Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music will present opera and musical theater scenes featuring themes of love when students present “It’s Complicated” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.
Directed by James Held, adjunct professor of opera, the performance tackles the “timeless and complex theme of love in its many forms,” explored through opera and musical theater from the Classical period to the 2000s, according to Held. Pianists Rachel Clark and Dr. Thomas Nixon will accompany.
“There are selections from 1790 to 2001 – from Mozart to Sondheim and beyond,” Held added.
Among the program selections are scenes from “Der Rosenkavalier” by Richard Strauss. Held describes the opera as “one of the most enduring” from Austrian Romantic repertoire. “The music is nothing short of resplendent and pulls at the heartstrings,” he said.
Gian Carlo Menotti’s “The Old Maid and the Thief” will also be performed. “Menotti was a Pulitzer Prize-winning operatic composer during the rise of television, and in fact wrote several operas specifically for TV,” Held said. “The Old Maid and the Thief ”was originally commissioned by NBC as a radio drama and included narration. This performance uses action instead of narration to tell the story.
The program features Georges Bizet’s “Carmen,” which is “perhaps the most beloved French opera ever written,” Held said. “It’s a timeless tale of the dangers of love gone awry. The drama is brilliantly driven by Bizet’s near-perfect score.”
There will be several scenes from the musical theater repertoire, from shows such as “Into the Woods” by Stephen Sondheim; “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” by Frank Loesser; “Anything Goes” by Cole Porter; and “Urinetown” by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis.
Other scenes from operas include “Die Fledermaus” by Johann Strauss II; “Così fan tutte” and “Die Zauberflöte” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; and “La Cenerentola” by Gioachino Rossini.
Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.