IC Theatre and School of Music will collaborate to present “L’Orfeo”. Monteverdi’s Italian Baroque masterpiece is conducted by Brian DeMaris and directed by David Lefkowich. “L’Orfeo” is sung in Italian with English supertitles. Performance times are 8 p.m. on Feb. 25, 26, Mar. 1-4, with a 2 p.m. matinee offered on Feb. 27. All performances will be held in the Clark Theatre in Dillingham Center.
Ticket prices for “L’Orfeo” range from $5.50 to $11 and are on sale at all Ticket Center outlets, including Ticket Center Ithaca on The Commons or at the Dillingham Center box office. Call (607) 273-4497, (607) 274-3224 or visit www.ithacaevents.com. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more.
“L’Orfeo” tells the compelling myth of Orpheus in the Underworld with one of the world’s earliest and most evocative scores. Orfeo’s paradisiacal life is destroyed when his bride, Euridice, is suddenly killed on their wedding day. Orfeo must then go on a daring adventure into the depths of the Underworld to recover her. On his journey, Orfeo struggles to find redemption in a world where he conquers Hades but fails to master his own emotions. In “L’Orfeo”, the power of music can “inflame the coldest minds”.
Utilizing period instruments such as the harpsichord and two miniature violins to enhance the oldest operatic score still performed, “L’Orfeo” is an opera that, according to conductor Brian DeMaris, “Never feels old and could have been written yesterday”. David Lefkowich stages the opera in the intimate Clark Theatre, putting the performers and the orchestra on stage together and allowing the audience to be in on all of the action. Since its composition in Mantua, Italy, in 1607, Monteverdi’s score has been described as inventive and haunting and has captured the imagination of audiences for centuries.
The cast of L’Orfeo includes Daniel Bates’11 and Alex Canovas ’12 alternating the role of Orfeo, Katie Henly ’11 and Ana Strachan ’12 alternating the role of La Musica, Laura Gladd ’11 as Euridice, Nathan McNeill Murphy ’12 as Caronte, Lydia Walrath ’11 as Proserpina, Stephen Lovell ’11 as Plutone and Nick Harmantzis ’12 as Apollo.
Assistant professor and music director of opera and musical theatre Brian DeMaris, conducts the opera. The design team includes scenic designer Nik Taylor ’11, lighting designer Aaron Porter ’12 and costume designer Madison Ryckman ’11. The show’s technical director is Thom Upton ’11, and the production stage manager is Anna Reetz ’11.
A nationally recognized professional theatre training program, the Department of Theatre Arts attracts students from across the United States. Throughout the production season, undergraduate students present all aspects of theater in a professional model. Ithaca College Theatre has been an active part of the Tompkins County cultural hub as well as the Finger Lakes region for 70 years.
Dillingham is now newly updated to accommodate all patrons. Individuals with specials needs are asked to contact (607) 274-3224 to request accommodation as soon as possible.
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20110225100906451