Spoleto Festival USA Announces 2015 Season: May 22–June 7

Festival General Director Nigel Redden has today announced the program for the 39th annual Spoleto Festival USA, taking place May 22 through June 7, 2015. Held in Charleston, South Carolina, the Festival includes the world premiere of the opera Paradise Interrupted composed by Huang Ruo and designed and directed by visual artist Jennifer Wen Ma, the American premiere and first performances in over 350 years of Francesco Cavalli's baroque opera Veremonda, l'amazzone di Aragona, and the first US performances of a new production of Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare's Globe directed by the company's Artistic Director Dominic Dromgoole and Tim Hoare. Tickets are available January 20 at spoletousa.org or by calling 843.579.3100. A two-week donor pre-sale begins January 6.

Featuring artists from nine countries and across the United States in over 150 performances, the Festival will also present new works by choreographers Shen Wei and Pontus Lidberg and composer Mark Applebaum. New in 2015, the American Express Woolfe Street Series held in the Woolfe Street Playhouse will include the world premiere of What Moves You, an artistic collaboration between The Wall Street Journal Magazine's 2014 Performing Arts Innovator of the Year dancer Lil Buck and cellist Ashley Bathgate.

Other highlights of the 2015 Festival include Scottish Ballet's acclaimed production of Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, performances of influential works by the Trisha Brown Dance Company and Shen Wei Dance Arts, family-friendly productions by Italy's Carlos Colla Marionette Company and Vietnam's Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre, and Spoleto Festival USA debuts by Australia's Casus Circus with its acrobatic show Knee Deep and Canada's 2b theatre company with the award-winning play When It Rains. Music highlights include Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell in concert, an outdoor concert in the College of Charleston Cistern Yard by jazz singer Dianne Reeves, and the North American debut of Argentine pianist Carlos Aguirre. The Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra will perform a concert of works by Sibelius, Barber, and Tan Dun and will also perform film scores on stage for screenings of Charlie Chaplin's City Lights and Bill Morrison's Decasia. Seven-piece soul band St. Paul & The Broken Bones will headline the Wells Fargo Festival Finale at Middleton Place on June 7.

The 17-day Festival showcasing nationally and internationally acclaimed artists in a celebration of opera, theater, dance, physical theater, and music will be opened at noon on Friday, May 22 with a ceremony at City Hall. The sixth annual Opening Night Fête featuring supper, live music, and dancing will be held at Cannon Green on Spring Street at 8:30pm.

For contributors of $100 or more, Spoleto Festival USA is offering a two-week donor pre-sale beginning January 6, providing exclusive access to tickets and premium seating for the 2015 season. Information on the donor pre-sale can be found at spoletousa.org.

On-site box office operations will again be located at the Charleston Visitor Center at 375 Meeting Street beginning Monday, March 16.

2015 EVENT CALENDAR: May 21 - June 7

21 MAY: THURSDAY
8:00pm Romeo and Juliet (preview) DST
9:00pm Musica Nuda CIS

22 MAY: FRIDAY
12:00pm Opening Ceremonies OPN
1:00pm Chamber I DST
3:00pm Sleeping Beauty ROB
6:00pm Sleeping Beauty ROB (p 23)
7:00pm A Streetcar Named Desire SOT
7:00pm Paradise Interrupted MEM
8:00pm Romeo and Juliet DST
8:30pm Opening Night Fête FET
9:00pm Musica Nuda CIS

23 MAY: SATURDAY
10:00am Behind the Garden Gate (self-guided tours until 4:00pm)
11:00am Chamber I DST
12:00pm Sleeping Beauty ROB
1:00pm Chamber I DST
2:00pm A Streetcar Named Desire SOT
3:30pm Conv | Shakespeare's Globe CLS
5:00pm Sleeping Beauty ROB
5:00pm The Lost Garden REC
7:30pm Veremonda, l'amazzone di Aragona DST
8:00pm A Streetcar Named Desire SOT
9:00pm Mônica Salmaso CIS

24 MAY: SUNDAY
11:00am Chamber II DST
12:00pm Sleeping Beauty ROB
1:00pm Chamber II DST
3:00pm A Streetcar Named Desire SOT
3:30pm Conv | Jennifer Wen Ma and Huang Ruo CLS
3:30pm Romeo and Juliet DST
5:00pm Sleeping Beauty ROB
5:00pm Westminster Choir CTL
8:00pm Paradise Interrupted MEM
8:30pm Romeo and Juliet DST
9:00pm Mônica Salmaso CIS

25 MAY: MONDAY
11:00am Chamber II DST
1:00pm Chamber III DST
1:00pm Sleeping Beauty ROB
3:30pm Romeo and Juliet DST
5:00pm Carlos Aguirre REC
5:00pm City Lights SOT
7:30pm Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell TDA
7:30pm Sleeping Beauty ROB
8:00pm Romeo and Juliet DST

26 MAY: TUESDAY
11:00am Chamber III DST
1:00pm Chamber III DST
5:00pm Carlos Aguirre REC
6:00pm Sleeping Beauty ROB
7:00pm Carlos Aguirre REC
7:30pm Veremonda, l'amazzone di Aragona DST
8:00pm Tan Dun / Barber / Sibelius SOT

27 MAY: WEDNESDAY
11:00am Chamber IV DST
1:00pm Chamber IV DST
5:00pm Carlos Aguirre REC
5:00pm Westminster Choir CTL
6:00pm Sleeping Beauty ROB
7:00pm Carlos Aguirre REC
7:30pm Romeo and Juliet DST
8:00pm Paradise Interrupted MEM
9:00pm Quarter-Tone Shredding WSP

