Opera by the Glass Will Present A Contemporary Interpretation of Bellini's THE SLEEPWALKER

Brand new artists' collective Opera by the Glass will present its contemporary interpretation of Vincenzo Bellini's famous tearjerker The Sleepwalker (La Sonnambula in Italian) at the Somis Thursday Club for two special performances on Friday, November 4, and Sunday, November 6, 2016 in the rural Ventura County town of Somis. The Sleepwalker's intensely psychological plot weaves together universal themes of jealousy and trust, loyalty and abandonment, friendship and love, madness and pain, and, ultimately, reconciliation and reunion.

Presented in its original Italian with English supertitles, the magnificent opera is composer Bellini's finest example of the school of singing known as Bel Canto, where the beauty of voice and the virtuosity of the singers is integral to conveying the actions and emotions at the heart of the story. Opera by the Glass's thrilling modern production of the work features talented Ventura-based artists in collaboration with performers from outside the area who have appeared in regional, national, and international productions.

"The story is haunting and atmospheric with a pensive pace and muted eroticism," says Zeffin Quinn Hollis, The Sleepwalker's Production Designer and Stage Director. "In the opera, a young engaged woman sleepwalks through her village at night, which leads her to a strange bed... her sleepwalking suggests psychological trouble - a problematic relationship between the conscious and unconscious."

The Sleepwalker revolves around the wedding plans of drowsy "Amina" (Hana Chelberg) and her fiancé "Elvino" (Alex Rodin Mendoza). Set in a small rural village, when peasant girl Amina is found in another man's bed, everyone assumes that she has been unfaithful to her fiancé. Elvino's former lover, "Lisa" (Dianna Burdick), however, is the true guilty party. Although fully aware of Amina's innocence, Lisa exploits the situation to wiggle her way back into Elvino's heart. Only when Amina is discovered sleepwalking is the truth revealed. Ultimately, the opera asks if love can survive through a cloud of suspicion.

Written by Vincenzo Bellini to a libretto by Felice Romani, The Sleepwalker subsists in the friction between the conscious and the unconscious. During the day, everyone in the village is outwardly happy and content, all the while concealing an underbelly of darkness, loneliness, and jealousy. In the dead of night, a displaced Amina haunts the village like a ghoulish phantom, revealing the hidden truth. Opera by the Glass's psychological interpretation of the work is being staged during the spooky post-Halloween/Autumn Harvest season, which ushers in the darkest time of the year.

In addition to Chelberg, Mendoza, Hollis, and Burdick, the cast also features J. Esteban Perez as "Alessio," Lisa's suitor; Nandani Maria Sinha as "Teresa," a mill owner and Amina's foster mother; and Ricardo Mota as "The Notary." Chorus members are Andrea Blunt, Constance von Briessen Kamm, Jessie Massoudi, Juan Antonio Rivera, Sarah Shields, Nicholas Saremi, and Kyril Kasimoff. The production will also feature a 7-piece live orchestra of Ventura County area musicians. The lead roles of Amina and Elvino are renowned for their difficulty and high tessitura.

Opera by the Glass has engaged Zeffin Quinn Hollis as the Production Designer and Stage Director, as well as Timothy León as Music Director and Chorus Master. Stage Manager is Megan Mellbye and Technical Director is Andrew Johnston.

The enjoyable, easy-to-follow Opera by the Glass production of The Sleepwalker is being presented with a modern aesthetic to appeal to a wide audience - young, old, wealthy, cash-deficient, the opera noob, as well as the cultural connoisseur. The high-concept set design features three beds as performance spaces. Highly symbolic, the bed signifies the circle of life. Beds are the site of birth and death, illness and healing, security and vulnerability, intimacy and loneliness, dreams and fears.

The historic Somis Thursday Club, originally built in 1895 as a schoolhouse, was selected as the venue for its open and rural quality, a perfect setting for the pastoral story. The space has lots of windows and an environmental, country village feel to it that allows for intimacy.

Opera by the Glass is a community of singers, directors, and musicians devoted to providing fantastic immersive opera experiences for contemporary audiences in non-traditional Ventura County spaces. The concept, inspired by the NYC Loft Opera, strips away rigid performance styles by offering affordable operas in a cabaret-style, open setting - with small tables where light refreshments and beverages are served. The Sleepwalker is Opera by the Glass's inaugural production.

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