October 31, 7:00pm
November 1, 7:00pm
Cleveland Public Theatre | James Levin Theatre
Production stage director and Opera Per Tutti Artistic Director Scott Skiba is excited about this event that will be Cleveland’s only celebration of live opera theater and Halloween in Cleveland! “It’s a unique project that unites the world-stage of opera with the relevance of the Cleveland market,” Skiba explains. “The Cleveland production of Clarimonde follows the world-premiere developmental workshop presented in a co-production between On Site Opera and The Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice in August. This is an exciting opportunity for Clevelanders to hear a new opera by an internationally recognized composer and conductor and librettist, while featuring professional artists from the Greater Cleveland area. This production will also present a rare opportunity to talk with the composer Frédéric Chaslin and librettist P.H. Fisher who will be in attendance at both performances!”
The new opera Clarimonde is an adaptation of Théophile Gautier’s novella La Morte Amoureuse (1836), which predates Bram Stoker's "Dracula" by 6 years, in the genre of the conte fantastique where science fiction, fantasy and magic realism merge. Clarimonde is a classic tale of the supernatural in which a young, handsome priest, Romualdo, is tempted to abandon the priesthood by the sensual vampiress Clarimonde. Romulado’s mentor, the tough and wise Bishop Serapion, guesses what is transpiring, and he wages a battle to save not only Romualdo’s physical life, but also his very soul. The cunning Vampire Maker, who took Clarimonde into his care when she was a young girl, conspires to thwart the Bishop’s interference, and to help Clarimonde seducing Romualdo and winning his soul.
Opera Per Tutti founder and General Director Andrea Anelli says, “Since founding the company in 2006, it has been my desire to offer an "Opera Nuova' series to Cleveland audiences, featuring modern or new works. This concert production of Clarimonde, a piece we are excited to be bringing directly from its premiere with On Site Opera (from New York City) at the Phonetia Festival, initiates the debut of this series. Opera Nuova {New Opera} will feature a new or newer work of opera theater, which will be produced each season during the fall realizing Opera Per Tutti's commitment to honoring past traditions while nurturing contemporary approaches to opera, thus preserving, as well as creating, a legacy.”
Skiba says “If you’ve never before been to an opera, this is the perfect opportunity to take the plunge. If you are a seasoned operatic veteran, this production and atmosphere will challenge and delight. In what other setting can you hear live new opera about Vampires performed by local professional artists, while sipping your favorite beverage, in costume on Halloween or All Saints Day, then interact with the creators of the work, the performers and fellow opera goers in a post production reception?” While many have claimed, “opera is dead,” Opera Per Tutti aims to produce live opera theater that is very much alive, thriving, and developing as an art form. Skiba says “With this production in particular, [which centers on the beautiful vampiress Clarimonde] we hope the audience will discover that opera is indeed un-dead!”
Clarimonde – soprano, Rebecca Freshwater
Romualdo – tenor, Benjamin Bunsold
Bishop Serapion – baritone, Benjamin Czarnota
Vampire Maker – baritone, Brian Keith Johnson
Conductor – Katherine Kilburn
Pianist – Lorenzo Salvagni
Director – Scott Skiba