The Odyssey Opera Announces its 2014 Season, Which Includes UN GIORNO DI REGNO, ZANETTO and More

Odyssey Opera Artistic and General Director Gil Rose today announced the details of the company's 2014 Season, which gives Boston operagoers a chance to hear exceptional international talent shine in rarely performed gems. FromJune 11 to 14, Odyssey presents fully-staged productions of three unique operatic treats, starting with Verdi's boisterous Un giorno di regno followed by a double header of succinct one-act vignettes, Mascagni's Zanetto and Wolf-Ferrari's Il segreto di Susanna. Then, on September 13 for one night only, Odyssey revives an important 20th-century masterpiece, Korngold's Die tote Stadt, in a Boston premiere concert performance celebrating the Boston debuts of tenor Jay Hunter Morris and soprano Meagan Miller. See below for details.

Odyssey continues its commitment to showcasing operas off the beaten path of repertoire. "I'm thrilled about our 2014 season! We're offering eclectic works that warrant a production as well as admired works seldom performed," explains Gil Rose. "We hope Boston audiences continue with us on this maiden voyage and experience the full range of what the operatic medium has to offer."

Opera News described Odyssey's highly acclaimed debut concert of Wagner's "Rienzi" in September 2013 as "spectacular...a thrilling and joyous performance." According to The Arts Fuse, "Mr. Rose and company [have] started off with a triumphant bang. And, as the big opening act of the 2013-14 concert season, they've set the bar pretty high for whatever comes next."

2014 Season

UN GIORNO DI REGNO | Giuseppe Verdi | fully-staged production

Un giorno di regno (King for a Day) is Verdi's second opera and first of only two comedies (the last one, Falstaff, coming 59 years later). This charmingly quirky work didn't take off in 1840 at La Scala, but has recently enjoyed several revivals. In two acts broken into five scenes, the story is set in 1733 at Baron Kelbar's castle in Poland. The libretto by Felice Romani involves a tangled web of romance amongst the perils of wartime. Along with a pair of quarreling buffo basses (the Baron Kelbar himself and La Rocca, the state treasurer), there are two sets of mismatched lovers: Belfiore (posing as the King of Poland) and a young widow, the Marchesa del Poggio; and penniless Edoardo and his love interest Giulietta, the daughter of Baron Kelbar. Not seen in Boston for many years, an all-new production will be created by director Joshua Major. Sung in Italian with projected English supertitles.

ZANETTO | Pietro Mascagni | fully-staged production

Mascagni's one-act opera of 1896 is an unusual but heartfelt work, capturing a fleeting scene of unfulfilled love, longing, and regret. Set to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, Zanetto lasts under an hour and employs a two-singer cast, and was originally billed as a scena lirica (lyric scene). In the Florentine countryside during the Renaissance, an aging courtesan, Silvia, is plagued with uncertainty upon encountering young wandering minstrel Zanetto, for whom she feels a powerful and complicated passion. Not seen in Boston for over 30 years (performed by Boston Lyric Opera in 1980), an all-new production will be created by director Daniel Gidron. Sung in Italian with projected English supertitles.

IL SEGRETO DI SUSANNA | Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari | fully-staged production

Wolf-Ferrari's 1909 opera The Secret of Susanna is the work for which he's best known, and its Overture is his greatest hit. A fast-paced, witty comedy, it deserves a place of distinction in the parade of comic diversions. A one-act intermezzo that lasts about 45 minutes, Il segreto di Susanna is set to an Italian libretto by Enrico Golisciani. The opera tells a story of suspected infidelity with frisky humor and lyric breadth. The two singing roles demand both sumptuous voices and skillful comedic flair. Not seen in Boston for over a century, an all-new production will be created by director Daniel Gidron. Sung in Italian with projected English supertitles.

DIE TOTE STADT | Erich Wolfgang Korngold | concert performance

Korngold's third opera premiered simultaneously in Hamburg and Cologne in 1920 to much fanfare. Though once wildly popular, Die tote Stadt was banned by the Nazi regime because of Korngold's Jewish ancestry and subsequently disappeared from the regular repertoire of major opera houses. Die tote Stadt (The Dead City) is a three-act opera set to a libretto by Paul Schott (a pseudonym for the composer and his father Julius) based on Georges Rodenbach's novel Bruges-la-Morte. A dark, symbolic depiction of Bruges, the city of the title, sets the scene for a psychological thriller that oscillates between illusion and reality. Evocative and touching, the opera revolves around the universal theme of overcoming the loss of a loved one.

In addition to the principal vocalist, three separate choruses, and eight offstage sopranos, a full orchestra is supplemented with triple woodwinds, two harps, a wind machine, four keyboards, a mandolin, bass trumpet and massive percussion and brass sections. The opera's grand scale has precluded more frequent production. Odyssey's performance of Die tote Stadt marks its Boston premiere! It will be presented as a "Concert Opera" sung in German with English translations projected on stage.

About Odyssey Opera

Founded in 2013 by Arti stic Director/Conductor Gil Rose, Odyssey Opera presents adventurous and eclectic works that affirm opera as a powerful expression of the human experience. Its world-class artists perform the operatic repertoire from its historic beginnings through lesser-known masterpieces to contemporary new works and commissions in a variety of formats and venues. Odyssey Opera sets standards of high musical and theatrical excellence and innovative programming to advance the operatic genre beyond the familiar and into undiscovered territory. Odyssey Opera takes its audience on a journey to places they've never been before. www.odysseyopera.org

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