CAST
David Kravitz | Enrico
Meredith Hansen | Serafina/Suzel
Jason Budd | Don Pistacchio/Rabbi David
Matthew Vickers | Fritz Kobus
Britt Brown | Madama Rosa/Beppe
ARTISTIC STAFF
Antonio Ocampo Guzman| Stage Director
Susan Davenny Wyner | Music Director, Conductor
Stephen Dobay | Scenic Designer
John Cuff | Lighting Designer
Elisabetta Polito | Costume Designer

 

The Boston Globe fell in “Love, Italian style” :

Boston Midsummer Opera offers boisterous, appealing Italian comedies

Arts Fuse discovered “the Perfect Summer Break” :

Boston Midsummer Opera may be performing in a new location, but all their virtues have arrived at Watertown intact: terrific singing, fine acting, and wonderful music.

The Musical Intelligencer found the double-bill to be “effectively staged and gloriously sung”:

But the main reason to see this pair of operas, aside from the simple matter of enjoying a night in the theater with two rarely heard pieces by favorite composers, is the very high quality of the singing throughout, which both enlivens the humorous quality of Donizetti’s work and supports the warmly lyric character of Mascagni’s.

Donizetti’s Il Campanello

Il Campanello di Notte gives us a chance to enjoy Donizetti’s wit in double measure: he is responsible for both libretto and score. Though simple, the conceit of a constantly interrupted wedding night (which probably originated in commedia dell’arte) provides a unique opportunity to witness superb singing actors, such as David Kravitz and Jason Budd, doing what they do best. We have chosen a simple yet elegant setting for the opera – Naples in the 1950s, filled with glamour and just a bit of self-conscious pretension!

Mascagni’s L’amico Fritz

L’Amico Fritz is, perhaps, a forgotten jewel waiting to be rediscovered. Mascagni’s lush music conjures up the power of springtime, of renovation and renewal for this tale of a fearful heart that melts in the presence of true innocence. This ‘lyrical comedy’ is propelled forward by the meddling of an unusual operatic character, Rabbi David, equal parts jovial matchmaker and stern philosopher. He plants the seed of marriage in Fritz’s stubborn heart, and brings him close to the kind Suzel, a peasant girl who dares to dream of love. Learn more about L’amico Fritz: The Backstory

Pre-opera talk with Richard Dyer One hour before each show