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The Cleveland Opera to present William Grant Still’s Highway 1, U.S.A.

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by Mike Telin

Family dynamics have always been the source of inspiration for great literature. There’s Shakepeare’s Hamlet — which depicts the Prince of Denmark’s attempts to take revenge against his uncle, or the prime time television soap opera Dallas, which revolved around an affluent and feuding Texas family.

On Sunday, February 18 at 3:00 pm in The Tudor Arms Hotel Grand Ballroom, The Cleveland Opera in collaboration with the Cleveland Women’s Orchestra and Duffy Liturgical Ensemble, will present a full-scale production of William Grant Still’s Highway 1, USA.

[Read more…]

The Cleveland Opera: Moniuszko’s Straszny dwór at the Ohio Theater (June 16)

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by David Kulma

A rare operatic treat graced the Ohio Theatre at Playhouse Square on Saturday, June 16: a single performance of Stanisław Moniuszko’s 19th-century, Polish-language gem Straszny dwór. Designed to celebrate the centenary of Polish independence, this traditionally-staged production with Cleveland Ballet added up to an uneven evening. [Read more…]

The Cleveland Opera & Ballet to perform Moniuszko’s Straszny Dwór on June 16

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by Daniel Hathaway

CastTo mark the 100th anniversary of Polish independence, The Cleveland Opera and Cleveland Ballet will present Stanislaw Moniuszko’s 1865 opera, Straszny Dwór (“The Haunted Manor”), on Saturday, June 16 at 7:30 pm at the Ohio Theatre in Playhouse Square.

“It was popular at its debut in the mid-19th century, but Poland was under partition between Russia, Prussia, and Austria, so there’s a patriotic undercurrent,” soprano, executive artistic director — and native Pole — Dorota Sobieska said in a telephone conversation. “It’s a Polish opera. We sing and I cry. It’s sentimental. It’s where my heart is.”

“The music is wonderful,” conductor Grzegorz Nowak said in a separate phone call. “It was all composed by Moniuszko, but it has a folk quality to it. The Mazur [Mazurka] has even been texted so it can be sung by a choir.”

Nowak, also Polish, is principal associate conductor of London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as music director of The Grand National Opera (Teatr Wielki) in Warsaw. He studied at Tanglewood, earned his doctorate at Eastman, then served on the faculty of Bowling Green State University. He’s quite familiar with Moniuszko’s piece, having first conducted it in Warsaw in what he describes as “quite a scandalous production.” [Read more…]

The Cleveland Opera presents three performances of La traviata

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by Mike Telin

TraviataIn their upcoming production of Verdi’s masterpiece La traviata or “The Fallen Woman,” The Cleveland Opera celebrates the city’s Golden Age with sets and costuming inspired by Art Deco from the Great Gatsby Era of the Roaring Twenties. “Cleveland made such a big statement in the arts during that time period,” the company’s executive artistic director Dorota Sobieska said by telephone. “When you think about the momentum that the city had at that time, it’s phenomenal.”

Sobieska said that the venues they have selected also reflect Cleveland circa 1920s. Performances will take place on Wednesday, March 14 at 7:00 pm at the Polish-American Cultural Center, Friday, March 16 at 7:30 pm at First Baptist Church, and Sunday, March 18 at 3:30 pm at The Tudor Arms Hotel Grand Ballroom. The cast includes Dorota Sobieska as the courtesan Violetta Valéry, Timothy Culver as Alfredo Germont, and Brian Keith Johnson as Giorgio Germont. [Read more…]

The Cleveland Opera: “Two Portraits” in Youngstown

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by Robert Rollin

Sobieska-SkoogLast Saturday evening, November 25 at Sts. Peter & Paul Church in Youngstown, The Cleveland Opera presented Two Portraits, a lightly staged, costumed performance of Robert Schumann’s song cycles, Dichterliebe, Op. 48 (Poet’s Love) and Frauenliebe und –leben, Op. 4 (Woman’s Love and Life). Artistic Director and soprano Dorota Sobieska, credited with the concept, staging, set design and costume co-design, gave the 50-minute performance of 23 songs theatrical continuity and visual interest. [Read more…]

The Cleveland Opera
to present Two Portraits

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by Mike Telin

Sobieska-SkoogIn the words of Dorota Sobieska, Schumann art song belongs to the handful of best artworks in the world. “I started singing them when I was at music school back in Poland. The more I sing those songs the more I want to sing them,” the soprano said during a telephone conversation. “And the more I sing them the more I discover about them.”

On Saturday, November 11 at 7:30 pm at the First United Church of Christ in New Philadelphia, The Cleveland Opera will present the first of ten area performances of Two Portraits. The new production features staged-and-costumed versions of Robert Schumann’s song cycles Dichterliebe and Frauenliebe und -leben, performed by soprano Dorota Sobieska, tenor Brian Skoog, and pianist Jacek Sobieski. Sung in German with projected English translation, the free, 50-minute concerts run through December 3. Click here for times and locations. [Read more…]

The Cleveland Opera: La bohème at the Ohio Theater (June 10)

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by Robert Rollin

TheCleOpBoheme1On Sunday evening, June 10, The Cleveland Opera presented an outstanding production of Puccini’s La bohème at the Ohio Theater in Playhouse Square. An exceptional cast and an exemplary orchestra made for a marvelous evening. Though tragic operas can often be overly melodramatic, Puccini’s sensitively beautiful music elevates the simple story of artists struggling to survive in a Paris to a higher plane. [Read more…]

The Cleveland Opera: Don Giovanni at First Baptist Church (April 8)

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by Robert Rollin

TCOPERA-DonG3On Saturday night, April 8, The Cleveland Opera gave an outstanding performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni at First Baptist Church in Shaker Heights. Despite the venue’s awkward acoustics and lack of a pit for the sizeable orchestra, conductor Grzegorz Nowak led a well-balanced performance that allowed the singers to be heard clearly. The opera flowed beautifully through its many intricate arias, recitatives, and ensembles, and all eight leads were in fine voice. [Read more…]

The Cleveland Opera to present Mozart’s Don Giovanni April 7 & 8

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by Mike Telin

SobieskaBeginning with its production of Mozart’s Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail in 1989, the company formerly known as Opera Circle Cleveland has presented eight of the composer’s musical dramas. This week, under the company’s new name, The Cleveland Opera will complete their survey of the Mozart-Da Ponte operas with two performances of Don Giovanni on April 7 and 8 at 7:30 pm at First Baptist Church.

“Knowing the challenges the opera presents, we’ve always said that we would produce Don Giovanni later, but now is the time,” executive artistic director Dorota Sobieska said during a telephone interview. “This is my favorite of the Da Ponte operas — the music is pure magic and it fits each character perfectly.” [Read more…]

A weekend of short(ened) operas from Opera Circle, Kent, and Baldwin Wallace

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by Daniel Hathaway

zanetto-st-stanNovember became Northeast Ohio’s unofficial Opera Month as a number of institutions unveiled productions during the first two weeks. Particularly dense was the weekend of November 4-6, when Opera Circle Cleveland, Kent State Opera, and Baldwin Wallace Opera Theater — in cooperation with Cleveland Opera Theater — all brought titles to the stage. [Read more…]

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