YSU presents "Mozart to Menotti" operas
Youngstown State University presents two short operas celebrating “From Mozart to Menotti” Friday, Saturday and Sunday April 21, 22 and 23 in Ford Theater, Bliss Hall on the YSU campus.
The evening, presented by YSU’s Donald P. Pipino Performing Arts Series and the Dana School of Music, features The Medium by Gian Carlo Menotti and The Impresario by W.A. Mozart. Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m., and the Sunday matinee performance is 2 p.m.
Adult tickets are $16. Discount tickets are: $8 for non-YSU students, YSU faculty and staff with valid ID, senior citizens, Penguin Club members and groups of eight or more. YSU student tickets are free with valid ID. Patrons are advised to purchase tickets early by calling the University Theater Box Office at 330-941-3105 or online at www.ysu.tix.com.
In addition, at 6 p.m. Friday, April 21, YSU Professor Allan Mosher presents a pre-performance lecture in the McDonough Museum of Art’s Lecture Hall. Mosher, a faculty member in the Dana School of Music, will give some background information on both operas and both composers, and will describe how the two works fit into the other works composed by each. Dana adjunct faculty member Jennifer Jones Mosher will also talk about her experience working with Gian Carlo Menotti at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music, when she was a student and where Menotti returned as an alumnus to direct The Medium. Following the lecture, patrons are invited to attend the opening night reception for the Spring Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition in the McDonough Museum, where artwork by students completing the requirements for their BFA degree is displayed. There is no charge for the lecture or art opening.
The performance is the fourth opera at YSU staged under the auspices of the Donald P. Pipino Performing Arts Series made possible by Christine and Edward Muransky in honor of Christine’s father. The Muransky family provided a gift to support the Performing Arts Series and the YSU opera in October 2013.
The Medium involves a phony "medium" who scams money from grieving parents with her sham "séances" through fake voices and apparitions. This one-act dramatic opera was Menotti's first success when it became a hit on Broadway.
The Impresario showcases an opera producer who finds himself refereeing a battle between two rival prima donnas for roles in his upcoming season. Mozart's one-act musical-play will be sung using the original German libretto with English dialogue and supertitles.
The director of the YSU opera program director is Misook Yun. Dana Symphony Orchestra director is Stephen L. Gage, who will conduct The Impresario, while graduate student Ian LeRoy of Orwell, Ohio, is the conductor for The Medium. Also, stage director/scenic designer is David Vosburgh; lighting designer is Kevin Wolfgang; costumer is Barbara Luce; production manager is Todd Dicken; stage manager is Devin Whitehouse; musical preparation is by Jan Crews (The Impresario) and Ian LeRoy (The Medium); and master carpenter is Frank Bongen.
Each opera is double cast. The Medium includes, on April 21 and 23, Emilio Santiago, of Hermitage, Pa.; Kathleen Howells of Baden, Pa.; Erika Walker of Canfield, Ohio; David Mouse of East Liverpool, Ohio; Anna Murcko of Napoleon, Ohio; Brianna Crawford of Wampum, Pa.; and Sara Eckenrode of Youngstown, Ohio. The April 22 cast includes Eckenrode, Crawford, Amanda Bertilacci of Niles, Ohio; Sierra Ellis of New Castle, Pa.; Nicholas Hazelton of New Castle, Pa.; Rebecca Enlow of Salem, Ohio; and Kristina Clemons of Austintown, Ohio.
The Impresario cast includes, on April 21 and 23, includes Nicholas Hazelton of New Castle, Pa.; Emilio Santiago of Hermitage, Pa.; Francesca Maria Molinaro of Connellsville, Pa.; Anthony Humphrey of New Castle, Pa.; and Rebecca Enlow of Salem, Ohio. The April 22 cast includes Humphrey, Stephen West of Brunswick, Ga.; David Mouse of East Liverpool, Ohio; Brianne Kochunas Samson of Warren, Ohio; and Olivia Kochunas of Warren, Ohio.
Parking is available in the Wick Avenue parking deck via Walnut Street (GPS address is 100 Wade Street, Youngstown OH 44502) for a nominal fee. Patrons are advised to watch for posted detours as construction progresses on Wick Avenue. For more information, call 330-941-2307.