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Opera Through the Ages

St. Pete Opera celebrates opera through the ages in this 50-minute program featuring three voice types (soprano, mezzo and tenor). Performing pieces featured in Art of the Stage: Picasso to Hockney, Opera Through The Ages spans nearly 200 years of opera, touching upon themes and styles beloved by audiences around the world.

Beginning in the mid-1700s with two outstanding selections from Gluck (Alceste and Orfeo ed Euridice), the program moves on to The Tales of Hoffman, a perennial that has survived the death of the composer, who perished with the nearly finished manuscript in his hand, a gas explosion in 1881 and a fire at the Opéra-Comique in 1887, which destroyed the orchestral parts. Despite the production’s tenuous start, it remained in the Opera Comique repertoire from 1911 until WWII, receiving 700 performances, and is regularly revived today.

Moving on to explore the role of the Harlequin in opera through selections from Pagliacci and Ariadne auf Naxos, the program then wends its way into a decidedly modern opera, Virgil Thompson’s celebratory, suffrage-infused Mother of Us All.

We’re sure you’ll enjoy this operatic journey with The Museum of Fine Arts and the St. Pete Opera.

The performance will feature Taylor-Alexis Dupont, mezzo soprano; Christopher Romeo, tenor; Susan Hellman Spatafora, soprano; and Teresa Ancaya, piano. Taylor-Alexis DuPont, who will perform with the Metropolitan Opera this season in Porgy and Bess, appeared in St. Petersburg Opera Company’s spring production of Suor Angelica, and had the title role in the family opera Pinocchio in November. Chris Romeo has his Masters in Vocal Performance from the University of South Florida and is a regular performer with St. Petersburg Opera Company, most recently seen in Rigoletto and Holiday Sparkle. Susan Hellman Spatafora is known for her winning interpretations of Puccini’s soprano heroines and “youthful freshness combined with an ardent sense of phrasing and a thrilling top register”. Teresa Ancaya holds a Master of Music degree in piano performance from the University of South Florida and was a soloist with The Florida Orchestra and Imperial Symphony Orchestra.

 

Free with museum admission


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Event Details


Date
March 7, 2020

Time
2–3 pm

Event Categories

Location
Hazel Hough Wing: Museum of Fine Arts

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