Opera comes to Lake Coeur d'Alene
COEUR d'ALENE - A few general admission tickets are still available to see "The Pirates of Penzance," Opera Coeur d'Alene's first Gilbert and Sullivan show.
The performance will be presented in an open-air, concert version during a two-hour evening cruise aboard the Mish-an-Nock and the Coeur d'Alene tour boats, loading at 6 p.m. July 13.
Curt Olds, renowned favorite of Gilbert and Sullivan productions all over the country, will be coming fresh from Hawaii Opera Theater's "Mikado" to sing the role of "the very model of a modern Major-General." Olds himself is the very model of a Broadway singer, having appeared in the original German production of "Cats," in Riverdance on Broadway and Carnegie Hall's "Guys and Dolls."
In the role, the not-so-model Major-General gets in a fix protecting his daughter, Mabel, who is in love with a young pirate intern. Mabel will be played by international diva and favorite of Northwestern stage and opera, Dawn Wolski, whose effortless, crystal-clear high D has made the news from China to Europe.
The pirate apprentice, Frederick, will be sung by accomplished regional favorite Jadd Davis, artistic director of Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre. Opera Coeur d'Alene's own artistic director, Aaron St. Clair Nicholson, is a metropolitan opera artist who is known not only for his crisp, smooth baritone but for his perfect timing and dramatic delivery that will add to the hilarity as Pirate King.
Gilbert and Sullivan were a British theatrical team of the late 1800s. W.S. Gilbert wrote the words, and Arthur Sullivan the music, to such works as "H.M.S. Pinafore," "The Mikado" and others. "The Pirates of Penzance" was the only one to premier in the U.S. in 1879 before opening in London.
The cruise, for the first time using two cruise boats, and for the first time offering an abridged concert production, is part of a whole season of firsts for Coeur d'Alene's nationally recognized professional opera company.
Other season firsts include an "Opera Bash" on Sept. 15, to celebrate 15 years of opera in Coeur d'Alene over drinks, hors d'oeuvres and a live auction with items including a week in a chateau in Bordeaux, France. The event will feature principal singers from the Sept. 12 and 14 production of "Girl of the Golden West," a full-stage performance in North Idaho College's Schuler Auditorium. That show will feature Jill Gardener, praised as a "powerhouse soprano" by The Syracuse New Times, Roger Honeywell, praised by Opera News and Korean-American baritone Hyung Yun who a rising metropolitan opera artist who will be coming fresh from singing in Seattle Opera's Rigoletto.
General admission tickets for the cruise cost $50 each. For the first time this year, a season ticket season will include a semi-premium seat at "Golden Girl" and general admission to Opera Bash and Opera on the Lake for the reduced rate of $147.50. All may be purchased now at operacda.com, by phoning 1-800-418-1485 option 1, or at the Opera CdA Box office, open Monday-Friday 10 a.m. -2 p.m.. or until 4 p.m. Wednesday. It is located at 4951 Building Center Drive No. 105 in Coeur d'Alene.
Info: www.operacda.com