CCM Slideshows: Owen Wingrave

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Over 40 years after receiving its television premiere, Benjamin Britten’s Owen Wingrave finally makes its regional debut this weekend as part of CCM’s Mainstage Series! Do not miss your chance to experience this rarely seen chamber opera. Tickets are on sale now for performances at 8 p.m. on Nov. 22 and 23, along with a 2 p.m. performance on Nov. 24.

This opera is conducted by guest artist and CCM alumnus Johannes Müller-Stosch, with stage direction by Kenneth Shaw. Learn more about Owen Wingrave here.

CCM Presents Cincinnati Premiere of Benjamin Britten’s Opera ‘Owen Wingrave,’ Nov. 21-24

From left to right: Edward Nelson as Owen Wingrave and Jason Weisinger as General Sir Phillip Wingrave in ‘Owen Wingrave.’ Photography by Mark Lyons.

CCM’s celebration of Benjamin Britten at 100 continues with the Cincinnati premiere of the composer’s penultimate opera Owen Wingrave, running Nov. 21-24 in Patricia Corbett Theater. CCM welcomes guest artist and alumnus Johannes Müller-Stosch to the podium for this Mainstage Series production, which features stage direction by CCM Professor of Voice Kenneth Shaw. The opera will be sung in English with supertitles.

Based on the 1893 Henry James short story of the same name and commissioned by the BBC in 1966, Owen Wingrave was completed for television in 1970. With music by Britten and a libretto by his frequent collaborator Myfanwy Piper, Shaw suggests that the opera offers “both drama and a touch of lightness, horror and hope, mystery and atmosphere, grandeur and intimacy.”

Owen Wingrave is often regarded as one of Britten’s most powerful scores. According to Shaw, the music of Owen Wingrave is exceptionally challenging, making it ideal for training students. The opera story is equally compelling and is centered on the titular Owen Wingrave, a pacifist born into a long line of military heroes who struggles to prove his inner strength to his disapproving family, even if it leads to his own mysterious end. “A secret is something that has resonance for all of us,” Shaw explains. “We keep secrets, and secrets are kept from us. For the Wingrave family, their secret doesn’t really have a full answer – it is a mystery.”

CCM Slideshows: The Magic Flute

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CCM’s acclaimed 2012-13 Mainstage Series comes to a close this week with a colorful new production of Mozart’s beloved comedic singspiel The Magic Flute. This production runs April 4–7 in UC’s Corbett Auditorium.

The Cincinnati Enquirer‘s Janelle Gelfand recently visited CCM to take a behind-the-scenes look at The Magic Flute‘s costumes, wigs and make-up designs. Watch her exclusive video preview here.

CCM’s 2012-13 Mainstage Series Concludes With ‘The Magic Flute’

Jacqueline Echols as Pamina and Yi Li as Tamino in CCM’s ‘The Magic Flute.’ Photography by Mark Lyons.

CCM proudly presents Mozart’s beloved comedic singspiel The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte, 1791) from April 4–7 in UC’s Corbett Auditorium. The fourth most frequently performed opera worldwide, this production will be sung in German with English dialogue (with supertitles displayed). Mark Gibson conducts with stage direction by Steven Goldstein.

Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with a libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder, this beloved opera offers something for everyone: a hero and heroine questing for true love, evil villains, a comical sidekick and a whole range of beastly creatures. According to Goldstein, The Magic Flute is a sort of vaudeville variety show of the 18th century. However, this iteration isn’t all about the slapstick comedy. “My charge to the performers,” Goldstein explains, “is for the comedy to come from somewhere genuine. There is a real play back and forth between light-heartedness and deep morality in Flute and our goal is to find the truth inside of it.”

CCM Voice Students Receive Competition Honors

Five CCM voice students were named winners of CCM’s 2012 Opera Scholarship Competition, which was held Saturday, March 31, in CCM’s Corbett Auditorium. The annual competition welcomes current and incoming CCM voice students to compete for scholarships and cash prizes. A panel of judges composed of opera industry professionals selects each year’s class of prizewinners.

The 2012 CCM Opera Scholarship Competition winners are:

CCM’s Opera Scholarship Competition Celebrates Excellence in Vocal Performance

CCM will provide local audiences with a first glimpse of tomorrow’s opera stars during the 2012 Opera Scholarship Competition running from 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 31 in Corbett Auditorium on the University of Cincinnati campus. Admission is free and open to the general public.