Opera Delaware's new season is right around the corner.
Two large, late-Romantic operas anchor the line-up - Puccini’s Tosca in October and Giordano’s Andrea Chénier in May. Opera Delaware’s Kerriann Otaño says those two works fit well into the theme of “passion in the face of power.”
“And that's what we see in Tosca and Andrea Chenier. We see these artists who have backbones of steel, who are fearless in the face of fascism, in the face of authoritarianism," she says.
Otaño says the role of artists as political resisters and revolutionaries was in the minds of OperaDelaware staff as they planned the season.
“I just cannot stress enough how much this music will stir and move you and empower you and make you feel like ‘I want to be a part of something,’” she says.
Balancing out Tosca and Andrea Chénier are several more modern works, including Service Provider, a short comic opera where cell phones play a central role.
“It's a married couple out at a restaurant for their anniversary and the husband's mistress shows up," Otaño says. "And text messages are going, and you're hearing the different, the different ringtones and stuff. So that is a character in the show.”
And the opera will introduce “Opera Deathmatch,” where performers will sing some of the most confrontational arias in a boxing ring, with commentary from former boxing champ Dave Tiberi and Otaño.
OperaDelaware’s new season opens on September 12 with “Puccini Portraits,” featuring music from Tosca, Madame Butterfly, and other selections.
For more on OperaDelaware visit their website.
Delaware Public Media's arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
