Zémire et Azor at PS21 Center for Contemporary Performance

Berkshire Opera Festival presents the inaugural production of its Resident Artist Program: Grétry's rarely staged 18th-century French comic opera, a retelling of the Beauty and the Beast tale reimagined in the Gilded Age of America. The production is conducted by Brian Garman and directed by Mo Zhou, with soprano Ethel Trujillo as Zémire, tenor Scott Rubén La Marca as Azor, baritone Will (June Young) Kim as Sander, mezzo-soprano Christina Grohowski as Fatmé, tenor Zachary Taylor as Ali, and mezzo Abbegael Greene as Lisbé. The opera is sung in French with spoken English dialogue and projected English translations, and features the Berkshire Opera Festival Orchestra. Originally premiering in France in 1771, the work celebrates love's transformative power and the truth that real beauty lies within.