Cast
Iestyn Davies
Oberon
Liv Redpath
Tytania
Luke Sutliff
Demetrius
Susanne Burgess
Helena
Meg Marino
Puck
Kevin Burdette
Bottom
Kameron Lopreore
Lysander
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Creative
Louis Lohraseb
Conductor
Composer: Benjamin Britten
Librettist: Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears
Based on the play by: William Shakespeare
Premiere Performance: June 11, 1960, Aldeburgh Festival
Mystical figures dance in the night as Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream comes to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. This adaptation of celebrated playwright William Shakespeare’s work follows the consequences of a falling out between Oberon and Tytania, the fairy-king and queen. What results is a chaotic comedy rife with magical potions, mistaken identities, perplexed lovers, and even more machinations of mischief. British countertenor Iestyn Davies as Oberon and soprano Liv Redpath as Tytania make their Atlanta Opera debuts, joining mezzo soprano Megan Marino performing the role of Puck.
Sung in English with English Supertitles
Composer: Benjamin Britten
Librettist: Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears
Based on the play by: William Shakespeare
Premiere Performance: June 11, 1960, Aldeburgh Festival
Mystical figures dance in the night as Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream comes to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. This adaptation of celebrated playwright William Shakespeare’s work follows the consequences of a falling out between Oberon and Tytania, the fairy-king and queen. What results is a chaotic comedy rife with magical potions, mistaken identities, perplexed lovers, and even more machinations of mischief. British countertenor Iestyn Davies as Oberon and soprano Liv Redpath as Tytania make their Atlanta Opera debuts, joining mezzo soprano Megan Marino performing the role of Puck.
Sung in English with English Supertitles
Cast
Cast
Iestyn Davies
Oberon
Liv Redpath
Tytania
Luke Sutliff
Demetrius
Susanne Burgess
Helena
Meg Marino
Puck
Kevin Burdette
Bottom
Kameron Lopreore
Lysander
Creative
Louis Lohraseb
Conductor
Synopsis
ACT I
Night has fallen in the woods outside Athens. Oberon, King of the Fairies, is quarrelling with Tytania, his queen, over a young boy who is under her protection. She refuses to give him up. Oberon sends his servant Puck to find a magic flower, whose juice, sprinkled on Tytania’s eyelids, will make her fall in love with the first creature she sees upon waking. He plans to steal the boy while she is under the spell.
Lysander and Hermia have escaped from the city and its law, which allows Hermia’s father to force her into marriage with Demetrius. They decide to elope and set off into the woods. Demetrius, who loves Hermia, chases after her, himself pursued by Helena, who is hopelessly in love with him. But Demetrius scornfully rejects her and runs off into the forest. Oberon, who has witnessed their argument, orders Puck to seek out Demetrius and make him fall in love with Helena with the help of the magic juice.
Six working men have also left the city to discuss in secret a play they hope to perform at the wedding of Theseus, Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. There is some disagreement over casting, with Bottom, the weaver, and Flute, the bellows-mender, finally agreeing to play the parts of Pyramus and Thisbe, the star-crossed lovers of the play’s title. Quince, the carpenter, as well as the author and director of the play, hands out scripts, and all agree to meet later that night to rehearse.
Exhausted and lost, Lysander and Hermia lie down to sleep. Puck, who thinks he has found Demetrius, sprinkles the juice of the magic flower on Lysander’s eyes. Demetrius appears, still pursued by Helena, and angrily abandons her. Alone and in despair, she sees the sleeping Lysander and wakes him. Under the effect of the spell, he immediately declares his love. Helena is furious and runs off, thinking he is making fun of her. Lysander follows. Hermia awakes from a terrible dream to find herself alone.
In the heart of the forest, the fairies help their mistress Tytania to sleep. Oberon steals in to put the juice on her eyes, hoping she will “wake when some vile thing is near.”
Read moreACT II
Later that night, Quince and his men meet to rehearse. Puck, seeing them at work, decides to amuse himself by turning Bottom into an ass. At the sight of this strange and terrifying transformation, the others run off. Bottom sings out loud to keep his courage up. This wakes Tytania, who immediately falls in love with him. With the help of the fairies, she manages to coax him to bed.
Oberon is delighted to find Tytania in love with an ass. But when Demetrius arrives, still in pursuit of Hermia, he realizes Puck has made a mistake. Demetrius falls asleep, and Oberon pours the juice on his eyes. The arrival of Helena and Lysander wakes Demetrius, who now declares his passion for Helena. When Hermia appears as well, only to be rejected by Lysander, Helena is convinced that the men have planned it all to mock her. The four quarrel furiously. Enraged at Puck, Oberon gives him an antidote to administer to Lysander. Puck leads the lovers away through the forest until they fall asleep and puts the herb on Lysander’s eyes.
ACT III
Shortly before dawn, Oberon releases Tytania from the spell. Daybreak rouses the four lovers, who are finally reconciled—Demetrius with Helena and Lysander with Hermia. Bottom, restored to human shape, wakes from what he thinks was a strange dream. He wanders off while his friends search for him. They’re about to give up when he returns with news that their play has been chosen to be performed at court.
Back in Athens, the four lovers ask Theseus’s forgiveness for their disobedience to the law. Theseus decides that they shall be married together with him and Hippolyta. Quince and his players finally give their performance of “Pyramus and Thisbe,” and the three couples retire to bed. Oberon, Tytania, and the fairies bless the sleeping household—with Puck having the last word.
Courtesy of Metropolitan Opera
Characters & Cast
Lysander
Kameron Lopreore
A First Timer’s Guide
The Opera Experience
Operas on our mainstage are grand theatrical experiences. You can always expect the unexpected, and for our productions to be presented at the highest quality.
