Portland Opera Continues 2023/24 Season With ENCHANTED WOODS: Shakespeare & Song

Portland Opera begins the new year with Enchanted Woods: Shakespeare & Song, a celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s first folio. Audience members are invited to enter Shakespeare’s forest, a literary place of transformation, love, and magic, with a program inspired by 19th and 20th century musical adaptations of his works. This unique experience will include a “picnic” of sweet and savory treats and libations, with cabaret-style seating. As Curator and Featured Artist, Katrina Galka is the creative force behind this production. The program will feature pieces by composers Benjamin Britten, Erich Korngold, Marc Blitzstein, Cole Porter, Betty Jackson King, and others. Enchanted Woods: Shakespeare & Song will be presented at the Gregory K. and Mary Chomenko Hinckley Studio Theatre at the Hampton Opera Center on February 2, 3, 4m, 9, 10, and 11m, 2024. Performances will be sung in English with English captions. 

“This is a cabaret event in the truest sense,” says Katrina Galka. “This is music that comes from jazz, musical theater, classical art song, and opera. It ranges from joyful to heart-wrenching to hilarious - and the most unique part is that you get to have this up-close and personal experience of it. To top it off, we've woven this incredible music into a story that embraces the magic of the forest as only the text and characters of Shakespeare could.”  

“When I was asked to help Katrina Galka put together a program based on the texts of Shakespeare, I was very excited. Shakespeare is such a natural fit for opera,” says Stage Director Kristine McIntyre. “Composers from Verdi to Berlioz to Britten and Adès have used the plays of Shakespeare as inspiration or source material for some of their most important works.” 

Kristine McIntyre will be returning to the company as Stage Director to collaborate with musical direction by Nicholas Fox, Portland Opera’s Chorus Master & Assistant Conductor. Featured Artist and Curator Katrina Galka is an alumna of the Portland Opera Resident Artist Program. Portland audiences will remember Katrina's performances in Rigoletto, The Italian Girl in Algiers, Sweeney Todd, The Magic Flute, The Elixir of Love, Show Boat, and Die Fledermaus. Katrina’s recent credits include performances with Teatro alla Scala, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opernhaus Zürich, Staatsoper Hamburg, and Arizona Opera. 

Three of Portland Opera’s Resident Artists will be featured in Enchanted Woods: soprano Judy Yannini, tenor Antonio Domino, and tenor Roland Hawkins II, in addition to Anna Jablonksi, mezzo-soprano. The members of the Portland Opera Orchestra that will form the woodwind quintet for Enchanted Woods are: GeorgeAnne Ries (principal flute), Kelly Gronli (principal oboe), Louis DeMartino (principal clarinet), Samuel Rhoton (principal bassoon), and Michael Hettwer (principal horn), along with Nicholas Fox on piano. 

The immersive world of Enchanted Woods will be envisioned by Portland’s own Scenic Designer Peter Ksander and Lighting Designer Carl Faber.  

Enchanted Woods is curated in partnership with “Shakespeare's First Folio: 1623–2023”, a public humanities project at Portland State University in collaboration with other regional arts organizations recognizing and celebrating the Bard’s legacy. 

Scenery and props are built by Portland Opera, with projected English captions by Ethan Cope Richter for Portland Opera.  

Enchanted Woods: Shakespeare & Song is made possible by the generous support of CTA Pathology, Artemis Foods, The Oregonian/OregonLive, and Utopia Vineyard & Winery. 

Additional support is provided by the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, Oregon Community Foundation, Regional Arts and Culture Council, The Oregon Arts Commission, and The National Endowment for the Arts. Portland Opera is a member of OPERA America.  

Enchanted Woods: Shakespeare & Song Tickets and Information 

Performances take place at 7:30PM at the Hampton Opera Center except for the matinees on February 4th and 11th, which begin at 2:00PM. One hour prior to the performances, audience members are invited to a pre-show lecture. Following each performance, cast and company members will gather for a post-show conversation with the audience. 

Enchanted Woods: Shakespeare & Song will be sung in English with projected English captions. The running time will be 2 hours, with one intermission. 

Tickets for Enchanted Woods: Shakespeare & Song are available now. For more information, and to purchase tickets, visit portlandopera.org or call Patron Services at 503-241-1802. Patrons may also contact the Opera Concierge at concierge@portlandopera.org, Monday through Friday from 10PM–5PM. 

The performance on February 4th and 11th at 2PM will include an audio description of the visual and physical events on stage for patrons who are blind or have low vision. For patrons who are deaf or hard of hearing, each performance is visually translated with English text projected above the stage.  

Portland Opera is committed to keeping artists, musicians, company members, audience members, and staff members safe. Ticketholders will receive additional instructions about how to prepare for onsite entry activities and what to expect. As COVID-19 guidance continues to change, audience members are encouraged to check our website or contact us prior to performances for the most up-to-date policies. Detailed information about Portland Opera’s COVID-19 policies can be found here. 

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