Utah Opera to Conclude Season at Capitol Theater with THE ABDUCTION FROM THE SERAGLIO, 5/10-18

Unstoppable love and daring schemes await at the Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre from May 10 to 18, 2014 as the Utah Opera performs Mozart's The Abduction from the Seraglio, a tale of a missing damsel and a dashing nobleman who attempts to save her.

Belmonte, the hero, goes in search of his betrothed, Konstanze, only to discover that she and her handmaiden, Blonde, have been kidnapped by Turkish pirates. Belmonte has no choice but to go after his beloved. With the help of his servant Pedrillo who is also Blonde's fiancé, Belmonte must do all he can to save the women from the unwanted and determined advances of the Pasha Selim and his servant Osmin.

Will the dashing nobleman be successful in his rescue attempt? Or will the true lovers die in the attempt?

This opera ends the regular season on a lighter note that tops off the dramatic productions of La Traviata and Turandot. While working on this piece, Mozart wrote to his father, "Why are Italian comic operas popular everywhere - in spite of the miserable libretti? ... Because the music reigns supreme, and when one listens to it, all else is forgotten. An opera is sure of success when the plot is well worked out, the words written solely for the music and not shoved in here and there to suit some miserable rhyme."

This opera is a prime of example of Mozart's philosophy of words that match the music. Abduction is known for its music and its challenging arias, including one that requires the bass performing the role of Osmin to hit a D2, the lowest note ever demanded of an opera singer in a production. It has been reported that Mozart knew who the singers were going to be when he wrote the opera, and composed each aria to play to their unique strengths. Artistic Director Christopher McBeth, who appears in his Utah Opera debut speaking role of Pasha Selim, says that the work is an example of the concept of "art concealing art. Take a closer listen to this music and a closer look at the drama and this concept becomes immediately evident."

Celena Shafer, a Utah native, will be leading the opera in the role of the damsel Konstanze. Her last performances with the Utah Opera were in "Fatal Song" and "The Barber of Seville". The New York Times said of Shafer, "The soprano Celena Shafer was brilliant...singing with bright, focused sound and utter confidence."

Her knight in shining armor, Belmonte, will be portrayed by Andrew Stenson, one of the most popular young opera singers in the country. Of his rise to fame, the Metro Pulse said, "Stenson has both power and a lyrical clarity in his upper range, as well as an abundance of stage energy, natural enthusiasm, and affable charm-qualities that are getting him noticed in big opera houses around the country." He last performed with Seattle Opera as Tonio in La fille du regiment, and has been praised for his ability to convey emotion in every part he plays.

Also in the cast are Utah Opera Resident Artists Amy Owens and Tyson Miller, who play the servants Blonde and Pedrillo, respectively. Gustav Andreassen stars in the role of Osmin. Of Andreassen's performance in this role, Canada's The Globe and Mail said: "Gustav Andreassen portrayed the comically demonic character of Osmin, the Pasha's harem overseer, with great verve, singing a surprisingly difficult part with conviction."

Rounding out the main cast is Utah Opera's very own Artistic Director Christopher McBeth, who dons a costume for his onstage debut in a Utah Opera production since joining the company in 2000, playing the devilish and yet enlightened ruler, Pasha Selim. "I find it fascinating that The Abduction from the Seraglio can be overshadowed by some of Mozart's other operas," McBeth says. "The music is exquisitely written and the vocal writing is deceivingly difficult, demanding more virtuosic singing than most of the other more popular Mozart titles."

The stage will come alive with the music from the orchestra, the voices of the performers, and the bright costumes and elaborate staging. Under the direction of designer Jacob Climer, the Utah Opera Costume Department has created more than 40 new costumes for this performance from scratch, and the USUO Production Studios are hard at work constructing three brand new sets that will transport you to the palace of the Ottoman Empire.