Opera Orlando goes GAME OF THRONE

Opera Orlando heads to Westeros as it closes its 2023-24 MainStage series with a Game of Thrones-inspired take on Donizetti’s bel canto masterpiece Lucia di Lammermoor. A tale of love, betrayal, and madness, Lucia is torn between allegiance to her family and her love for Edgardo – sworn enemy to Lucia’s brother Enrico. A forced marriage leads to tragic ends for all involved in this gorgeous operatic treatment of Sir Walter Scott’s gothic romance The Bride of Lammermoor, on stage at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts April 19 at 7:30 p.m. and April 21 at 2 p.m. Individual tickets are on sale now.

Lucia has been sheltered and manipulated by the men in her life, putting her in a very vulnerable and fragile mental state. As she gets caught up in a family feud by falling in love with her brother’s rival, Enrico uses her as a pawn and bargaining chip to establish a better financial and military position for himself. Lucia is distraught and pushed to her limit. She has a mental break, singing one of the most quintessential “mad scenes” in all of opera, “Il dolce suono…”

For this dark, original production designed and directed by Opera Orlando artistic director Grant Preisser, with Robert Wood, making his Company debut, conducting the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Steinmetz Hall will be transformed into the North country. “Lucia di Lammermoor is quite a lush and passionate opera set against a brutal, violent backdrop,” shares Grant Preisser. “Originally this piece was set in Scotland, which to Italians at the time felt very mystical and other-worldly. It has been a lot of fun to find those same parallels in the universe that George R.R. Martin created with Game of Thrones. This new take on Lucia is a prequel to those stories, set in Winterfell at the White Wall. It is another chapter in the Stark household line, with some pretty spectacular singing as an added bonus. I am very excited to work with Maestro Wood again to develop this all new production. It is going to be quite the spectacle.”

Conductor Robert Wood made his debut with San Francisco Opera in 2004 with Verdi’s La traviata. He also conducted L’italiana in Algeri among other projects. From 2006-08, Mr. Wood served as conductor in residence at the Minnesota Opera, leading productions of L’italiana in Algeri, Le nozze di Figaro, La donna del lago, Rusalka, and Il barbiere di Siviglia. More recently Maestro Wood has conducted Rigoletto at Austin Opera, Silent Night at the University of British Columbia with the Vancouver Opera orchestra, Roméo et Juliette and Carmen at Opera Colorado, Die Fledermaus and As One at Hawaii Opera Theatre, and Three Decembers at Kentucky Opera. In 2009, Mr. Wood founded UrbanArias, and under his guidance the company has achieved national recognition as an innovator in the field of opera. UrbanArias has produced over 25 works in Virginia, DC, and New York City, eleven of which were world premieres, and seven of which were commissioned by the company. 

Stage director Grant Preisser enjoys a diverse career of directing and designing across the country, having worked with UrbanArias, Opera in the Heights, Chautauqua Opera, Opera Steamboat, and Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. In the 20219-20 season, Mr. Preisser served as guest faculty at the University of Michigan, directing and designing Die Fledermaus and directing Stradella’s La Susanna in partnership with the University’s Early Music Ensemble. In addition to his freelance work, Mr. Preisser serves as artistic director for Opera Orlando, where he supervises production and marketing efforts for the Company, as well as directing and designing productions that have included The Magic Flute, All is Calm: the Christmas Truce of 1914, Hansel and Gretel, and Death of Ivan Ilych.

Joining Grant Preisser and Robert Wood is a fantastic cast headlined by Opera Orlando’s own general director and Grammy Award-winning baritone Gabriel Preisser singing the role of Enrico, brother to Lucia who will be sung by the stunning, international soprano Marnie Breckenridge. Tenor Ben Gulley, returning to Orlando having last been seen as Dick Johnson in the 2020 production of The Girl of the Golden West, will sing the role of Lucia’s true love Edgardo. Bass Zaikuan Song will make his Company debut singing the role of Raimondo, and tenor John Teixeira will sing the role of Normanno. The cast also includes 2023-24 Studio Artists, members of the Opera Orlando Chorus, and dancers from the Orlando Ballet.

Lucia di Lammermoor  |  music by Gaetano Donizetti and libretto by Salvadore Cammarano

sung in Italian with English supertitles 

Age advisory: PG-13

Friday  |  April 19. 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday  |  April 21, 2024 at 2 p.m.

Estimated run time is two hours and 45 minutes with one intermission. A pre-show talk, free for all ticket holders, will be held on stage 50 minutes prior to each performance.

Individual tickets for Lucia di Lammermoor start at just $29 and go on sale Friday, November 17, through the Dr. Phillips Center’s Bill & Mary Darden Box Office (445 S. Magnolia Avenue, Orlando), online at www.DrPhillipsCenter.org, or by calling (407) 839-0119, ext. 0. Make it a subscription and enjoy opera all season with Opera Orlando. 

See YOU at the Opera!

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About Opera Orlando:     Celebrating, expanding, and sharing the world’s greatest art form,  the 2023-24 season marks Opera Orlando’s eighth season producing high-quality operatic entertainment and educational programs that engage Central Florida audiences.

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