Der ferne Klang Opens At Bard SummerScape 2010, 7/30

The eighth annual Bard SummerScape's opera presentation, Franz Schreker's The Distant Sound ("Der ferne Klang," 1910), though familiar in Europe, has never yet - in the century since its composition - been fully staged in North America. Schreker, whose music synthesized elements from Romanticism to expressionism, was hailed early in his career as the most significant musical dramatist since Wagner, and The Distant Sound is a key work of Viennese modernism. Thaddeus Strassberger, visionary director of last season's lavishly praised Huguenots presentation and winner of the 2005 European Opera Directing Prize, returns to direct the landmark production, with set designs by Narelle Sissons, whose credits include Babes in Toyland at Lincoln Center (2008), and costume design by Mattie Ullrich, who created the costumes for SummerScape's productions of The Sorcerer (2007) and Les Huguenots (2009). Tenor Mathias Schulz, a Pavarotti International Voice Competition finalist, stars as Fritz, and soprano Yamina Maamar plays Grete, in which role the New York Times described her performance as a "triumph." The Distant Sound's four performances (July 30, August 1, 4, & 6) feature the festival's resident American Symphony Orchestra under music director Leon Botstein, who gives a free Opera Talk before the August 1 performance.

Bard offsets this gravitas with an authentic taste of Vienna's lighter side, offering nine performances of Oscar Straus's charming operetta The Chocolate Soldier (1908), based on George Bernard Shaw's play Arms and the Man. An international success, The Chocolate Soldier was the hit of the 1909 Broadway season, while its London premiere ran for 500 performances. Directing the new production is award-winning director and choreographer Will Pomerantz, with sets and costumes by Carol Bailey, who previously collaborated with Pomerantz on Of Thee I Sing at SummerScape 2008. Leading a first-rate cast, Lynne Abeles, praised by the New York Times for her "standout" performance in DiCapo Opera Theatre's Emmeline, will star opposite baritone Andrew Wilkowske, whose recent Papageno for Virginia Opera "stole the show" (Washington Post). The production will be conducted by James Bagwell, Bard Music Festival's Director of Choruses since 2003, who inspired glowing praise when he led SummerScape 2005's production of The Tender Land. Opening for the first of nine performances on August 5, the new production will be sung in English (Aug 5-15). Before the performance on August 8, Bagwell, who also serves as Music Director of The Collegiate Chorale, will give an Opera Talk.

Opera and operetta at Bard SummerScape 2010

Franz Schreker (1878-1934)
The Distant Sound (Der ferne Klang, 1910)
Libretto: Franz Schreker
American Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Leon Botstein, music director
Directed by Thaddeus Strassberger
Grete: Yamina Maamar
Fritz: Mathias Schulz
Old Grauman: Peter Van Derick
Grauman's wife: Susan Marie Pierson
Innkeeper: Matthew Burns
Actor: Jeff Mattsey
Dr. Vigelius: Marc Embree
The Count: Corey McKern
The Chevalier: Jud Perry
Sosnoff Theater
July 30 and August 6 at 7 pm
August 1 and 4 at 3 pm
Tickets: $25, $55, $75

Opera Talk with Leon Botstein
August 1 at 1 pm
Free and open to the public
Oscar Straus (1870-1954)
The Chocolate Soldier (1908)
Libretto: R. Bernauer and L. Jacobson; English libretto: Stanislaus Stange
Conducted by James Bagwell
Directed by Will Pomerantz
Nadina: Lynne Abeles
Bummerli: Andrew Wilkowske
Alexis: Glenn Seven Allen
Masha: Camille Zamora
Aurelia: Madeleine Gray
Massakroff: Jason Switzer
Theater Two
August 5-7 and 12-14 at 8 pm
August 8, 11, and 15 at 3 pm
Tickets: $45

Opera Talk with James Bagwell
August 8 at 1 pm
Free and open to the public

SummerScape 2010: key remaining performance dates by genre

MUSIC
Bard Music Festival, Weekend One: "Berg and His World: Berg and Vienna" (August 13-15)
Bard Music Festival, Weekend Two: "Berg and His World: Berg the European" (August 20-22)

OPERA
Franz Schreker: The Distant Sound (Der ferne Klang)
Sosnoff Theater
July 30 and August 6 at 7 pm
August 1 and 4 at 3 pm
Tickets: $25, $55, $75

CHAMBER OPERA
Oscar Straus: The Chocolate Soldier
Theater Two
August 5-7 and 12-14 at 8 pm
August 8, 11, and 15 at 3 pm
Tickets: $45

FILM FESTIVAL
"The Best of G. W. Pabst"
Thursdays and Sundays, July 15-August 19 at 7 pm
Ottaway Film Center
Tickets: $8

SPIEGELTENT
Cabaret, Family Fare, and SpiegelClub
Cabaret $25; Family Fare $15 ($5 for child under 18); SpiegelClub $5

Bard SummerScape ticket information

The Bard SummerScape Festival is made possible through the generous support of the Advisory Boards of the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts and the Bard Music Festival, and the Friends of the Fisher Center.

For tickets and further information on all SummerScape events, call the Fisher Center box office at 845-758-7900 or visit www.fishercenter.bard.edu.

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