Modern Interpretation Of Menotti's THE TELEPHONE to Feature at KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival

Menotti's opera comedy The Telephone will be presented at the 2019 KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival (Tuesday, Sept. 10 - Saturday, Sept. 21) on Friday, September 20th at 10PM at MuCCC (142 Atlantic Ave Rochester, NY 14607). Tickets are $15 at rochesterfringe.com, where more information is also available. Remaining tickets will be available at the door starting one hour before curtain.

The Telephone explores an unusual "love triangle" between Lucy, Ben and the pesky, interruptive smartphone. This charming opera was originally written in 1947 by Gian Carlo Menotti. Our performance takes place in the present day and tackles today's epidemic of impersonal interaction. Lucy is your everyday thirty-something millennial, who spends every waking moment glued to her smartphone. Her partner, Ben, is a no-frills, guy, with one goal: propose to Lucy before departing on a business trip. However, he is struggling for Lucy's attention, who keeps receiving texts/tweets/calls. Throughout the performance, the audience will be able to interact with Lucy LIVE while the story is unfolding on stage using the twitter handle: @LUCYlovesBen4ev. This interpretation is a "no-holds-barred" experience that your average opera audience has never seen. This debut performance will help make opera accessible to all ages. The Telephone stars: soprano, Kerri Lynn Slominski as Lucy, baritone Marc Falco as Ben and pianist, Alex Kuczynski.

This performance comes from Slominski's vision, who is also producing the production. She states, "Menotti wrote The Telephone as a cautionary romantic comedy hoping to illustrate the importance of face-to-face communication and the potential dangers the telephone could bring to a relationship. As a prolific composer, Menotti strived to bring opera to smaller venues, television and radio. I wanted to modernize his story by setting it in our present day utilizing the everyday real time technology we live with." She wants the audience to tweet to the character, Lucy LIVE while the performance is occurring before their eyes. "It may be a challenge. I am pretty sure this endeavor has never been attempted before in opera. It will definitely be a social experiment, but one that I believe Menotti himself would approve of!"

More about Fringe: Since its debut in 2012, the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival has become one of the most successful fringe festivals in the U.S., attracting more than 78,000 attendees in 2018. Now a 12-day event, this multi-genre arts festival boasts over 550 performances and events - more than 150 of which are free - in 20+ venues in downtown Rochester, NY. Celebrating and inspiring creativity, the Fringe - which is partially curated by the non-profit festival and partially by festival venues - includes everything from theatre, music, comedy and dance, to children's entertainment, spoken word, visual arts, film and much more. Please visit rochesterfringe.com for a complete schedule, tickets and more information.

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