April 13 – April 22, 2012
at Artisphere in Arlington
Check out our fantastic write-up in the Washington Post! “Short, sexy and relevant operas at UrbanArias”
Our April Festival presents TWO new productions, including a World Premiere!
Our First Production:
POSITIONS 1956, by Conrad Cummings and Michael Korie
A World Premiere, and UrbanArias’ first commission.
Positions 1956 is a “self-help” opera in three parts, each one based on manuals, films, and other media from the 1950s.
Part 1: The Marriage Manual. The newly married Bride and Husband negotiate their sex lives with the aid of a helpful marital guide.
Part 2: The Fitness Manual. The Instructor helps the Husband achieve true Masculinity through improving his Physique.
Part 3: The Ballroom Dancing Manual. The Instructor teaches the Bride and the Husband, now married for a few years, to explore new territory in their relationship through Social Dancing.
Michael Korie was the librettist for Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath and Stewart Wallace’s Harvey Milk, and was nominated for a Tony Award as lyricist for the musical Grey Gardens. Conrad Cummings is a much-honored and prolific composer; among his operas are Photo-Op and the new work Golden Gate. Korie and Cummings teamed up in the 1980s to write the first part of Positions 1956, which has been performed in concert many times in New York City, but never staged. UrbanArias has commissioned them to complete their vision of a three-part instructional opera, and we are delighted to present the World Premiere of this witty and heartfelt piece in April.
Our production stars three incredible singers: Jesse Blumberg, who created the role of Connie in the Minesota Opera’s premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath; Vale Rideout, who appeared last spring at Wolf Trap in the leading role of The Inspector; and Amedee Moore, who made such an impression on our audiences at Artisphere and the Harman Center this fall.
April 13 at 8 p.m., April 15 at 2 p.m., April 17 at 8 p.m., April 19 at 8 p.m., April 21 at 7 p.m. and April 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Our Second Production – A Double Bill:
BEFORE BREAKFAST, by Thomas Pasatieri
and Frank Corsaro
and
THE FILTHY HABIT, by Peter Hilliard and Matt Boresi
UrbanArias presents the darker and lighter sides of unmet expectations in a relationship . . . with a side of booze and cigarettes.
In Before Breakfast, a lonely alcoholic addresses her off-stage husband while she prepares breakfast, and in so doing we learn of the dreams she envisioned for her life, and the disappointments that ultimately filled it. Premiered by Marilyn Zschau at New York City Opera, Before Breakfast was revised in 2007 in a production starring Lauren Flanigan.
UrbanArias’ production marks the triumphant return of Caroline Worra, whose stunning portrayal of Alyce Thompson in Glory Denied was a highlight of our 2011 Festival.
The Filthy Habit tells the story of Susan and Gil, newlyweds who struggle with Mayor Bloomberg’s new smoking ban in 2003. An update of Wolf-Ferrari’s Il segreto di Susanna, The Filthy Habit is a hilarious look at our modern attitudes toward smoking, and the pariahs we have unwittingly created. The Filthy Habit was originally created as a companion piece for Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti; UrbanArias will be the first company to perform the piece with orchestra.
Our cast includes UrbanArias favorite Ethan Watermeier, and Jennifer Aylmer, who will appear at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis this summer as Despina.
April 14 at 7 p.m., April 15 at 7:30 p.m., April 18 at 8 p.m., April 20 at 8 p.m. and April 22 at 2 p.m.
