SISTER CARRIE to Premiere at Milwaukee's Marcus Center for the Performing Arts

Sister Carrie, a new American opera commissioned by Florentine Opera from the creators of Elmer Gantry, comes to Milwaukee's Marcus Center for the Performing Arts for two performances: Friday October 7 at 7:30 PM and Sunday October 9 at 2:30 PM.

The celebrated mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala (who's American premiere include The Adventures of Pinocchio and the world premieres of Doubt and The Manchurian Candidate) creates the role of Carrie, the young woman born into poverty who defies social and sexual norms to rise to stardom on the New York stage. The brilliant lyric baritone Keith Phares ("a strong contender for iconographic recognition"-- Opera News on Elmer Gantry) creates the role of Hurstwood, one of the great tragic characters of American literature: the established middle-class man who throws away his life in pursuit of Carrie. The author, Dreiser, an ardent lifelong Social Progressive, presented a view of the gulf separating the 'leisure class' from the 'working class' that was originally condemned as 'sordid.' His bleak and uncompromising depiction is still relevant today.

This World Premiere production reunites the creative team that won double GRAMMY awards for the Florentine Opera recording of Elmer Gantry*, as conductor William Boggs (The two-time Grammy Award-winning recording and Midwest premiere of Elmer Gantry 2010, Julius Caesar 2014) once again leads the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Florentine Opera Chorus. The large cast of Sister Carrie includes Milwaukee favorites soprano Alissa Jordheim (Caramoor's Dialogues of the Carmelites 2015, Florentine's Elmer Gantry 2015 and Albert Herring 2013) and tenor Matt Morgan (NYC Opera's Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Florentine's Elmer Gantry 2015). Sister Carrie will be directed by William Florescu with lighting design by Noele Stollmack, scenic design by Kris Stone, and costume design by Rachel Laritz.

*GRAMMY awards for Best Contemporary Classical Composition and Best Engineered Classical Recording