28 MAY: THURSDAY
11:00am Chamber IV DST
1:00pm Chamber V DST
5:00pm Rita Marcotulli and Luciano Biondini REC
7:00pm Rita Marcotulli and Luciano Biondini REC
8:00pm Romeo and Juliet DST
9:00pm Double Happiness WSP
9:00pm Madeleine Peyroux CIS

29 MAY: FRIDAY
11:00am Chamber V DST
1:00pm Chamber V DST
3:30pm Romeo and Juliet DST
5:00pm Rita Marcotulli and Luciano Biondini REC
7:00pm Rita Marcotulli and Luciano Biondini REC
7:30pm What Moves You WSP
8:00pm Paradise Interrupted MEM
8:00pm Romeo and Juliet DST
8:00pm Trisha Brown Dance Company ROB
9:00pm Madeleine Peyroux CIS

30 MAY: SATURDAY
10:00am Behind the Garden Gate (self-guided tours until 4:00pm)
11:00am Chamber VI DST
1:00pm Chamber VI DST
2:00pm What Moves You WSP
3:30pm Conv | Veremonda CLS
5:00pm Lang / Carissimi SOT
5:00pm Rita Marcotulli and Luciano Biondini REC
7:00pm Rita Marcotulli and Luciano Biondini REC
8:00pm Trisha Brown Dance Company ROB
8:00pm Veremonda, l'amazzone di Aragona DST
9:00pm Dianne Reeves CIS
9:00pm What Moves You WSP

31 MAY: SUNDAY
11:00am Chamber VI DST
1:00pm Chamber VII DST
1:00pm Paradise Interrupted MEM
3:30pm Romeo and Juliet DST
3:30pm Trisha Brown Dance Company ROB
5:00pm The Book of Sounds REC
6:00pm What Moves You WSP
7:00pm Lang / Carissimi SOT
8:00pm Romeo and Juliet DST

1 JUNE: MONDAY
11:00am Chamber VII DST
1:00pm Chamber VII DST
7:30pm Romeo and Juliet DST
8:00pm Decasia SOT

2 JUNE: TUESDAY
11:00am Chamber VIII DST
1:00pm Chamber VIII DST
5:00pm The Concord Sonata REC
5:30pm Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre CIS
6:00pm Knee Deep MEM
7:30pm Veremonda, l'amazzone di Aragona DST

3 JUNE: WEDNESDAY
11:00am Chamber VIII DST
11:00am Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre CIS
1:00pm Chamber IX DST
1:00pm Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre CIS
7:00pm Knee Deep MEM
7:00pm St. Matthew Passion SOT
7:00pm When It Rains ROB
7:30pm Romeo and Juliet DST
9:00pm Taylor Mac WSP

4 JUNE: THURSDAY
11:00am Chamber IX DST
11:00am Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre CIS
1:00pm Chamber IX DST
1:00pm Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre CIS
3:30pm Romeo and Juliet DST
7:30pm When It Rains ROB
8:00pm Knee Deep MEM
8:00pm Romeo and Juliet DST
9:00pm Kate Davis CIS
9:00pm Taylor Mac WSP

5 JUNE: FRIDAY
11:00am Chamber X DST
11:00am Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre CIS
1:00pm Chamber X DST
1:00pm Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre CIS
5:00pm Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre CIS
8:00pm Shen Wei Dance Arts SOT
8:00pm Veremonda, l'amazzone di Aragona DST
8:30pm When It Rains ROB
9:00pm Knee Deep MEM
9:00pm Taylor Mac WSP

6 JUNE: SATURDAY
11:00am Chamber X DST
11:00am Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre CIS
1:00pm Chamber XI DST
1:00pm Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre CIS
2:00pm When It Rains ROB
3:30pm Conv | Shen Wei CLS
3:30pm Romeo and Juliet DST
5:00pm Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre CIS
7:00pm Knee Deep MEM
8:00pm Romeo and Juliet DST
8:00pm Shen Wei Dance Arts SOT
8:30pm When It Rains ROB
9:00pm Taylor Mac WSP

7 JUNE: SUNDAY
11:00am Chamber XI DST
11:00am Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre CIS
1:00pm Chamber XI DST
1:00pm Knee Deep MEM
1:00pm Shen Wei Dance Arts SOT
3:30pm Romeo and Juliet DST
3:30pm Festival Finale MID

VENUES
CIS College of Charleston Cistern Yard, 66 George St.
CLS Charleston Library Society, 164 King St.
CTL Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul, 126 Coming St.
CVC Charleston Visitor Center/Spoleto Festival USA Box Office, 375 Meeting St.
DST Dock Street Theatre, 135 Church St.
FET Opening Night Fête, Cannon Green, 103 Spring St.
MEM Memminger Auditorium, 56 Beaufain St.
MID Middleton Place, 4300 Ashley River Rd.
OPN Opening Ceremonies, City Hall, 80 Broad St.
REC Simons Center Recital Hall at College of Charleston, 54 St. Philip St.
ROB Emmett Robinson Theatre at College of Charleston, 54 St. Philip St.
SOT College of Charleston Sottile Theatre, 44 George St.
TDA TD Arena at College of Charleston, 301 Meeting St.
WSP Woolfe Street Playhouse, 34 Woolfe St.

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