The Italian Academy announces the May 13 & 14 premiere performances of Being Ariodante, the opera by American composer Jonathan Dawe (Cracked Orlando, 2010; Nero and the Fall of Lehman Brothers, 2016) originally scheduled for April 2020. This dramatic work in Italian and English vividly explores timely themes of personal identity and awareness while evoking a timeless search for meaning and understanding in an increasingly chaotic world. Dawe's music, inspired by 18th-century opera, is incomparably beautiful, fresh, and revelatory.
In the role of Ariodante, rising countertenor Bryce McClendon (Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Finalist 2020) is joined by a diverse and brilliant young cast and the virtuoso musicians of Ensemble Échappé under the musical direction of Benjamin Grow.
“I’m excited to bring this new work to life after several difficult postponements,” says Grow. “This work is filled with surprises–including that the first two acts are both in Italian and in Renaissance ‘just intonation’. That must be a first for a contemporary American opera.”
“Jonathan Dawe’s new opera explores the intersections between gender, sexuality, and ability in contemporary Glasgow,” says Mari Moriarty (Jet of Blood, 2018) who directs the production. “He pays homage to the romance of Handel’s 18th century opera while forcing audiences to reckon with the randomness and brutality of living in today’s world. The story is told in Italian, English, and American Sign Language and follows the twenty-something opera-obsessed Ariodante as he fights to live a life different from the character of Ariodante in Ariosto's Orlando Furioso that he's convinced he's destined to play. Featuring deaf and hard of hearing artists on and off the stage, Being Ariodante represents a new wave of what contemporary opera can be.”
Bryce McClendon ARIODANTE
Sydney Anderson DALINDA
Richard Pittsinger POLINESSO
Cree Carrico GINEVRA
Dickie Hearts LURCANIO
Vako Gvelesiani RINALDO
Chris Burns THE THUG
Ensemble Échappé
Benjamin Grow, Conductor
Directed by Mari Moriarty
Karina Parker, Associate Director
Shelly Guy, DASL (Director of Artistic Sign Language)
Laura Dearman, Choreography
Ciera Miller, Production Stage Manager
Beverly Brooks, Assistant Stage Manager
Rick Whitaker, Associate Producer
Your registration data is used for planning purposes and does not guarantee a seat. Doors open at 7 PM.
All audience members are required to wear facial masks that cover the nose and mouth at all times while in the theatre.
To register for the second performance (May 14) click here
Photo: Ronald Andrew Schvartman
