Opera Roanoke’s ‘Tempest, Ghosts and Mad Queens’ is Nov. 2 at the Jax
Tenor Scott Williamson will perform Nov. 2 at the Jacksonville Center for the Arts. Photo courtesy of Brandi Gray
Scott Williamson, tenor and artistic director of Opera Roanoke, returns to the Jacksonville Center on Friday, Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m. along with members of Opera Roanoke’s Young Apprentice Artist Program in a performance titled “Tempest, Ghosts and Mad Queens.” This concert is the last in a series presented at the Jacksonville Center this fall and benefits both the center and the Floyd Historical Society.
“Tempests, Ghosts and Mad Queens” will feature scenes from Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” Menotti’s “The Medium,” Offenbach’s “Tales of Hoffmann” and Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd” in a mix of opera and Broadway. Songs from Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” by Ralph Vaughan Williams and a world premiere setting by Opera Roanoke Apprentice artist James Lego will complete an original and eclectic evening of great music, theatre, dance and the spoken word. Everything will be staged, performers dressed in costume (a classic gothic look fitting for the Halloween season), with dancing featured in two of the scenes. Williamson will sing, conduct and narrate the evening, interweaving poetry between the scenes.
A “Meet the Artists” champagne and wine reception will follow the performance. Advance tickets are $25 each and can be purchased at the Jacksonville Center, 745-2784 or www.jacksonvillecenter.org, at the Floyd Historical Museum, 745-3247, or from Rebecca Weeks, 745-4256. Tickets purchased at the door are $30 per person.
Williamson was the winner of the Center for Contemporary Opera’s 2005 competition and was featured in a solo recital at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in 2007. He has appeared with Tulsa Opera, Sarasota Opera, Lake George Opera, Bronx Opera, Opera Roanoke, and in Britain with the New Kent Opera Festival, and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Stage credits include the title role in Gounod’s Faust, Alfredo in La Traviata, Iro in Monteverdi’s II Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria, Armand in Massenet’s Therese, Handel’s Acos ad Damon, the Magician in Menotti’s The Consul and most recently, a young steersman in Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman. His performances have been praised by The New York Times, the Times of London, Opera News, the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun.
In 2011, Opera Roanoke launched the apprentice program with the company’s acclaimed production of Madama Butterfly. In its first year, the program more than tripled in size, growing from 6 to 20 young singers, conductors and production assistants.
Carefully selected from the region’s colleges, universities and recent graduates, Apprentice Artists work directly with Opera Roanoke’s artistic staff and have select opportunities to work with guest artists. Young Apprentice Artists will sing in the chorus of main stage productions. A select number of Apprentice Artists may sing comprimario roles and/or cover principal roles in main stage productions.
– Submitted by Brandi Gray
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