTION FROM THE SERAGLIO and THE MIKADO.Giacomo Puccini's MADAME BUTTERFLY will kick off the season with performances on Friday, September 23^rd and Sunday September 25^th. Following that will be Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's THE ABDUCTION FROM THE SERAGLIO with performances on Friday November 4^th and Sunday November 6^th. Finally, Gilbert & Sullivan's THE MIKADO will conclude the season with performances on Friday, February 10^th, 2017 and Sunday, February 12^th, 2017.

Opera novices and connoisseurs can subscribe to THE BROWN-FORMAN 2016/17 SEASON of Kentucky Opera and see all three productions for as little at $86. Easily subscribe online at www.KyOpera.org or by calling 502.584.4500. All subscribers have access to exclusive events and ticket offers along with invitations to cast parties, VIP previews, special events, and more.

About the Season:

MADAME BUTTERFLY

Considered America's favorite opera, MADAME BUTTERFLY is a heart-breaking tale of worlds colliding. Lieutenant Pinkerton becomes entranced by and marries Cio-Cio-san, an innocent 15-year-old girl from a down-on-its-luck family. After he sails off on a new adventure only days after their wedding, Cio-Cio (whose name means "butterfly") clings to hope of her husband's return for five long years. But his return to Japan brings only tragedy, as he refuses to see his wife and their child.

MADAME BUTTERFLYwas composed by the great Giacomo Puccini and is based on a short story by John Luther Long. Talise Trevigne, who is nominated for a 2016 Grammy Award, and Patrick O'Halloran lead the Kentucky Opera production as Cio-Cio and Pinkerton, respectively. Kentucky Opera Artistic Director Joseph Mechavich will conduct the piece, while Kristine McIntyre directs.

An opera in three acts, this production is sung in Italian with English supertitles.

THE ABDUCTION FROM THE SERAGLIO

Get lost in the exotically virtuostic arias of Mozart's THE ABDUCTION FROM THE SERAGLIO. This over-the-top tale follows a colorful cast of characters - a dashing nobleman attempting to rescue his true love from a Turkish harem, and a comic-yet-menacing despot named Osmin who tries to murder almost everyone. However, the true appeal of the production is the vocal virtuosity required of its performers.

Gustav Andreassen plays Osmin, whose third-act aria "O, wie will ich triumphieren" twice goes to a low D-one of the lowest notes demanded of any voice in opera. Marie-Eve Munger and Joshua Dennis take on the roles of Spanish lovers Constanze and Belmonte, arguably the most challenging roles in all Mozart's operas.

Based on a play by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner, THE ABDUCTIONwas composed as a singspiel, meaning it has spoken dialogue between the arias. Performers will sing in German (with English supertitles) but speak in English. The opera will be conducted by Joseph Mechavich and directed by David Gately.

THE MIKADO

Gilbert & Sullivan take on the Victorian-era British Establishment  in THE MIKADO, or The Town of Titipu, a pointed satire that employs comedy and absurdity to tackle the themes of death,cruelty, and the failings of the British government.. Thinly disguised by its setting in Japan, audiences will immediately recognize the pompous officials, prudish etiquette rules and other absurdities.

One of the longest running and most popular works of musical theatre in Europe and America, THE MIKADO is a cultural masterpiece that introduced the phrase "let the punishment fit the crime" and the insult "pooh-bah" for a pompous person into the vernacular. It features beloved songs "As Some Day It May Happen" (also known as "I've Got A Little List), "Three Little Maids From School Are We" and "Tit Willow."

The cast includes Peter Strummer as the Mikado of Japan, Daniel Shirley as Nanki-Poo, Chad Sloan as Pooh-Bah, and Jasmine Habersham, a former Kentucky Opera Studio Artist, as Yum-Yum. Clinton Smith conducts.

Learn more about Kentucky Opera at www.KyOpera.org.

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About Kentucky Opera: Launching its 65^th season of production, Kentucky Opera was founded in 1952 and designated the State Opera of Kentucky in 1982. The mission of Kentucky Opera is to entertain and educate a broad, diverse audience by producing opera of the highest quality. Follow the Kentucky Opera on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/KentuckyOpera), Twitter (https://twitter.com/kentuckyopera), Instagram (https://instagram.com/kyopera/) and Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/kentuckyopera/).

Kentucky Opera's productions are made possible, in part, through support from The Fund for the Arts.  The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, also supports Kentucky Opera with state tax dollars and federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.