MEDIA KIT: GREEK: November 16-20, 2016

MEDIA KIT:
GREEK

Music by Mark-Anthony Turnage

Based on Steven Berkoff’s stage play of the same title

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Libretto adapted by Mark-Anthony Turnage and Jonathan Moore

Sung in English with English surtitles

Wednesday, Nov 16, 7:30 pm
Thursday, Nov 17, 7:30 pm
Saturday, Nov 19, 7:30 pm
Sunday, Nov 20, 3:00 pm

Please note: The opera Greek includes explicit language, racial slurs, violence and sexual content. Recommended for mature audiences only.

Hailed as a cult classic, Greek is a political and indelible retelling of Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus the King. Transporting audiences to London’s East End during the tumultuous 1980s with music influences that range from jazz to daring percussion to sounds of the streets, Greek is an aggressive, defiant and profane detonation of a story millennia old.

This Opera Annex production features award-winning baritone Marcus Farnsworth, who makes his BLO debut as he reprises the role he sang in a critically-acclaimed production seen at Music Theatre Wales. BLO favorites Caroline Worra and Christopher Burchett join Amanda Crider in her BLO debut to complete the cast of four singers who inhabit 11 characters at a breakneck pace. Directed by Sam Helfrich and conducted by Andrew Bisantz, Greek reunites the team that launched BLO’s acclaimed Opera Annex series.

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CREATIVE TEAM

Conductor Andrew Bisantz
Stage Director Sam Helfrich
Set Designer John Conklin
Costume Designer Nancy Leary
Lighting Designer Chris Hudacs*
Fight Director Andrew Kenneth Moss
Wig and Makeup Designer Jason Allen
Dramaturg John Conklin
Surtitle Designer Allison Voth

VENUE

Emerson/Paramount Center

RUNNING TIME

Performed in two acts with one 25-minute intermission. Performance running time is approximately two hours

CAST

* Boston Lyric Opera Debut
† Boston Lyric Opera Jane and Steven Akin Emerging Artist
‡ Boston Lyric Opera Jane and Steven Akin Emerging Artist Alumnus

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Synopsis

In London’s East End, the aimless and bored Eddy lives with his parents and sister, dreaming of a better life. His father recounts visiting a fortuneteller at a fair years before and the unsettling prophecy that Eddy would grow up to murder his father and sleep with his mother. Disgusted, Eddy storms off in search of love and adventure. The streets of London are restless and angry; Eddy joins in a riot and is beaten up by the police. Eddy ventures into a small café and orders, before getting into an argument with the manager. He kicks the man to death. The owner’s wife is distraught, but Eddy comforts her. She remarks that he seems familiar somehow and tells Eddy of her young son who disappeared into the Thames years before – they searched, but only found his teddy bear. The two fall passionately in love. Meanwhile, back at Eddy’s home, his parents wonder if they should have told him the whole truth about his past.

Ten years later, Eddy and his wife are successful and happy. Eddy’s parents visit. London is besieged by a terrible plague which seems to be caused by a Sphinx, who lurks outside the city walls. Eddy decides to confront her. She spews insults and profanity at him, but he easily answers her riddle and kills her. He returns to the café, triumphant. But then, Eddy’s parents confess that he is not actually their son. They rescued him from the Thames when he was only two years old – clutching a teddy bear, which they threw back into the water. Horrified, Eddy realizes that the fortuneteller’s prophecy has come true. He thinks of Oedipus and imagines putting out his own eyes, Greek-style. But – can the Eddy of today defy his fate?

GREEK program (pdf 6.8MB)

Meet the Artists

MARK-ANTHONY TURNAGE Composer

English composer Mark-Anthony Turnage is cited among the most significant creative figures to have emerged in British music of the last three decades. His first opera, Greek, established Mr. Turnage’s reputation as an artist who forged his own path between modernism and tradition by means of a unique blend of jazz and classical styles. Three Screaming Popes, Kai, Momentum and Drowned Out emerged during his time as Composer in Association in Birmingham with Sir Simon Rattle, followed by Blood on the Floor. His second full-length opera, The Silver Tassie, won both the South Bank Show and the Olivier Awards for Opera in 2001; his third opera Anna Nicole played at The Royal Opera, Covent Garden in 2011 and has received new productions in Germany and New York, as well as a revival at Covent Garden in Autumn 2014. Mr. Turnage has been Resident Composer with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Turnage is Research Fellow in Composition at the Royal College of Music.

