Eastman Opera Theatre Presents Ned Rorem’s “Our Town”
Ned Rorem’s Our Town, the opera based on the renowned Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Thornton Wilder, opens in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre tonight and runs through the weekend. Eastman Opera Theatre’s production is the first in upstate New York since the opera’s professional debut at the Lake George Opera in July of 2006.
Wilder’s play about treasuring everyday activities during our transient lives is an American classic and has been translated into more than 30 languages. While he was alive, though, the playwright resisted entreaties by such luminary composers as Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein for any musical treatment of his work.
Eastman Opera Theatre’s production of Our Town features two rotating casts of Eastman School of Music students. Steven Daigle is stage director and Benton Hess, distinguished professor of voice and music director for Eastman Opera Theatre, is the conductor.
Every school year, we at Eastman have the opportunity to see a few operas, but this is the time of year we get to see one in the big hall. It isn’t often we can root for our fellow musicians in such a big way, so please come out to see one of the four performances of Our Town: on 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 9, Friday April 10, and Saturday April 11; and a matinee performance at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 12. Tickets: $25 to $35 (discounts with UR and student ID); and are available at the Eastman Theatre Box Office, Eastman East Wing, 433 East Main St.; by phone: 585-454-2100; by fax: 585-454-7885; or online: www.esm.rochester.edu/concerts/tickets .
— Andrew Psarris ‘15