Operettas Highlight Fall Semester's Lyric Stage Schedule
“Both are fun, lighthearted pieces and are both now classics."
Lyric Stage, home to MC’s musical productions, is preparing for an upcoming fall production season featuring two operettas.
Gian Carlo Menotti's The Old Maid and the Thief is a chamber opera originally written for NBC Radio. “It is a bit of a soap opera,” said Nicholas Perna, producer of Lyric Stage and Associate Professor of Voice and Voice Pedagogy.
The Old Maid and the Thief begins when two nosy women and their maid hear gossip of a burglary in their hometown. When a handsome wanderer comes to their door, they decide to take him in, despite the apparent clues that he is the escaped convict who committed the crimes. The opera follows the women through their humorous capers.
Trial by Jury is a one act operetta — a shorter, usually comedic opera — by the drama and composer duo W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. In this comedy, the defendant, Edwin, and the plaintiff, Angelina, are in court over Edwin’s desire to break off his engagement with her. In the end, the judge falls for Angelina instead.
These operas were chosen for a Lyric Stage performance for several reasons. “Both are fun, lighthearted pieces and are both now classics in the canon,” Perna said. “However, both are still very accessible and relevant to modern audiences.”
The most recent Lyric Stage production was last spring’s successful presentation of Godspell.
Auditions for Fall 2022 productions are Thursday, August 25, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Jean Pittman Williams Recital Hall in Aven Hall. All students are welcomed to audition by preparing one classical song, or aria, in English.