ANDREW BISANTZ Conductor

Andrew Bisantz’s Boston Lyric Opera credits include leading BLO’s inaugural Opera Annex production of The Turn of the Screw, followed by Tosca and Madama Butterfly. Recent engagements include Le Nozze di Figaro (Opera Saratoga, Opera San Jose), Lucia di Lammermoor and Eugene Onegin (Eugene Opera), La Fanciulla del West (Opera Omaha), and Don Giovanni (Savannah Voice Festival). Other notable engagements include The Consul, Die Zauberflöte, Rigoletto, and Don Giovanni (Florida Grand Opera); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (McGill University); La Traviata (Virginia Opera); and his debut with Wolf Trap Opera conducting Don Giovanni. He has also conducted Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 with the Boston Landmarks Orchestra and was soloist and conductor of Rhapsody in Blue with Buffalo Philharmonic. This season, he continues as Music Director of Eugene Opera where he conducts their 40th Anniversary Gala, West Side Story, and La tragédie de Carmen. His recent recording of Fredrick Kaufman’s Stars and Distances and The Seven Sisters is available on Navona Records.

Sam Helfich

SAM HELFRICH Stage Director

Sam Helfrich returns to Boston Lyric Opera, having staged the inaugural Opera Annex production of The Turn of the Screw. Recent highlights include Embedded (Fort Worth Opera); St. John Passion (Pittsburgh Symphony); Orpheus in the Underworld (Virginia Opera); Masquerade, In the Penal Colony and Cavalleria Rusticana (String Orchestra of Brooklyn); the World Premieres of Enemies: A Love Story (Palm Beach Opera) and Embedded (Fargo-Moorhead Opera); Ariadne auf Naxos and A Streetcar Named Desire (Virginia Opera); Dead Man Walking and Nixon in China (Eugene Opera); Kepler (in its U.S. Premiere); Louise and Amistad (Spoleto Festival/USA); The Consul and La Voix Humaine (Glimmerglass Opera); Les Indes Galantes, Don Giovanni, and Agrippina (Boston Baroque); a fully-staged Handel’s Messiah (Pittsburgh Symphony); the World Premiere of The Secret Agent (Center for Contemporary Opera in New York, Armel Opera Festival in Hungary, and Opera Avignon in France); Orphée (Virginia Opera, Portland Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, and Pittsburgh Opera). Upcoming projects include Madama Butterfly at Palm Beach Opera, the World Premiere of Dan Sonenberg’s The Summer King at Pittsburgh Opera, and Peter Eotvos’ Angels in America at New York City Opera. Mr. Helfrich received his BA and MFA from Columbia University, and is an associate arts professor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in New York.

JOHN CONKLIN Set Designer, Dramaturg, BLO Artistic Advisor

John Conklin has designed sets on and off Broadway, at the Kennedy Center, and for opera companies around the world, including The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle Opera, San Francisco Opera, Bastille Opera in Paris, The Royal Opera and the opera houses of Munich, Amsterdam, and Bologna, among others. Locally, his work has been seen in Boston Lyric Opera’s recent productions of I Puritani (2014), La Bohème (2015), Werther (2016) and The Merry Widow (2016), as well as at the American Repertory Theater and Boston Ballet. Additionally, Mr. Conklin develops lecture series and community events for BLO that enrich the audience experience and strengthen the presence of opera in Boston’s arts community. He is on the faculty at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and was a recipient of the 2011 National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors.

NANCY LEARY Costume Designer

Nancy Leary has designed costumes for Opera Saratoga, Virginia Opera, Pittsburgh Symphony, Opera Boston, Chautauqua Opera, Mobile Opera, Juilliard Opera, Boston Musica Viva, Boston Conservatory and New England Conservatory. Other design credits include: Shakespeare Theatre New Jersey, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Weston Playhouse, Actors Shakespeare Project, Orlando Shakespeare Festival, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, North Shore Music Theatre, ART Institute, Chamber Repertory Theatre, Boston Theatre Works, as well as Knife Edge Productions in New York City. Ms. Leary is currently working on The Long Walk, for Utah Opera. She also teaches Design and Production at Boston University School of Theatre.

