Odyssey Opera Presents MARIA, REGINA D'INGHILTERRA

One of the nation's most adventurous opera companies, Odyssey Opera, continues its Tudor-inspired season with the fully-staged production of Maria, Regina d'Inghilterra (1843) by Giovanni Pacini. Mary Tudor, Queen of England is an Italian opera in three acts, from a libretto by Leopoldo Tarantini, which is based on the play Marie Tudor by Victor Hugo. This largely overlooked yet remarkable work is an interesting example of mid-19th century opera. Gil Rose conducts the Bel Canto masterwork with Amy Shoremount-Obra as Queen Mary and rising star Alisa Jordheim as Clotilde Talbot.

According to The Boston Globe, WBUR Radio, and Opera Wire, this performance is one of the must-see classical events of the fall season. "Beholding any of Pacini's 70+ operas is a rare occurrence. A performance of Pacini's Maria is extraordinary!" says Gil Rose, Odyssey Opera's Artistic and General Director. "We hope audiences will join Odyssey in rediscovering both this forgotten composer, and his wrongfully neglected masterpiece."

Pacini is one of the missing links in Italian opera of the first part of the 19th century. He produced more than 70 operas and yet has faded into oblivion. Pacini (1796-1867) wrote happily within the formal conventions of Italian opera in his time; perhaps, this is why he remains largely in the shadows, especially of his colleagues: Verdi, Bellini and Donizetti.

Maria premiered in Palermo in 1843 to much acclaim, however it disappeared from the stage until 1983 when it was revived by Opera Rara. Set in London 1553, Queen Mary I of England is infatuated with the Scottish adventurer Riccardo Fenimoore, whom she has ennobled as Lord

Talbot, but he is in love with Clotilde, the only surviving child of the late Earl of Talbot. Clotilde is in love with Ernest Malcolm, a commoner. Maria has two significant soprano roles: Queen Mary I played by Amy Shoremount-Obra who was recently hailed "a voice of true substance...incredible! (Boston Musical Intelligencer)," and Clotilde played by Alisa Jordheim who was lauded by the San Francisco Chronicle as being "vocally resplendent" and possessing "impeccable coloratura."

Odyssey Opera's 2019-20 season features concert and staged operas about the great English dynasty of the 16th century: the Tudors. The season opened with the concert performance of Camille Saint-Saëns Henry VIII (September 21, 2019). Odyssey ushers in 2020 with the world premiere of Arnold Rosner's The Chronicle of Nine, a semi-staged co-production with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (February 1, 2020) followed by the fully-staged production of Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra (1815) by Rossini Neapolitan (March 13 and 15, 2020). The season ends with two operas from the 20th century: Gloriana (1953) by Benjamin Britten (April 11, 2020) and Merrie England (1902) by Edward German (June 5 and 7, 2020).

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