Lovely County Citizen: Local News: Music to make your spirits soar (05/29/08)

Opera in the Ozarks is an opportunity for anyone to enjoy this art form. Don't be put off if you've never quite connected with opera. An evening at Inspiration Point will give you an entirely different perspective. With the singers and the orchestra so close to the audience, you'll feel a part of the production. These timeless tales have universal themes, which explains why they are still performed and loved.

Each opera is performed on a rotating schedule between June 20 and July 18 at the premier training grounds in the South for up-and-coming stars of the genre; Opera in the Ozarks has been the catalyst for many sparkling celebrities in the opera world since 1950. Alumni from Opera in the Ozarks have worked with opera companies in San Francisco, New York City, the Metropolitan Opera House, Santa Fe, and many more, including several European companies. You'll be entertained today by the stars of tomorrow.

The 2008 season will offer productions of Puccini's La Bohème, Mozart's Cos" Fan Tutte, and Gilbert and Sullivan's Mikado.

The timeless music and romance of La Bohéme are featured this season at Opera in the Ozarks.

The season begins and ends with La Bohème. The plot of this opera centers around a community of artists in Paris, particularly between the romantic relationship of poet Rodolfo and seamstress Mimi. Like the parallel relationship of Rodolfo's roommate Marcello and the beautiful Musetta, Mimi and Rodolfo's love is not without conflict. At the end of the opera, however, they are united tragically as Mimi returns to the garret and dies there, surrounded by her friends.

The Mikado is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations. Setting the opera in Japan, an exotic locale far away from Britain, allowed Gilbert to satirize British politics and institutions more freely by disguising them as Japanese. The work has been translated into numerous languages and is one of the most frequently played musical theatre pieces in history.

Mozart's Cos" Fan Tutte is set in Naples in the 18th century. Two men decide to test the fidelity of their fiancès by announcing they have been sent to war, and then disguising themselves to court each other's lover. Will the ladies succumb to their suitors?

Curtain time for each opera is 8 p.m.; admission is $20 for the first four rows, or $15 for rows further back. Opera in the Ozarks is located just ten minutes west of Eureka Springs on U.S. Highway 62, at Inspiration Point. For more info and tickets, call (479) 253-8595, or visit www.opera.org.