Andrew Kenneth Moss

ANDREW KENNETH MOSS Fight Director

A resident of Boston, Andrew Kenneth Moss’ work was featured in Boston Lyric Opera’s Don Giovanni, I Puritani and most recently, Carmen. Other Boston credits include: A Little Night Music (Huntington Theatre Company), The Convert (Central Square Theater), Don Giovanni and La Tragédie de Carmen (Boston University Opera Institute). International credits include: West Side Story (Adger Teater Kilden, Norway), Porgy and Bess (75th Anniversary International Tour), Safe (Edinburgh Fringe Festival). Additional credits include: Armida (The Metropolitan Opera), Dead Man Walking, West Side Story, Carmen, and Oklahoma! (Central City Opera). Mr. Moss has been a Guest Instructor/ Lecturer at New York University, University of Oklahoma, Boston University, New England Conservatory, Oklahoma City University, Hofstra University, and The School of Visual Arts.

CHRIS HUDACS Lighting Designer

This is Chris Hudacs’ Boston Lyric Opera debut. Based in the Boston area, his regional credits include Sondheim On Sondheim and Intimate Apparel (Lyric Stage Company of Boston); Elemeno Pea, The Dutchman, Heroin/e, The Pirate Princess, Dying For It (ART/MXAT Institute); and Sylvain Emard’s Le Grand Continental (Celebrity Series of Boston). Nationally, Mr. Hudacs has designed lights for Pilobolus Dance Theater, Tiffany Mills Company, The York Theatre Company, Pickleshoes Family Theater, Toy Box Theatre, Nancy Meehan Dance, and The Ordinary Theater, among others.

JASON ALLEN Wig and Makeup Designer

Jason Allen has been BLO’s Resident Wig and Makeup Designer since 2003. A fixture of the Boston performing arts community, he also works with Huntington Theatre Company, Boston Ballet, and many other organizations in Boston and throughout the country.

Marcus Farnsworth

MARCUS FARNSWORTH Baritone
EDDY

Marcus Farnsworth makes his Boston Lyric Opera debut. Mr. Farnsworth studied at Manchester University and The Royal Academy of Music, London. Opera roles include Guglielmo in Così Fan Tutte; Ned Keene in Peter Grimes; Novice’s Friend in Billy Budd; Lance Corporal Lewis in In Parenthesis; Sid in Albert Herring; Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas; Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Kelvin in Solaris with companies including English and Welsh National Operas; Bergen National Opera; Opera de Lille; Théâtre des Champs Elysées and Aix-en-Provence Festival on tour in the Far East. In concert, Mr. Farnsworth has appeared with the Adelaide Symphony, Royal Scottish National and Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestras; RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Dublin; BBC Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonic and Scottish Symphony Orchestras with conductors François-Xavier Roth, Paul McCreesh, Claus Peter Flor, Bernard Labadie, Edward Gardner, Gianandrea Noseda, and Nicolas Collon. Mr. Farnsworth has sung many works by living composers, including John Taverner, Sally Beamish, Thomas Larcher, Peter Maxwell Davies and David Sawer.

Caroline Worra

CAROLINE WORRA Soprano
Eddy’s Mum | Waitress | Sphinx

Caroline Worra most recently received international acclaim for her performance of Jenny in The Mines of Sulphur (Grammy nominated for Best Opera Recording) and for The Greater Good, or the Passion of Boule de Suif, which was the Opera News and New York Times pick for one of the top classical CDs of the year. In addition, her full opera recording, Glory Denied, is a Washington Post and Opera News pick for one of the top CDs of the year. She recently appeared with Utah Opera in the title role of The Merry Widow. Recent credits also include Beethoven’s Mass in C (Carnegie Hall); the American Lyric Theater Alumni Concert (National Sawdust Theater); Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire (Tulsa Opera); Strauss’ Four Last Songs and Mahler’s Fourth Symphony (LaCrosse Symphony); The Poe Project: Buried Alive/Embedded (Fort Worth Opera) and as Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes (Princeton Festival). Boston Lyric Opera credits include the title role in Agrippina, Fiordiligi in Così Fan Tutte, and Abigail Borden in BLO’s production of Lizzie Borden in Boston and at Tanglewood.

