FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Ashley Mirakian
Chief of Marketing and Audience Development
(239) 207-8323
amirakian@atlantaopera.org
THE ATLANTA OPERA LAUNCHES BIG
TENT SERIES OF
IMAGINATIVE, IMMERSIVE OPERAS FOR 2020-21
ATLANTA – Sept. 1, 2020 – The Atlanta Opera has rolled out an imaginative new season beginning in the fall of 2020 along with an innovative new open-air venue to create a season of exceptional music and storytelling while prioritizing the health and safety of its audiences, performers and backstage personnel.
Drawing on the successful experimentation of the company’s critically acclaimed Discoveries series of smaller, seldom seen works performed in exciting venues, along with the company’s charge to “Reimagine Opera,” Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun has built a season that pairs well-known chamber operas with more experimental and often satirically-biting choices.
In response to the pandemic and limits on large gatherings, the company has moved the previously announced 2020-21 season, including the 2020 Puccini Festival, in its entirety to 2021-22.
“I believe that crisis reveals character and provides opportunities for change,” Zvulun said. “This pandemic has devastated so many lives and businesses. But it has also been a major catalyst in accelerating our shift to a business model that we have been discussing for years: creating a company of players, performing in non-traditional spaces and developing our video and streaming capabilities.”
The reimagined 2020-21 season, and the Big Tent Series, will include six productions overall and opens in October with Leoncavallo’s iconic Pagliacci performed in repertory with the biting satire of The Kaiser of Atlantis. Each production will have nine performances, alternating nightly, for a total of 18 performances. Both productions will be performed at Oglethorpe University, on historic Anderson Field in Hermance Stadium, beginning Oct. 22 and closing on Nov. 14.
The remaining four productions, scheduled for the early and late spring, will be announced at a later date.
The cast for each production will include members of the Atlanta Opera Company Players, a new ensemble of world-class talent hired for the duration of the season, all of whom live in the Atlanta metro area and the Southeast.
Turning on the fatal jealousies within a travelling troupe of commedia dell’arte performers, Pagliacci features one of the greatest tenor arias of all time, “Vesti la giubba.” Baritone Reginald Smith, Jr., praised by Opera News as “one of the most exciting baritone sounds to come along in years” will sing the role of Tonio. Singing the role of Nedda is soprano Talise Trevigne, who wowed audiences as Bess in Porgy & Bess in March.
The Kaiser of Atlantis, by Viktor Ullmann with a libretto by Peter Kien, was initially written while they were imprisoned at Theresienstadt during World War II. Recognizing it as a satire on Adolf Hitler, Nazi authorities prohibited performances and the manuscripts were shelved until 1975, when they were rediscovered and given a world premiere. Baritone Michael Mayes, well known to Atlanta audiences most recently as Joseph de Rocher in Dead Man Walking, will sing the role of Emperor Overall. As his rival, Death, bass Kevin Burdette brings his mellifluous voice and strong dramatic characterizations back to The Atlanta Opera.
In addition to the live performances, the shows will be directed for film by the team of Ryan McKinny, Felipe Barral and Zvulun.
The Big Tent series will be performed in a custom-made tent without walls, allowing fresh air to wash through the venue at all times while still providing audiences with protection from the weather. The venue will have capacity for up to 240 audience members. Mobile and flexible, the new venue will become a part of the immersive experience designed to draw audiences into the performances.
“It’s not a coincidence that we chose a circus tent in an open field as our performance environment this season,” Zvulun said. “Beyond the practical reasons of safety, mobility, and scale, the circus represents a certain grit, a certain perseverance. At present, artists have been thrown into the most frightening, unexpected eras in our lifetime and by choosing to perform, while maintaining safety and social distancing, we are saying something about our community: Atlanta needs art, Atlanta needs live performance. This community, these artists are nimble enough, creative enough, gritty enough to find a way.”
Inside the venue, audience members will be seated in physically distanced ‘circle pods’ large enough to accommodate up to four seats. Premium Pods include four seats and a table while Chair Pods include four seats.
To protect the health and safety of all, each of the productions relies on small casts and reduced orchestrations – usually fewer than eight singers and a dozen orchestra members – and none run longer than two hours. To help enforce social distancing before and during productions, audiences will have staggered entry times, and there will be no intermissions. Customer interactions will be touchless and masks will be required of audience members at all times.
Safety protocols and procedures were developed by a Health & Safety Advisory Task Force of epidemiologists, public health specialists, and doctors assembled to advise the company on its health and safety protocols. The task force membership includes Dr. Carlos del Rio, Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Emory University, and John Haupert, president and CEO of Atlanta’s Grady Health System and Vice Chair of Georgia’s Department of Public Health.
Tickets for the fall productions will go on sale at 10 am, September 9 and can be purchased online at atlantaopera.org or by calling 404-881-8885. Per Circle Pod pricing includes seating for up to four people, with ticket prices starting at $149 per pod. Availability is limited due to capacity constraints and social distancing requirements.
The opera has also announced that all six productions will be captured digitally with intent to create and share films of the performances with broader audiences. Digital subscriptions that include all six productions and exclusive behind the scenes content will be available for $99 for the year ($50 for current Atlanta Opera subscribers).
The Atlanta Opera’s Big Tent Series – Fall Productions
Pagliacci (new production)
Music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo
Oct 22, 24, 28, 30; Nov 1, 5, 7, 11 & 13,
all at 7:30pm
Approximately
75 minutes
Sung in
Italian with English supertitles
Director: Tomer Zvulun
Conductor: Rolando Salazar
Tonio: Reginald Smith Jr.
Canio: Richard Trey Smagur
Nedda: Talise Trevigne
Silvio: Joseph Lattanzi
Beppe: Megan Marino
The creative team for Pagliacci features Julia Noulin-Merat (Set Designer), Ben Rawson (Lighting Designer), Joanna Schmink (Costume Designer), Jon Summers (Sound Designer) and Erin Teachman (Projection Designer).
The Kaiser of Atlantis (new production)
Music by Viktor Ullmann and libretto by Peter
Kien
Oct 23, 25, 29, 31; Nov 4, 6, 8, 12 & 14,
all at 7:30pm
Approximately 60 minutes
Sung in
German with English supertitles
Director: Tomer Zvulun
Conductor: Clinton Smith
Emperor Overall: Michael Mayes
Death: Kevin Burdette
Harlequin: Alek Shrader
The Drummer: Daniela Mack
The Girl: Jasmine Habersham
The Loudspeaker: Calvin Griffin
A Soldier: Brian Vu
The creative team for The Kaiser of Atlantis features Julia Noulin-Merat
(Set Designer), Ben Rawson (Lighting Designer), Joanna Schmink (Costume
Designer), Jon Summers (Sound Designer) and Erin Teachman (Projection
Designer).
