One-act operas by Barber, Moore & Menotti to be presented in the style of a live radio program
AMHERST (Mass.) – The UMass Opera program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Department of Music and Dance is pleased to present their annual performances on Saturday, February 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, February 11 at 3 p.m. in Bowker Auditorium.
Opera on the Air! weaves three mid-20th century American one-act operas into a single presentation by the top students from the UMass voice studio. The centerpiece of this year’s program is Gian Carlo Menotti’s charming The Old Maid and the Thief, which was originally written for the radio. This year’s production utilizes that radio motif, in that all of action in both performances takes place in and around the sound stage of a live radio broadcast.
The production opens with Samuel Barber’s A Hand of Bridge, one of the shortest operas ever written at roughly 10 minutes in length. In the aftermath, the Bowker Auditorium audience is magically transformed into a radio studio audience enjoying the hustle and bustle of a live broadcast. Next comes Menotti’s Old Maid, which follows the antics of a lady and her vivacious young maid as they try and navigate the unexpected arrival of a handsome and mysterious stranger to their town. The evening concludes with Douglas Moore’s Gallantry: A Soap Opera, a spoof of a zany operating room love triangle presented as a radio dramedy. Organizers of this year’s production are voice professors Jamie Rose-Guarrine, William Hite, and Marjorie Melnick.
Tickets are $25 for the general public and $20 for seniors; students and children 17 and under are free. Tickets may be purchased at the Fine Arts Center Box Office, by phone at 413-545-2511, or online at www.fineartscenter.com/musicanddance.
Free and secure parking is available in the nearby Campus Center Garage, located on Campus Center Way. Visit the Fine Arts Center website for more information or refer to the UMass interactive parking map.
About the UMass Amherst Department of Music & Dance
Founded in 1938, the University of Massachusetts Amherst Department of Music and Dance is one of the largest and most respected of its kind in New England, offering students conservatory-quality training in the diverse and dynamic setting of a public research university. For more information, please visit www.umass.edu/music.
The Music and Dance Department is part of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, UMass Amherst.