Opera Maine Presents THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER This Summer

The 2022 Studio Artist Program, under the leadership of Richard Gammon, will feature performances of The Fall of the House of Usher by Philip Glass on June 29 and July 1, 2022. The opera will be sung in English with English supertitles and performed with the full orchestration.

Conducted by Jackson McKinnon. Directed by Richard Gammon. The cast includes Marcel Sokalski as William, Joseph Tancredi as Roderick Usher, Gabrielle Clutter as Madeline Usher, Miguel Pedroza as Servant, and Joseph Sacchi as Physician. The design team will be headed by lighting designer SeifAllah Salotto-Cristobal.

"Poe's famous horror story has fascinated poets, dramatists, and composers for over a century. Poe hints at much, but states hardly anything at all. Is the story real, or is it a hallucination? What is the relationship between the narrator (William), his friend Roderick Usher, and Roderick's dying sister, Madeline? Has she been buried alive, or is it a demon from hell who takes such a spectacular revenge at the end? And is the vast house in which they live a living malignant entity? Incest, homosexuality, murder, and the supernatural hang in the air, but then again, such things may exist only in the imagination of the audience." philipglass.com

Glass's opera, with a libretto by Arthur Yorinks based on the Poe story, premiered in 1988 at the American Repertory Theater, Cambridge, Mass.

Opera Maine will continue its "Opera for All!" program with free tickets to anyone aged 25 and younger.

The Fall of the House of Usher by Philip Glass.
Wednesday, June 29, 2022 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, July 1, 2022 at 7:30 p.m.
Pre-Curtain Presentation at 6:30 p.m. by Calien Lewis
Westbrook Performing Arts Center
Tickets $0 - $30 at operamaine.org/studio-artists/
(207) 879-7678

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