Sarasota Opera is performing three operas this week. "La boheme" is onstage Tuesday and Friday; "The Merry Widow" is on Wednesday and Sunday; and "Il Trovatore" opens on Saturday.
On Thursday, March 5th, Gulfshore Opera brings “Masked Moments of Opera” to center stage in the Daniels Pavilion. Performed by Gulfshore Opera’s acclaimed artists, the program features excerpts from “Die Fledermaus,” Verdi’s “Masked Ball,” “Tales of Hoffmann,” “Phantom of the Opera,” and more. The 5 p.m. performance is followed by Gulfshore Opera’s sold-out Masquerade Fundraising Event in the Ubben Event Space in the Baker Museum.
On Saturday, Opera Naples is holding a free family and community day, featuring a children’s-themed opera performance presented by the Opera Naples resident artists, plus a bounce house, face painting and balloon artistry. Then in the evening, it presents “Stars and Standards: An American Songbook Celebration” showcasing patriotic classics from composers such as Berlin, Bernstein, Gershwin and Porter.
MORE INFORMATION:
The Merry Widow
Soprano Raquel González stars in Sarasota Opera House’s production of “The Merry Widow.” The operetta explores themes of love, loyalty, and the comedic chaos that ensues when societal expectations clash with personal desires. The story revolves around wealthy widow Hanna Glawari, who ruefully finds herself besieged by suitors as her year of mourning comes to an end. To their chagrin, Hanna’s choices narrow when her past paramour arrives on the scene.
Franz Lehar wrote the music and Viktor Leon and Leo Stein the libretto for “The Merry Widow.”
Set in and around the Parisian Embassy of Pontevedro, a mythical Balkan country, “The Merry Widow” has a score that sparkles with wit and melody from beginning to end. Three of its highlights in particular are as famous and well-loved as any moments in the history of the genre: Hanna's "Vilja," Danilo's entrance song, "Maxim's," and of course, "The Merry Widow Waltz."
The operetta had its world premiere Dec. 30, 1905, in Vienna.
Its first performance in London in 1907 was one of the greatest theatrical triumphs that city has ever witnessed.
The American premiere in the same year at New York's New Amsterdam Theatre was such a sensation that it led to the creation of Merry Widow hats, corsets, cigarettes, trains and cocktails.
The Paris premiere in 1909 continued the "Widow's" triumphant path around the world.
The work has been translated into more than 25 languages.
“The Merry Widow” received three Hollywood adaptations. The first, in 1925, starred Mae Murray and John Gilbert. The next was in 1934. With new lyrics by Lorenz Hart, it featured Jeanette MacDonald and Maurice Chevalier. The most recent film was in 1952, pairing Lana Turner with Fernando Lamas.
Franz Lehár sustained his fame and success for 30 years following the premiere of the “The Merry Widow.” Subsequent works included “The Land of Smiles,” “The Count of Luxembourg,” “The Czarevitch” and “Giuditta.”
"The Merry Widow" will be performed at the Sarasota Opera House on select dates through March 27.
Visit https://www.sarasotaopera.org/event/merry-widow for more on “The Merry Widow” cast and creative team.
For more on WGCU, visit “’The Merry Widow’ and ‘La boheme’ are onstage this week at the Sarasota Opera House.”
La bohème
“La bohème” is Giacomo Puccini's most beloved opera. It takes place in the streets of the Latin Quarter in 19th century Paris, where a poor embroideress, Mimì, has a fateful chance encounter with the poet Rodolfo. Laughter and tears ensue as a group of friends struggle through and celebrate the Bohemian lifestyle and experience the heartbreak of a lover's impending demise.
The world premiere of "La bohème" took place at Turin's Teatro Regio on Feb. 1, 1896. "La bohème" received a favorable reception by the audience, but the critics panned the opera because of its conversational style and jarring mixture of lighthearted and sentimental scenes in often conversational style. They also castigated Puccini for some of his harmonic touches. In spite of these criticisms, “La bohème” played to 24 sold-out houses during its first month.
After Puccini and his librettists made several tweaks, the opera achieved immortality with a production in Palermo, Sicily, in April 1897, and its fame spread throughout the Italian peninsula. Performances of "La bohème" are today the backbone of operatic seasons around the globe.
Sarasota Opera has presented many productions of Puccini's works at the Opera House. These include “Madama Butterfly” in 1986, 1994, 2007, 2011, 2017, and 2023; “Il tabarro” in 1987; "Tosca" in 1988, 2004, 2009, 2015, 2022; “La fanciulla del West” in 1993; "La rondine" in 1999 and 2008; “Turandot” in 2013 and 2019; and a production of the composer's complete “Il trittico” (consisting of the three one-act operas "Il tabarro," "Suor Angelica," and "Gianni Schicchi") in 1996. Sarasota Opera last produced “La bohème” in 2020.
“La boheme” will be performed at the Sarasota Opera House on select dates through March 28.
Il trovatore
One of Verdi's most popular works, “Il Trovatore” unfolds with the telling of a fiery execution that takes place during Count de Luna's childhood, an event that sets him in vengeful pursuit of the gypsy woman, Azucena. Unrequited love for the noblewoman Leonora and hatred for her lover, the troubadour Manrico, drive him to murderous passions. The story comes full circle, ending with another tragic execution, in this sprawling medieval melodrama.
Between 1840 and 1853, Giuseppe Verdi was remarkably prolific, composing nearly one opera per year during what he called his "years in the galley." This intense period of labor brought him both artistic acclaim and financial success. The final three operas of this era – “Rigoletto” (1851), “Il trovatore” (1853), and “La traviata” (1853) - cemented his status as the most performed composer in the world.
“Il Trovatore” premiered in Rome in January 1853 and was a triumph. It quickly made the rounds of the European theaters, with first performances in New York and London in 1855.
“’Il trovatore's’ music has captured the opera lover's imagination,” writes Richard Russell. “The score is rich with moments that challenge even the best operatic voices, making the achievement of surmounting these obstacles even more exciting to audiences. Tenors dread and enthusiasts clamor for the extraneous but now mostly obligatory high C in ‘Di quella pira.’ The other roles offer similar challenges to even the most accomplished artists. Caruso once claimed that to produce ‘Il Trovatore’ you needed ‘the four greatest singers in the world.’"
During Verdi's lifetime “Il Trovatore” was the most popular of his works. Writing to a friend, Verdi said that "in the heart of Africa or the Indies you will always hear Trovatore."
“Il Trovatore’ will be performed at the Sarasota Opera House on select dates through March 29.
Gulfshore Opera’s ‘Masked Moments of Opera’
“Masked Moments of Opera” includes a collection of operatic scenes where disguise, deception, and desire take center stage. These vibrant “masked moments” explore themes of identity, passion, and fate, brought to life through soaring vocals and theatrical flair in the exquisite Daniels Pavilion.
The American Songbook
Songs written by Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and Cole Porter for Broadway musicals and early Hollywood films have become known as “American Standards,” and are some of the most revered in popular music history. Opera Naples brings their iconic melodies to life in an America250 celebration.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
