Pepperdine Opera Program Presents Special Double Billing

Members of the Flora L. Thornton Opera Program will perform a double bill of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas and Puccini's Gianni Schicchi at Pepperdine University's Smothers Theatre on Thursday, February 27 and Saturday, February 29, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. at the Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts.

Tickets, starting at $20 for adults, $16 for Pepperdine faculty and staff, and $10 for full-time Pepperdine students, are available now by calling (310) 506-4522 or visiting arts.pepperdine.edu.

The Flora Thorton Opera Program showcases its depth and versatility in this double bill. Both operas feature memorable arias such as "When I am laid in earth" and the iconic "O mio babbino caro." While the styles of these two works are starkly different, both deal with themes of love, death, and personal agency.

Pepperdine's production of Dido and Aeneas and Gianni Scicchi is directed by Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Opera Keith Colclough.

Colclough directs the all-student cast, which features Bethany Adamski, Noah Archibald, Anahi Casas Perez, Malone Blaich, Anika DeLong, Jack Gerding, Abigail Gast, Brandon Gille, Joe Hebel, Andrea Hupman, Hannah Miller, Luke Oldroyd, Angelo Silva, Nathan Thompson, Emma Ujifusa, Haily Watson, and Kaytlin Withers.

"These works were selected to highlight our wealth of talented students and to celebrate the evolution and variety of style in opera. While both are standard operatic repertoire, they vary drastically in vocal style, orchestration, dramatic pacing, and in the function of the ensemble. This provides a fun challenge for our students and design team. I think they will really shine in these productions." said Colclough.

Each opera will be sung in their original languages (English for Dido and Aeneas and Italian for Gianni Schicchi).

The Flora L. Thornton Opera Program at Pepperdine University has developed a reputation as one of the nation's leading undergraduate vocal programs. It features an annual fully-staged opera, a biennial summer intensive in Heidelberg, Germany, and master classes with top industry professionals. A one-million-dollar endowment from Flora Laney Thornton, one of Southern California's most beloved and honored arts philanthropists, ensures high-quality productions. Pepperdine graduates have won scholarships to many of the nation's most prestigious graduate programs, including the Juilliard School, Yale Graduate Opera Program, Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, Northwestern University, Rice University, and USC. Pepperdine graduates are now gracing the rosters of America's leading opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Santa Fe Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Seattle Opera.

The Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts at Pepperdine University provides high-quality activities for over 50,000 people from over 800 zip codes annually through performances, rehearsals, museum exhibitions, and master classes. Located on Pepperdine's breathtaking Malibu campus overlooking the Pacific, the center serves as a hub for the arts, uniquely linking professional guest artists with Pepperdine students as well as patrons from surrounding Southern California communities. Facilities include the 450-seat Smothers Theatre, the 118-seat Raitt Recital Hall, the "black box" Helen E. Lindhurst Theatre, and the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art.

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