BPT's THE ROSENBERGS Selected For International Online Festival

The North American premiere of The Rosenbergs has been selected for the second annual IOTF: The International Online Theatre Festival. The opera was produced by Boston University and Brandeis University, and presented by Boston Playwrights' Theatre (BPT) in 2018.

IOTF is an annual online theatre festival showcasing the work of diverse global artists. Over the course of a month, IOTF will present 25 different productions and films from companies around the globe.

The Festival performance of The Rosenbergs was filmed during the opera's run at BPT.

"Connecting online with these International Artists is especially important in this uncertain time when we are all under quarantine-it's how we can be together," BPT Artistic Director Kate Snodgrass says. "But most of all, it's an honor to bring this stunning modern opera to new eyes and ears-this time watching from around the world!"

This tragic love story-set during the United States' Communist witch-hunt of the 1950s-is based on the lives of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were executed for atomic espionage. The Rosenbergs was recognized as Denmark's Best Opera of 2015 by online journal Copenhagen Culture.

Available for free online until May 15, the opera features a score by Joachim Holbek and a libretto by Rhea Leman. Dmitry Troyanovsky directed the production with musical direction by Cristi Catt. Christie Lee Gibson and Brian Church portray Ethel and Julius Rosenberg.

A conversation with Troyanovsky, Holbek, and Leman will be held on May 10 at 2 p.m. EDT in the Festival's "Zoom Room." Details: https://thetheatretimes.com/the-rosenbergs/

Snodgrass describes The Rosenbergs as "moving and alive without being overtly political, and it speaks to Ethel and Julius's relationship-which is something that gets short-shrift when we think of this period in our nation's history. . .We forget that there are real people behind these big stories-people with dreams and loves and deep fears just like us. Whether we think of the Rosenbergs as heroes or traitors, in the end they were people living out a tragic love story."

ABOUT BOSTON PLAYWRIGHTS' THEATRE

Founded in 1981 at Boston University by Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott, Boston Playwrights' Theatre (BPT) is an award-winning professional theatre dedicated to new works. At the heart of BPT's mission is the production of new plays by alumni of its M.F.A. Playwriting Program, the latter in collaboration with Boston University's renowned School of Theatre. The program's award-winning alumni have been produced in regional and New York houses, internationally, as well as in London's West End. BPT's productions have been honored with numerous national, regional, and Boston awards, including IRNE Awards for Best New Script and Boston Critics' Association Elliot Norton Awards.

Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized private research university with more than 30,000 students participating in undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. BU consists of 17 colleges and schools along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes which are central to the school's research and teaching mission.

IOTF is an annual online theatre festival, showcasing the work of diverse global artists. Now, in its second year, over the course of a month, IOTF will present 25 different productions and films from a range of international companies including Schaubühne, Stanislavsky Electrotheatre, Reckless Sleepers and English Touring Theatre. Iconic productions to be screened include Enemy of the People (dir. Thomas Ostermeier), (A)pollonia (dir. Krzysztof Warlikowski) and Lenin (dir. Milo Rau). All productions are free to watch, wherever in the world you are. https://thetheatretimes.com/iotfestival2020/

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