GOLDEN AGE Equity Principal Auditions - Manhattan Theatre Club Auditions

Chronicles the backstage drama at one of the most fabled first nights in operatic history – the opening of Vincenzo Bellini's new opera"I Puritani" in Paris in 1835.

---

Seeking:

Note: Though many of the characters in the play are opera singers, actors will NOT need to sing. Both non-singing and singing actors may audition. All roles may be any ethnicity.

All roles are available unless otherwise specified:

FRANCESCO FLORIMO: Mid 20s-late 30s. Bellini’s patron, and also his intimate and loyal friend. A wealthy aristocrat. A patron of the arts, but not an artist himself. At ease in the world. Cultured, even-keeled. A liberal thinker. Devoted to Bellini.

MARIA MALIBRAN. Mid 20s-40s. A dramatic soprano. Bellini’s muse. Possibly beautiful, but more than anything, unforgettable, with a strong sexual charge. Worldly. Sophisticated. Witty. Wherever she is is center stage. In possession of a truly unique and stunning voice, which is already beginning to fade. A diva to be sure, but extremely self-aware.

GIOVANNI BATTISTA RUBINI: Early 30s-mid 40s. A tenor. He has the voice and soul of a romantic hero, but not the looks. Impulsive and ardent. A romantic. In thrall to the passion and beauty of Bellini’s operas. Although not physically desirable; he makes love to women through song. Interested in seeing all body types – especially interested in men of girth.

ANTONIO TAMBURINI: Mid 30s-late 40s. A baritone. A lover of women and a successful lothario. Full of vanity and swagger, he throws his weight and opinions around, but his arrogance is tempered by his love of the music and craft. His enthusiasm makes him endearing.

GIULIA GRISI: 20s-mid 30s. A soprano. Pretty, flighty, and impulsive. She is a perfectionist, protective of her status in Bellini’s constellation of singers. Very competitive and ambitious. Craves attention and admiration. Actress should have a good comic sensibility.

LUIGI LABLACHE: Mid 30s-late 40s. A bass. Thoughtful, witty, and more intellectual than the others. Self-possessed and solid. Not given to hysterics or expressions of ego.

GIOACCHINO ROSSINI: 70s-80s. The composer. A fragile man suffering from gout. Also a great musical mind, whose career is now behind him. Wise, thoughtful, and generous. He encourages Bellini, as a fellow artist, to keep striving.

A YOUNG PAGE: A boy (8-12). Agreeable and eager to please. A child of the peasant class who is surely in awe of the opulence and outsized personalities at the opera, but dispatches his duties efficiently and seriously.

VINCENZO BELLINI (CAST. Auditioning performers will be considered as possible (emergency) replacements, should any become necessary.): 30s. The composer, in his youth. A great musical mind. Passionate, intense, restless. Quick and agile. He believes in his music, but is still full of self-doubt. A virtuoso ahead of his time, with a charisma that makes him irresistible to both men and women.