Curtis Opera Theatre presents La rondine April 27 and 29 at the Perelman Theater

PHILADELPHIA—April 26, 2017—The Curtis Opera Theatre presents Puccini’s La rondine, conducted by Kensho Watanabe (’13, ’15) and directed by Stephanie Havey, on April 27 and 29 at 7:30pm in the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater. Puccini’s evocative waltzes and glowing melodies enliven the bittersweet story of a complicated romance.

Money buys happiness but not true love for Magda, the heroine of Puccini’s comic opera. Abandoning her lavish life with a rich banker for the affection of a poor young student, she realizes, heartbroken, that she is unworthy of his marriage proposal. Puccini’s only comic opera, La rondine has grown in popularity in recent decades after initially being criticized as too light in comparison to his more serious operas.

Conductor Kensho Watanabe leads the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in a fully staged production sung in Italian with English supertitles. Scenic design is by Brandon McNeel, costume design is by Matthew Pederson, and lighting design is by Jeff Harris. This production is sponsored in part by Allen R. and Judy Brick Freedman. The Curtis Opera Theatre season is sponsored by The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation and the Wyncote Foundation.

Tickets, priced $10 and $35, are available through the Kimmel Center Box Office, Kimmelcenter.org org (215) 893-1999.

The Curtis Opera Theatre, under the artistic direction of Mikael Eliasen, works with established professional directors and designers to create fresh interpretations of standard repertoire and contemporary works. All of Curtis’s 25 voice and opera students are cast repeatedly each season, receiving a rare level of performance experience on stage and through frequent collaborations with Opera Philadelphia, Curtis on Tour, and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra. As a result Curtis graduates have sung with opera companies all over the world, including La Scala, Covent Garden, the Vienna Staatsoper, Houston Grand Opera, the San Francisco Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera. 

CURTIS OPERA THEATRE: La Rondine by Giacomo Puccini 

Thursday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m.
Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia

Kensho Watanabe (’13, ’15), conductor
Stephanie Havey, director
Brandon McNeel, set designer
Matthew Pederson, costume designer
Jeff Harris, lighting designer

Cast

Tickets: $10, $35 sold by the Kimmel Center Box Office, Kimmelcenter.org or (215) 893-1999

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