Popular Opera Gets Contemporary, Golf-Themed Update

Popular Opera Gets Contemporary, Golf-Themed Update

Divaria Productions to Perform L'Elisir D'Amore at New York's Arclight Theater March 18 - 20

NEW YORK, March 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Can a golf course be a place for love? That's the question posed by an innovative new production of Gaetano Donizetti's popular opera L'Elisir D'Amore, set at a contemporary golf resort. Performances will be held at New York's Arclight Theatre March 18 at 8 p.m., March 19 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., and March 20 at 4 p.m.

L'Elisir D'Amore ("The Elixir of Love") is one of the 20 most-performed operas in North America, according to Opera America. While the piece is traditionally set in an 18th-century Italian village, this production shifts it to contemporary America, drawing parallels between the original characters and their modern-day counterparts. Self-important Sergeant Belcore, for instance, may remind audiences of certain high-profile athletes of today.

L'Elisir D'Amore is produced by Divaria Productions, whose mission is to make quality opera accessible, and to give emerging artists an opportunity to perform at a high level.

"The idea behind Divaria is to help make opera a little easier for audiences to access, and provide accomplished singers in the early stages of their careers a venue in which to perform," says Ashley Bell, who performs on Friday, March 18, and Saturday evening, March 19. "This unique production of L'Elisir D'Amore accomplishes both of those goals beautifully."

In addition to Bell, artists include: Victoria Benson, Rachel Felstein, Lori Fisher, Kevin Ginter, Alex Guerrero, David Guzman, C. David Morrow, Jorge Ocasio, Stephan Antonio Ortiz, Patricia Vital and Olga Xanthopoulou. The production is conducted by Richard Barrett, currently director of the Opera Theatre and Voice Department at Brooklyn College, City University of New York, and formerly Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor for Fort Worth Opera. Crew includes Andrew Bell, director; Anton Armendariz Diaz, co-director; Irina Constantine Poulos, choreographer; Mitchell McCarthy, assistant conductor; and Audrey Saint-Gil, pianist.

Performances will take place at the Arclight Theater (next door to The Church of the Blessed Sacrament), 152 West 71st Street, New York, NY 10023. Train: 1,2,3,B,C to 72nd Street. Tickets are $30 (cash or check) at the door for general admission seating, and can also be ordered in advance from SmartTix.com or by calling (212) 868-4444.

Members of the company also perform at assisted-living facilities in order to bring opera to an audience that otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity to experience it. For more information, visit www.DivariaProductions.com.

Media contact: Brian Bellmont, Bellmont Partners
brian@bellmontpartners.com,
952-233-0428

SOURCE Divaria Productions

Divaria Productions

CONTACT: Brian Bellmont of Bellmont Partners, +1-952-233-0428, brian@bellmontpartners.com, for Divaria Productions

Web Site: http://www.SmartTix.com

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