Frankenstein

Cast

Amanda Sheriff*
Soprano

Aubrey Odle*
Contralto

Kameron Lopreore*
Tenor

Andrew Gilstrap
Baritone

Jason Zacher*
Bass-baritone

Creative

Michael Shapiro
Conductor

Gregory Boyle
Assistant Stage Director

Rolando Salazar
Assistant Conductor

*Sponsored in name this season by a gift from Beth & Gary Glynn, The Glynn Studio Artists also receive significant support from the Donald & Marilyn Keough Foundation, John & YeeWan Stevens, and Jerry & Dulcy Rosenberg.

PerformanceBanner_2324_Frankenstein

Composer/Conductor: Michael Shapiro

A fantastical collision of sight and sound awaits in this imaginative presentation of vintage cinema. A big-screen showing of the 1931 film of Mary Shelley’s classic novel “Frankenstein” starring Boris Karloff is given a lush and vibrant score composed by Michael Shapiro and performed by a quintet of singers and The Atlanta Opera orchestra for an entertaining evening at the theater. Come in costume and enjoy the fun as Frankenstein’s monster comes alive in a whole new way next Halloween!

Sung in English with English Supertitles

Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre

PerformanceBanner_2324_Frankenstein

Composer/Conductor: Michael Shapiro

A fantastical collision of sight and sound awaits in this imaginative presentation of vintage cinema. The 1931 silent film of Mary Shelley’s classic novel “Frankenstein” is given a lush and vibrant score composed by Michael Shapiro and presented by The Atlanta Opera orchestra and an intimate collection of voices for an entertaining evening at the theater. Be transported to yesteryear as Frankenstein’s monster comes alive in a whole new way through this entrancing union of film
and opera.

Sung in English with English Supertitles

Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre

Cast

Amanda Sheriff*
Soprano

Aubrey Odle*
Contralto

Kameron Lopreore*
Tenor

Andrew Gilstrap
Baritone

Jason Zacher*
Bass-baritone

Creative

Michael Shapiro
Conductor

Gregory Boyle
Assistant Stage Director

Rolando Salazar
Assistant Conductor

*Member of The Atlanta Opera Glynn Studio. Sponsored in name this season by a gift from Beth & Gary Glynn, The Glynn Studio Artists also receive significant support from the Donald & Marilyn Keough Foundation. The Studio Artist director position is funded by Jerry & Dulcy Rosenberg in honor of Tomer Zvulun.

Frankenstein’s Grave Rave & Costume Contest

Saturday, October 28 – following the performance | Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre Lobby
Both events FREE for all Frankenstein ticketholders

Frankenstein’s Costume Contest

It’s not just a movie-opera; it’s a spooky spectacle! YOU could take center stage at the opera by winning our costume contest. Show off your creativity, whether you’re channeling Frankenstein’s monster or any other spooky character, to win big!

Prizes include:

  • 1st – 2 tickets to Rigoletto, a Frankenstein shirt, a signed Frankenstein poster, & wine tumblers with drink tickets
  • 2nd – Signed Frankenstein poster and drink tickets
  • 3rd – Signed Frankenstein poster

Register to enter:
When: 6:30- 7pm (before the 8pm performance)
Where: Lobby concierge desk
The costume contest will start at 7:00pm

Frankenstein’s Grave Rave

After the spine-tingling performance, the fun continues with a Grave Rave! Dance the night away with a carnival of characters and enjoy spooky-themed cocktails and snacks. It’s the perfect way to celebrate this ghoulish holiday! Frankenstein’s Grave Rave afterparty will be the event of the season!

If you would like to stay for the afterparty, pick up your free wristband at the concierge desk.
The Grave Rave will start directly after the performance in the main floor and mezzanine lobby until 11:30pm.

Synopsis

Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) wants to build a man in his own image, using the body of a dead man. He and his assistant Fritz (Dwight Frye) dig up a freshly buried coffin and steal the body. When they realize the head and the brains of the body are severely damaged, they decide to steal a brain from Dr. Frankenstein’s former teacher Dr. Waldman (Edward van Sloan). When Fritz accidentally drops the glass jar with the label “good brain” on it, on the floor, he decides to take the glass jar with the label “bad brain”. Using some kind of mysterious ray that Dr. Frankenstein discovered, the body is brought to life during a thunderstorm, and the monster of Frankenstein (Boris Karloff) is born.

Later, when Dr. Frankenstein realizes that he has created an aggressive monster, he and Fritz lock the monster up in a cell. When the monster is repeatedly bullied and provoked by Fritz, the monster eventually manages to kill him. When the monster escapes, he meets a little girl playing near the water. The monster and the girl throw flowers in the water. Enjoying the playing, the clumsy monster proceeds to pick up the girl and throw her in the water too. Later we learn that the little girl drowned in the incident, when her father carries her through the streets.

The city’s population propel into an uproar, demanding the death of Frankenstein’s monster. The monster is driven into an old mill, after which the people of the city set the mill on fire.

Courtesy of IMDB

Characters & Cast

Soprano

Amanda Sheriff

View Website >

Contralto

Aubrey Odle

View Website >

Tenor

Kameron Lopreore
View Website >

Baritone

Andrew Gilstrap

Bass-baritone

Jason Zacher
View Website >


Sponsored by the Molly Blank Fund of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation

The Discoveries series

The Discoveries series is dedicated to audience members who are seeking new works, new ideas and fresh perspectives. These are not your standard operas.

