Guild Opera Company to Present IL TABARRO & SUOR ANGELICA First Weekend In February

Guild Opera Company will present a double bill of two of Puccini's one act masterpieces: The touching and enthralling Suor Angelica and the rarely performed Il Tabarro.

The performances will take place Friday and Saturday, February 2nd and 3rd at River of the Valley church in Canoga Park at 7:30 pm.

Guild Opera Company has assembled two wonderful casts for these two one-act gems. Directed by Gabriel Reoyo-Pazos with musical directors and pianists Dr. Robert Chauls and Helen Wu.

Both operas will be sung in Italian with English titles.

Il Tabarro (The Cloak) features intense dramatic progression and a somber atmosphere. The main characters deal with their frustrations and unfulfilled desires for a better life which are in conflict with one another. Set in early 20th century Paris, Il Tabarro features a husband, wife and lover. Giorgetta is unhappy with her husband Michele, the captain. He suspects her of betraying him with the young Luigi, a barge hand. There are picturesque and realistic elements which serve as backdrop to a confrontation of passion and a tragic conclusion. Set to a score with power and daring, Puccini transports us to a gritty and unsparing Paris. The realism of the story and the blending of the musical themes are both enchanting and stunning.

Our Il Tabarro cast includes Carlos Oliva as Michele, Yunjeong Choi as Giorgetta, Elias Berezin as Luigi, Emesh Wijewardena as Tinca, Tiffany Carmel as Frugula, Haocheng Sun as Talpa, Christiaan Westerkamp as the Song Salesman, Veronica Robinson and Matthew Morton as the Young Lovers, with stevedores Wyatt Domine, Seth Freed, Adam Oler, and Alexei Helmbock.

Puccini wrote of Suor Angelica, "We have to find a story that holds us with its poetry, its love and suffering, and inspires us to the point that we can get an opera out of it." Puccini wrote this in a letter to one of his librettists. Giovacchino Forzano proposed the subject of Suor Angelica to Puccini. The composer fell in love with the project. Puccini's sister, a nun, took direct inspiration from the atmosphere of the convent, where he visited her regularly. Puccini heard of the dramatic circumstances of a young woman forced to take the veil because of a relationship which produced an illegitimate son. Suor Angelica features only female characters. Male voices embellish the chorus at the end of the opera. It is a story of loneliness, death and intense emotion. The beautiful score depicts the harsh dialogue between Angelica and her aunt, the cruel princess who has come to announce the death of the baby that was torn from Angelica's arms.

Our Suor Angelica cast includes Emma Berggren as Suor Angelica, Teresa Hughes Oliva as the Principessa, Lily Berthold as Sister Genevieve, Claudia Sobol as The Abbess, Abigail Hernandez as The Monitor, Rachel Mellman as Mistress of Novices, Veronica Robinson as Suor Osmina, Jessica Berns-Garner as Suor Dolcina, Leilah Telon as Sister Nurse, Megan Shoaf and Lillian Glascott as Sisters Cercatrices and Laura Barrows as Laysister, with Adam Oler, Alexei Helmbock, Matthew Morton, Seth Freed, Wyatt Domine, Haocheng Sun and Emesh Wijewardena.

LEARN MORE ABOUT GUILD OPERA COMPANY

PROGRAM INFORMATION:

Il tabarro / Suor Angelica

Friday, February 2, 2024 at 7:30 PM

Saturday, February 3, 2024 at 7:30 PM

River of the Valley

22103 Vanowen St. Canoga Park, 91303

Tickets:

$30 General

$25 Senior & Students

Children 12 and under FREE

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