Il sogno d'arianna

As we’re gearing up for the opening of our summer opera Il sogno d’Arianna tonight at the Academy of Music, I had a chat with 93.9 The River’s Monte Belmonte, talking about the piece and about our incredible teens. Major bonus: audio of yesterday’s sitzprobe, including some of our singers and our gorgeous string section. If you missed it on air, you can listen to it as a podcast on the River website here!

And please join us this weekend for our world premier of this new English libretto, written especially for our production!

August 5th & 6th at the Academy of Music, Northampton
$12 Adults, $7 Students – Tickets on sale now at the Academy Box Office!

Photos copyright © 2016 Paul Beasi

ONLY THREE DAYS LEFT of our Indiegogo campaign to raise money for our summer opera production, which will open at the Academy of Music next weekend! Please enjoy this footage from rehearsals of the evening’s most epic piece, “Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda” (complete with sword-fighting!) and consider donating to our cause! DONATE HERE

August 5th & 6th at the Academy of Music, Northampton
$12 Adults, $7 Students – Tickets on sale now at the Academy Box Office!

As production week rapidly approaches, we’d like to offer you a quick peek behind the scenes! Take a look at some rehearsal footage of Il sogno d’Arianna, and please consider donating to our Indiegogo campaign to bring this show home! Less than ten days left to help us reach our goal!

DONATE HERE.

Act Too Studio Opera Workshop is an ongoing, student-driven educational arts project with performances throughout the year, including a fully-staged opera each summer.

This year, we’ve embarked on a very special project, Il sogno d’Arianna, a full-length, original narrative adapted from the works of 17th-century composer Claudio Monteverdi, woven from excerpts from his operas, madrigals, and other works.

Drawing on the framework of Monteverdi’s “Lamento d’Arianna,” the sole surviving fragment of his opera L’Arianna, Il sogno d’Arianna begins with the tale of Ariadne, princess of Crete, and her abandonment by Athenian hero Theseus on the island of Naxos. Joined by an assembly of women hailing from Monteverdi’s many sources, including Greek myth and Torquato Tasso’s epic 16th-century poem La Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem Delivered), Ariadne seeks comfort and meaning in their shared stories, told through both music dance.

In addition to L’Arianna, the piece includes excerpts from Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, as well as pieces from his 8th book of madrigals and selected Scherzi Musicali (“Lamento della ninfa,” “Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda,” “Zefiro torna e di soavi accenti,” “Chiome d’oro“and many more). For this project, the Workshop has created its own new editions of these works, including new English translations and arrangements adapted specifically for its teen singers.

This project does not stop at our production, however. By sharing and/or donating to this campaign, not only are you supporting these extraordinary teens and their talents, but you are also part of the creation of a NEW full-length classical stage piece, that we intend to make available for use by others for years to come. We will publish our new English libretto and newly-edited score for licensed use by other educational institutions, to help share our love for this work for years to come. Though this music dates back centuries, our new English libretto and its original narrative will bring Monteverdi’s exquisite work to life for new audiences, and will also contribute to what is now a very small number of full-length operatic works suitable for young singers.

You can help us complete this passionately-created work and give it a truly glorious launch into the world by spreading the word to your family and friends and/or making a small donation if you’re able. Please help us expand our reach! Help us bring the beauty of Monteverdi’s work to our community and yours!

DONATE at Indiegogo.