Supertitles
Many operas are in a foreign language. Supertitles are similar to subtitles in a film, except they are projected above the stage. These translations will help you follow what’s happening on stage.
What to Wear
There is no dress code at The Opera and you will see everything from jeans to evening gowns and formal suits. Most people use it as a chance to enjoy dressing up in their own style.
Arriving in Good Time
If you are late, you will be escorted to the nearest late seating area. At intermission ushers will show you to your seat. Plan ahead to arrive with extra time.
Enhance Your Visit
Pre-Performance Talk
Learn about the history of the opera, the composer, and more from artists and opera aficionados. One hour prior to curtain. Free with your ticket!
Familiarizing Yourself with the Story
Because of the foreign languages, classical music, and often complex plots, you will very likely enjoy the performance better if you spend a few minutes familiarizing yourself with the story and characters in advance. Some people even like to listen to the music in advance and others prefer to let it wash over them during the show and perhaps look it up afterwards.
How is an Opera Staged?
Auditions
Actors first audition for roles up to a year in advance, or for more experienced artists, directors also invite them to play a role.
Rehearsals
Most of the rehearsals are held in our rehearsal hall, and not the actual theatre. The conductor begins orchestra rehearsals about a week and half before opening night. They have four rehearsals with the conductor, and then the singers are added into the mix.
Sets & Costumes
The Atlanta Opera Costume Shop alters the costumes to fit our singers. Sometimes they do have to make costumes if there aren’t enough, or if there is nothing that fits, etc. Once the sets are in place, the cast begins rehearsing at the theatre. The Opera production staff works with staff at the theatre to get all of the lighting and technical aspects of the production together.
Sitzprobe & Dress Rehearsal
The orchestra comes together with the singers in a special rehearsal called sitzprobe. There are no costumes during the sitzprobe, this is mainly to hear the voices with the orchestra. There is a piano dress rehearsal, when the singers rehearse in full costume for the first time so they can get used to wearing them. Finally, all of the pieces are put together for two full dress rehearsals leading up to opening night.
Composer
Benjamin Britten
(1913-1976)
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other vocal music, orchestral and chamber pieces. His best-known works include the opera Peter Grimes (1945), the War Requiem (1962) and the orchestral showpiece The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (1945).
Born in Lowestoft, Suffolk, the son of a dentist, Britten showed talent from an early age. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London and privately with the composer Frank Bridge. Britten first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy was Born in 1934. With the premiere of Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to international fame. Over the next 28 years, he wrote 14 more operas, establishing himself as one of the leading 20th-century composers in the genre. In addition to large-scale operas for Sadler’s Wells and Covent Garden, he wrote chamber operas for small forces, suitable for performance in venues of modest size. Among the best known of these is The Turn of the Screw (1954). Recurring themes in his operas include the struggle of an outsider against a hostile society and the corruption of innocence.
Read moreBritten’s other works range from orchestral to choral, solo vocal, chamber and instrumental as well as film music. He took a great interest in writing music for children and amateur performers, including the opera Noye’s Fludde, a Missa Brevis, and the song collection Friday Afternoons. He often composed with particular performers in mind. His most frequent and important muse was his personal and professional partner, the tenor Peter Pears; others included Kathleen Ferrier, Jennifer Vyvyan, Janet Baker, Dennis Brain, Julian Bream, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Osian Ellis and Mstislav Rostropovich. Britten was a celebrated pianist and conductor, performing many of his own works in concert and on record. He also performed and recorded works by others, such as Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, Mozart symphonies, and song cycles by Schubert and Schumann.
Together with Pears and the librettist and producer Eric Crozier, Britten founded the annual Aldeburgh Festival in 1948, and he was responsible for the creation of Snape Maltings concert hall in 1967. In his last year, he was the first composer to be given a life peerage.
Courtesy of Wikipedia.org
Conductor
Louis Lohraseb
Rising conductor Louis Lohraseb, whose recent performances of both opera and symphonic work have garnered praise from Opera News, The Wall Street Journal and The Berkshire Review, made his professional conducting debut in 2019 at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, leading performances of Carmen. Of these performances, Classical Music Daily wrote: “Teatro dell’Opera’s good orchestra was conducted with ability by Louis Lohraseb, who has, no doubt, a merit in making this premiere vibrant and full of tension.”
A student of the late Lorin Maazel and of James Conlon, the latter whom he assisted at the 2014 Ravinia Festival in productions of Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro, Mo. Lohraseb was selected as the 2016 Conducting Fellow at the Chautauqua Music Festival, where he conducted and assisted in both operatic and symphonic literature. In 2018, he was an assistant conductor at the Glimmerglass Festival for Il barbiere di Siviglia and West Side Story, after which he joined the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program at LA Opera.
Currently a doctoral candidate at the Jacobs School of Music, he has studied under distinguished faculty members Arthur Fagen, David Effron, and Kevin Murphy, and served as assistant conductor and opera coach for the IU Opera Theater. As the 2013 Conducting Fellow at the Yale School of Music, he studied with Shinik Hahm and served as assistant conductor to the Yale Philharmonia under such musicians as Peter Oudjian, John Adams and Krzysztof Penderecki. During his time at Yale, he founded the Amadeus Orchestra, served as music director of the Cheshire Symphony Orchestra, and was a conducting fellow at the Castleton Festival in Virginia in 2014. Born to Iranian and Italian parents, he earned his Master’s Degree in conducting from Yale University in 2015 and graduated summa cum laude from SUNY Geneseo in 2013, where he was an Edgar Fellows honors student and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
