Upon the closing of IU Opera and Ballet Theater’s 2014-2015 season, Gwyn Richards, dean of the IU Jacobs School of Music and general manager of the program, announced productions for the 2015-2016 season.
The 67th season of the opera and ballet company will include five operas, three ballets and one musical.
The season will begin in September with Gioachino Rossini’s comedic “The Barber of Seville,” featuring conductor Paul Nadler, director Garnett Bruce and set and costume designer C. David Higgins.
Jake Heggie’s “Dead Man Walking,” with a libretto by Terrence McNally, will make its IU opera theater debut in October. The opera, like the 1995 Tim Robbins film of the same name, is based on a 1993 book.
Conductor Arthur Fagen, director Robin Guarino and set and costume designer Allen Moyer will take the helm for a new production of Johann Strauss Jr.‘s “Die Fledermaus” in November.
Spring semester will commence with the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart favorite “Così fan tutte,” conducted by Arthur Fagen, directed by Michael Shell and designed by C. David Higgins.
Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” will return to IU opera theatre in February and March for the first time since April 2006. Conductor David Effron, director Jeffrey Buchman and set and costume designer Robert O’Hearn will bring this favorite work to life, according the Jacobs School of Music press release.
The fall ballet will open with “Musical Offerings,” choreographed by Paul Taylor and set to music by Johann Sebastian Bach. “Concerto Barocco,” with choreography by George Balanchine and music by Bach, and “As Time Goes By,” choreographed by Twyla Tharp to music by Joseph Haydn, complete the program.
IU’s annual holiday production of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” will return in December with choreography by Michael Vernon and set and costume designs by Higgins. Conductor Andrea Quinn will take the podium.
Four works by George Balanchine, widely considered the “father of American ballet,” will be featured in the spring. “Raymonda Variations,” with music by Alexander Glazunov, will open the program, followed by “Tarantella,” with music by Louis Moreau Gottschalk. Set to Tchaikovsky’s iconic music, “Elegies” and “Serenade” will be the final ballet of the season.
“The Sound of Music” will bring the season to a close in April. Conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos, director Gabriele Barre and costume designer Linda Pisano will serve on the artistic team.
