Boston Lyric Opera's THE RAKE'S PROGRESS Brings Stravinsky Back to Boston

Boston Lyric Opera's (BLO) production of The Rake's Progress, which opens March 12 for a four-performance run at Emerson/Cutler Majestic Theatre, brings to life the traditional story of a young man seduced by monetary and carnal pleasures at the hand of a devilish valet. The work hasn't been presented in a fully staged professional production since BLO produced it in 1987. A professional concert version and several conservatories have been staged, but productions in Boston are infrequent.

Allegra Libonati helms a theatrically vivid staging that follows Tom Rakewell as he abandons his simple life and his adoring Anne Trulove, strikes a deal with Nick Shadow, and embarks on a reckless pursuit of money, power, fame and pleasure. From a visit to a sordid brothel, through a grotesque marriage and a disastrously failed "start-up" venture, and into a horrifyingly high-stakes game of cards, Rakewell is coaxed by the devil and by otherworldly creatures

With an indelible Stravinsky score and a libretto by W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman, The Rake's Progress was inspired by artist William Hogarth's early 18th century series of paintings titled "A Rake's Progress." The elegant brutality of the artwork energized Stravinsky at a late 1940s exhibition of the paintings, and he finished the score in 1951 while living in Los Angeles. This production, in part, mines Stravinsky's inspiration and mindset: an embodiment of the composer appears throughout, conjuring the action and manipulating the characters' choices, both directly and through the melodic score.

"Stravinsky was an inventor, a servant to his art, and a believer in his deepest impulses," says Stage Director Allegra Libonati. "This production is, in part, a ritual enactment of an artist re-living his past, facing the entrapment of his society, and evolving into a new way of being. We witness Stravinsky riding the tumultuous waves of his dynamic inner landscape, full of terrors and desires. He must allow Tom to embark on this treacherous journey with the devil, in order to find freedom and release, through love."

Visually styled as a fever-dream collision of mid-century pop icons and gaudy Hollywood excess, and sung in English, The Rake's Progress features a lead performance by Ben Bliss, a 2016 recipient of Lincoln Center's Martin E. Segal Emerging Artist award from Metropolitan Opera, who makes his BLO debut. Kevin Burdette, acclaimed for his portrayal of Leporello in 2015's Don Giovanni, plays Nick Shadow. Anya Matanovi?, who played Violetta in BLO's 2014 La Traviata, returns as Anne Trulove. Heather Johnson, who memorably played the title role in BLO's 2013 production of Lizzie Borden, is Baba the Turk. Globally recognized dramatic soprano Jane Eaglen makes her BLO stage debut in a star turn as Mother Goose.

Former Boston Ballet principal Yury Yanowsky, who wowed audiences in BLO's 2015 production of Philip Glass' In the Penal Colony, returns as the embodiment of Stravinsky, a non-singing role. Rounding out the cast is David Cushing as Trulove, Jon Jurgens (Tristan in BLO's 2014 production of The Love Potion) as Sellem, and 2016/17 Steven and Jane Akin Emerging Artist Simon Dyer as Keeper of the Madhouse.

"I'm excited by this production of The Rake's Progress," says Esther Nelson, BLO's Stanford Calderwood General & Artistic Director. "It's a rarely performed 20th-century classic featuring a strong Stravinsky score, and Auden and Kallman's libretto in full. I couldn't be more pleased we're bringing Rake's back to Boston and BLO with such an enormously talented cast."

The Rake's Progress is conducted by David Angus with a 39-piece orchestra. Set design is by Julia Noulin-Mérat who received acclaim for BLO's recent productions of In the Penal Colony and La Traviata. Costume co-designers John Conklin (also dramaturg) and Neil Fortin give the characters an old-Hollywood feel with a twist. Lighting design is by Mark Stanley, wig and makeup design is by Jason Allen, magic design is by Christopher Rose, and Yury Yanowsky, in addition to his role as Stravinsky, provides movement direction. English surtitles are designed by Allison Voth.

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

Boston Lyric Opera's production of The Rake's Progress runs Sun. March 12, Wed. March 15, Fri. March 17 and Sun. March 19 at the Emerson/Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont Street., Boston, with the two evening performances at 7:30 p.m. and two Sunday matinees at 3:00 p.m.

Tickets are $25-$175 and are available online at blo.org, by phone at 617.542.6772, and in-person at the Boston Lyric Opera administrative offices, located at 11 Avenue de Lafayette, 4th Floor, in Boston. The Box Office is open Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Sunday 12 noon to 4 p.m. Group and student tickets are available through BLO Audience Services at 617.542.6772 or boxoffice@blo.org.

Pre-performance talks are given one hour before each performance and are free to all ticket holders.

Spring subscriptions for The Rake's Progress and The Marriage of Figaro are available through blo.org/tickets, or by contacting BLO Audience Services at 617.542.6772 or boxoffice@blo.org.

RELATED PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES

Several fun and educational programs related to this production of The Rake's Progress are planned around the city. For more information, visit blo.org.

Tuesday, February 7 • 6pm

Stravinsky: A Life in Progress

Boston Public Library Central Branch, Rabb Hall

Free and open to the public

Igor Stravinsky's epic life and innovative works took him from Russia to France, Hollywood, and even Boston as he helped define - and redefine - music in the 20th century. Two renowned guest speakers - Tod Machover, Boston-based composer and co-founding member of the MIT Media Lab, and Joseph Auner, Stravinsky and music history scholar at Tufts University - survey Stravinsky life from his youthful innovations to the neoclassical period that culminated in his witty, classic opera The Rake's Progress, to the musical experimentation that defined his later years, illuminated with live selections by BLO artists.

Sunday, February 12 • 2pm

Hogarth and Handel: High Art and Low Life in London

Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Remis Auditorium

$16 members and BLO subscribers / $20 Nonmembers

From Gin Lane to Covent Garden, 18th-century London reveled in both the enticing extravagances of the opera house and the bawdy follies of the streets. Boston Lyric Opera artists create a theatrical evocation of this world, told through the visual and verbal wit of William Hogarth, Thomas Rowlandson, and Alexander Pope, and set to the music of George Frideric Handel and two iconic 20th-century composers, Kurt Weill and Igor Stravinsky, who were drawn to this era. Inspired by the March 2017 BLO production of The Rake's Progress, this afternoon of savage satire and elegant beauty features a cast of dueling divas, enterprising harlots, conniving impresarios, and scandalous heroes.