Locations

As part of The Opera’s effort to bring opera to new audiences all over Atlanta, these productions are performed in exciting alternative venues that we don’t traditionally perform opera in.

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 have to sit the first act in the back and then in the intermission ushers will show you to your seat. Plan ahead to arrive with extra time.

Directions to Discoveries series Venues

Enhance Your Visit

Backstory

Discoveries series performances include events either before or after the performance. As part of the Backstory program, these experiences allow audience members to learn more about the opera, open a conversation around important topics, and participate with the cast in conversation, dancing, and many other formats. Free for ticket holders.

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.

Composer / Conductor

Michael Shapiro

Michael Shapiro’s works have been performed throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe—with broadcasts of premieres on National Public Radio (NPR), the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA),  Polskie Radio (Poland), Australian and South African stations, Sender Freies Berlin, WQXR, WCBS-TV, SiriusXM Symphony Hall Living American and Vincent Caruso’s Classics on Film, and over 50 United States, Canadian, and British public and commercial radio stations. His music, which spans across all media, has been characterized in a New York Times review as “possessing a rare melodic gift.” His oeuvre includes more than 100 works for solo voice, piano, chamber ensembles, chorus, orchestra, as well as for opera, film, and television, with recordings on Naxos and Paumanok Records. 

Michael Shapiro has collaborated with such artists as Teresa Stratas, José Ferrer, Janos Starker, Sir Malcolm Arnold, Marin Alsop, Sergiu Comissiona, Jerry Junkin, Paul Shaffer, Eugene Drucker, Kim Cattrall, Tim Fain, Lara Downes, Gottfried Wagner, Alexis Cole, Edward Arron, Jerome Rose, Mariko Anraku, Elliott Forrest, Steven Beck, Ariadne Greif, Deborah Simpkin King, Daniel Mutlu, John Fullam, Captain Kenneth Collins, Jose Ramos Santana, Clamma Dale, Anita Darian, Florence Levitt, Kikuei Ikeda, Ayako Yoshida, Harris Poor, John Edward Niles, David Leibowitz, Robert Tomaro, Anthony LaGruth, Kathryn Amyotte, James Allen Anderson, Matthew Thomas Troy, Sarah McKoin, Albert Nguyen, Kevin Suetterlin, David Kehler, Jeffery Meyer, Glen Hemberger, Diva Goodfriend-Koven, Andrey Litvinenko, and Emily Wong, and organizations such as the LA Opera, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi (LaVerdi), Philharmonisches Orchester der Stadt Trier (Theater Trier), Houston Symphony Orchestra, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica de Puerto Rico, United States Navy Band, West Point Band, Royal Canadian Air Force Band, Dallas Winds, Dragefjetts Musikkorps, St. Petersburg (Russia) Chamber Philharmonic, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Traverse Symphony Orchestra, New York Repertory Orchestra, Beloit Janesville Symphony, Garden State Philharmonic, Piedmont Wind Symphony, Western Piedmont Symphony, Opera Theatre of Northern Virginia, Steamboat Springs Strings Music Festival, Westchester Concert Singers, International Opera Center at the Zürich Opera, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Israel Broadcasting Authority, Sender Freies Berlin, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, National Public Radio (NPR), WCBS-TV, WQXR Radio, Milken Archive of Jewish Music, American Jewish Committee, Hawthorne String Quartet, Locrian Chamber Ensemble, Amernet String Quartet, Artemis, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Festspillene i Bergen (Bergen International Festival), and Dateline NBC, and universities in New York, California, Texas, Minnesota, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Arizona, Illinois, Louisiana, Ohio, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, and Tennessee. 

Read more

Michael Shapiro guest conducts internationally and is Laureate Conductor of The Chappaqua Orchestra in New York’s Westchester County, which he conducted for the world premiere of his score for the classic 1931 film Frankenstein (directed by James Whale and starring Boris Karloff and Colin Clive) (since its premiere the work has received over 50 productions internationally), as well as for the world premiere of his own orchestral work, Roller Coaster, which received its West Coast premiere under the baton of Marin Alsop at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music while Shapiro was a composer in residence. He served for two years as the music consultant to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., where he produced and performed music by a number of composers who were either murdered by the Germans and their collaborators or had survived as refugees from the Third Reich. He has also been the assistant conductor at the Zurich Opera Studio. 

The son of a Klezmer band clarinetist, Michael Shapiro was born in Brooklyn, New York, and spent most of his high school years in Baldwin, a Long Island suburb, where he was a music student of Consuelo Elsa Clark, William Zurcher, and Rudolf Bosakowski. The winner of several piano competitions during his youth, he earned his B.A. at Columbia College, Columbia University, where he majored in English literature and concentrated in music, benefiting most—according to his own assessment—from some of the department’s stellar musicology faculty, which, at that time, included such international luminaries as Paul Henry Lang, Denis Stevens, Joel Newman, and others. He studied conducting independently with Carl Bamberger at the Mannes College of Music in New York and later with Harold Farberman at Bard College. At The Juilliard School, where he earned his master’s degree, he studied solfège and score reading with the renowned Mme. Renée Longy—known to generations of Juilliard students as “the infamous madame of dictation” for her rigorous demands and classic pedagogic methods—and composition with Vincent Persichetti. His most influential composition teacher, however, was Elie Siegmeister, with whom Shapiro studied privately.