Tchaikovsky’s fairy tale opera Iolanta premiered in 1892. Come here the Ohio premier of this amazing piece. It will be presented in collaboration with the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (which will be providing a table with information about their services). Sung in the original Russian, with projected English translation and sung with the full orchestra conducted by Isaac Seyla, Managing Artistic Director. Iolanta will be presented at the Arts Center at Dunham May 25 and 27th. A pre-performance workshop on social justice central to the plot of this opera will be held. Princess Iolanta has been blind from birth. No one has ever told her (nor does she know) that she is a princess. She lives in a beautiful enclosed garden on the king’s estate, secluded from the world, in the care of simple people Bertrand and Martha.” Princess Iolanta has been blind from birth. Iolanta, is Tchaikovsky’s opera about the quest for sight — both literal and spiritual” DAVID SHENGOLD (for Opera News).
The second opera that PFW has supported os Weber’s “The Magic Bullets” which will also be part of the 2018 season and Queen City Opera which will partner with Ohio Ceasefire (Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violent and Mom’s Demand Action who will provide a pre-performance presentation on evidence-based approaches to prevent gun violent. The Magic Bullets asks if you sell if you would sell YOUR soul to win? That is the tempting question for Max, the young hero of Der Freischütz/The Magic Bullets, who ends up giving in to win the hand of the woman he loves…Presented in this manner, the story may seem a bit comical, but in Carl Maria von Weber’s hands, the popular fable becomes a diabolically powerful masterpiece. In the foreground we have a rustic setting, tests of skill, folklore and hunts. Lurking in the background are the troubling forces of nature, governed by unearthly powers. Trapped between these two worlds, the heroes of The Magic Bullets are torn between good and evil, dreams and reality, love and death.
Queen City Chamber Opera is dedicated to presenting emerging opera starts in fully staged production of repertory works with full orchestral accompaniment. They fill the niche of professional opera in Cincinnati during the Fall, Winter and Spring, to complement Cincinnati Opera’s world-class summer festival. They keep overhead costs low to ensure that as much of our budget as possible goes to singers on the stage, instrumentalists in the pit, or stage and set design. The crew, staff, cast and pit for their productions are all young, talented, creative professionals, which results in a fresh, edgy, relevant aesthetic. Their mission is to present emerging opera artists in fully staged production of operas by repertory composers. www.QueenCityOpera.org