Tufts Opera Presents – Our Town
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION:
Our Town - An Opera in Three Acts
Composed by Ned Rorem with libretto by J.D. McClatchy (2006)
Based on the Thornton Wilder play (1938)
Thursday, February 12 - Sunday, February 15, 2009
Distler Performance Hall, Granoff Music Center
Tufts University, Medford, MA
Performed by Tufts Opera and the Tufts Symphony Orchestra
Produced by the Tufts University Department of Music
Director – Carol Mastrodomenico • Conductor – Steven Morris
Show dates/Tickets:
Thursday, February 12, 8 pm (Tickets $7, $1 with Tufts ID; Seating is general admission)
Friday, February 13 and Saturday, February 14, 8 pm (Tickets $10, $7 with Tufts ID/students; Reserved seating for both performances)
Sunday, February 15, 3 pm (Tickets $10, $7 with Tufts ID/students, $7 senior citizens; Reserved seating. Senior discount is only available for this performance.
Tickets available now by calling 617.627.3679 or by coming to the Granoff Music Center Box Office. Visa and Mastercard are accepted for phone/walk-up orders. Cash is accepted only for walk-up orders.
TUFTS UNIVERSITY TO PRESENT BOSTON AREA PREMIERE OF NED ROREM’S NEW OPERA,
OUR TOWN, FEBRUARY 12-15, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 1.20.09
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MA – The classic Thornton Wilder play Our Town has been seen by countless individuals since its debut in February of 1938. Now, 71 years later, Tufts University will present the latest and most unique take on this classic work.
The Tufts Opera Ensemble and the Tufts Symphony Orchestra will present the Boston area premiere of Our Town, an opera in three acts, composed by Pulitzer Prize-winner Ned Rorem with libretto by J.D. McClatchy. The four performances of Our Town will take place from February 12 – February 15, 2009, in the Granoff Music Center on the Tufts University Medford and Somerville campus. Performances begin at 8 pm, February 12 through February 14, and at 3 pm on February 15. The opera is directed by Tufts faculty member Carol Mastrodomenico and conducted by Steven Morris.
Based on Thornton Wilder’s famous Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Our Town takes place in the fictional town of Grover’s Corner, NH, circa 1901. The story explores the lives and challenges of ordinary residents in a small and typical New England community at the turn of the century. Much like Wilder’s vision for the stage play, the opera version of Our Town is presented simply. There are no huge sets or overly ornate costumes. Instead, the performance relies on props, background projections, and the audience itself to help create the show’s humble and emotional setting. Musically, only a small chamber orchestra will be used in the performance in addition to the cast of singers.
Ned Rorem’s score (set to a libretto written by J.D. McClatchy that stays very true to Wilder’s original play/text) is the first operatic treatment of Our Town. Many well-known composers, including Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland, had previously desired to set Our Town as an opera, but all found resistance to the idea from Thornton Wilder himself. Rorem, 82, a composer known for his vocal writing and his 1976 Pulitzer Prize for his orchestral work Air Music, was recently given the go ahead to score the opera after much consideration by Tappan Wilder. Working closely alongside J.D. McClatchy, one of the country’s leading scholars of Thornton Wilder, Rorem was commissioned by Indiana University, Opera Boston, the Aspen Music Festival, North Carolina School of the Arts, Lake George Opera, and Festival Opera of Walnut Creek to create the work. The opera was premiered at Indiana University in 2006 and has since been performed almost ten times across the country (a high number for a contemporary opera), receiving many favorable reviews.
The four performances of Our Town will take place in the Distler Performance Hall of the Granoff Music Center, 20 Talbot Avenue, on the Tufts University Medford and Somerville campus, February 12 – February 15, 2009. Tickets are required for all performances. The performance on Thursday, February 12, 8 pm, is a preview performance. Tickets for Thursday’s performance are $7 for the general public, $1 for anyone with a Tufts ID. All seats are general admission. For the performances on Friday, February 13, 8 pm, Saturday, February 14, 8 pm, and Sunday, February 15, 3 pm, tickets are $10 for general public adults, $7 for students (of any college or school). All seating is reserved. Please note that senior citizens can purchase tickets for the Sunday performance for $7. Tickets are on sale now by calling the Granoff Music Center Box Office at 617.627.3679 or by coming to the Granoff Music Center Box Office, Mondays through Fridays, 10 AM to 5 PM.
