Drawing by Thomas Thorspecken
Florida Opera Theatre presents its debut opera production, The Medium, by Gian Carlo Menotti, featuring internationally acclaimed soprano Susan Neves in two performances: 7:30 p.m., Saturday, December 3, and 2:30 p.m., Sunday December 4 at The Black Box Theatre of the Orlando Repertory Theatre.
The Medium is a one-hour, two-act opera selected in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Italian-American composer Menotti (July 7, 1911 to February 1, 2007).
“This is our first season producing opera,” said Florida Opera Theatre President Judy Lee. “Our original timetable had opera production on the schedule for year five, but we have received wonderful support and have been lucky enough to secure the help of some very talented people.”
Susan Neves
“The Medium is an intense musical drama,” McClain said. “We have assembled an amazing cast with Susan Neves and some of Central Florida’s very best home talent. It is a simple story with enormous psychological overtones and for maximum effect the production will be presented in an intimate environment.”
McClain’s opera directing credits include the Orlando Philharmonic production of La Bohème; The Merry Widow for Opera Tampa; Don Pasquale for Vero Beach Opera; and for Orlando Opera: Il Trovatore, L’Elisir d’Emore, Candide, Le Nozze di Figaro.
Florida Opera Theatre is a Central Florida professional opera company dedicated to producing quality opera performances. The organization is comprised of directors, musicians, performers and individuals who have supported opera growth, education and outreach in communities throughout the state for many years.
The Medium was first produced in 1946 at Columbia University and later had more than 100 performances on Broadway. The story is set amid the devastation of post-war Europe and Neves performs in the lead role as psychic medium Madame Flora who becomes the victim of the voices she conjures during one of her fraudulent séances.
Neves in Turandot
Neves has performed in the Opera Bastille in Paris, the Metropolitan Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, L’Arena di Verona, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona and many others.
Neves’ spring performance as the lead in the Pittsburgh Opera’s production of Turandot was described as a “soprano voice that pierced through the clamor with laser-like precision,” by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“Susan has appeared numerous times at the Metropolitan Opera and all over the world,” Lee said. “Her parents live in Orlando and she has been extremely generous to us with her time. We’re still pinching ourselves to be sure we actually have Susan Neves as Madame Flora in our production.”
Menotti was a librettist who composed a classic Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, but also wrote two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular tastes. He won the Pulitzer Prize for two: The Consul (1950) and The Saint of Bleecker Street (1955).
The Medium, Menotti’s first international success and features arias including “Monica’s Waltz,” “The Black Swan,” and “Afraid, Am I Afraid?”
For further information contact: FLOperaTheatre@gmail.com or 407-718-4365.
The Cast:
Madame Flora “Baba” Susan Neves
Monica Shannon Jennings
Toby David Grindrod
Mrs. Gobineau Samantha Barnes
Mr. Gobineau Brent Reilly Turner
Mrs. Nolan Johanna Nordham
Director Frank McClain
Music Director and Pianist Robin Stamper
Set Design, Costumes, Props Master Bobbie Demme-San Filippo
The next Florida Opera Theatre production will be The Barber of Seville at the end of January 2012. There will be one performance in Orlando, two in St. Augustine for First Coast Opera, and one in Vero Beach. Further information will be on FLOperaTheatre.org
What: Menotti’s The Medium
When: 7:30 p.m., Saturday, December 3, 2011
2:30 p.m., Sunday, December 4, 2011
Where: The Black Box Theatre in
The Orlando Repertory Theatre
Tickets: www.FLOperaTheatre.org
407-718-4365