CHRISTOPHER BURCHETT Baritone
Dad | Café Manager | Chief of Police

Christopher Burchett’s roles include Blazes in The Lighthouse (Boston Lyric Opera); Victor in The Poe Project: Buried Alive/Embedded (Fort Worth Opera); Captain Corcoran in H.M.S. Pinafore (Opera Saratoga and Virginia Opera); the title roles in Sweeney Todd (Eugene Opera) and Don Giovanni (Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre); David T. Little’s Soldier Songs (PROTOTYPE Festival); and the European Premiere of Oceanic Verses (BBC Symphony Orchestra). A champion of new music, Mr. Burchett has been a part of several World Premieres, including Too Many Sopranos (Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre), The Greater Good (Glimmerglass Opera), and Wakonda’s Dream (Opera Omaha). Widely sought after for his concert work, Mr. Burchett has appeared with the Carmel Bach Festival, Boulder Bach Festival, Louisville Bach Society, and Bethlehem Bach Festival.

AMANDA CRIDER Mezzo-Soprano
Doreen | Waitress who becomes Eddy’s Wife | Sphinx

Amanda Crider makes her Boston Lyric Opera debut. Recent credits include a return to Eugene Opera as Olga in Eugene Onegin; her debut with Florentine Opera as Prince Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus; Alma in Persona with Beth Morrison Projects; a series of concerts with Seraphic Fire; and Handel’s Messiah with Augustana College. Recent highlights also include her role debut as Angelina in La Cenerentola (Opera Roanoke); Laurey in Oklahoma! (Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra); Zerlina in Don Giovanni (Castleton Festival); and the English Teacher in Paul’s Case (PROTOTYPE Festival and UrbanArias). A former Young Artist, she sang Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro and Mallika in Lakmé (Florida Grand Opera). Additionally in the 2016/17 Season, Ms. Crider returns to Apollo’s Fire for Handel’s Messiah and the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

CALEB CEDRONE Actor

Caleb Cedrone makes his Boston Lyric Opera debut, having most recently toured the country with the National Players Tour 67, performing as Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lucius in Julius Caesar and Ernest Defarge in the World Premiere of a new adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities. Other credits include Dr. Givings in In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) and Orestes in Iphigenia and Other Daughters (Boston University). Mr. Cedrone has trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and is a graduate of Boston University’s BFA acting program.

DANI BERKOWITZ Actor

Dani Berkowitz makes her Boston Lyric Opera debut. Regional highlights include: The Confession (Blue Gate Musicals); A Man of No Importance and Six Degrees of Separation (Bad Habit Productions); Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare NOW!); The Wakeville Stories (Matty Mae Theatre Project); Uncommon Women and Others (Actors Playground). Upcoming engagements include a new crime series on the Oxygen Channel. Ms. Berkowitz is a director, a teacher, and the Artistic Director of Hot Summers Productions.

ERIN EVA BUTCHER Actor

Erin Eva Butcher makes her Boston Lyric Opera debut. Recent credits include: Sense and Sensibility (Maiden Phoenix Theatre Company); Radium Girls (Flat Earth Theater); Kerplop!, Lover’s Quarrels, and Hairy Tales (Imaginary Beasts); Blue Window (Brown Box Productions); The Forgetting Curve (Bridge Repertory Theatre of Boston); and Uncle Vanya (Apollinaire Theatre Company). Ms. Butcher is the Artistic Director of Maiden Phoenix Theatre Company, a Boston-based company committed to telling stories about women. Ms. Butcher is originally from Ohio and studied Theatre at Baldwin-Wallace University, and further trained at Shakespeare & Company.

NILE HAWVER Actor

Nile Hawver makes his principal artist debut with Boston Lyric Opera, after appearing as a Soldier in Carmen. Boston theatre credits include: Finish Line (Boston Theatre Company); Violet and Mothers and Sons (SpeakEasy Stage); Etherdome (Huntington Theatre Company); Twelfth Night (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company); and The Edge of Peace (Central Square Theatre). National credits include: Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Ocean State Theatre Company, and more. Mr. Hawver earned his BFA at the University of Rhode Island and his MFA at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Photos

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