Setting New Stages
The Opera Institute Expands into the Boston Theatre Scene.
Spark Volume 3, Issue 3 | by Sydney Narvaez (COM’19)
The BU School of Music Opera Institute is immersing itself into the Boston theatre scene with the spring performances of Albert Herring and Pelléas et Mélisande, heading to the stages of Emerson College’s Paramount Center and Cutler Majestic Theatre.
The Opera Institute (OI), a two-year professional performance curriculum, accentuates high-level musical training and combines a theatrical approach with an emphasis on acting and movement skills. It encompasses all levels from undergraduate and graduate voice majors through its post graduate certificate. Within the unique collaboration of the School of Music’s Opera Institute with the School of Theatre, students from the Design and Production program can participate in the visual creation of productions under the School of Theatre faculty and a guest stage director.
This season, OI expanded its reach further into the Boston theatre scene by working with local theatres to discover new venues. Artistic Director William Lumpkin and Managing Director Oshin Gregorian found Emerson’s Paramount Center and Cutler Majestic Theatre to continue to provide valuable experiences for all School of Music and School of Theatre students involved. Additionally, the new College of Fine Arts Production Center brings convenience and new energy to students. Lumpkin and Gregorian agree, “the center provides further pedagogical and experiential value for all of the students involved in the productions, which we believe will manifest itself in an exciting way on the stages we occupy.”
To open the season, Opera Institute staged Albert Herring in the Paramount in February, designed in the new CFA Production Center at 820 Commonwealth Ave.
One of the spring 2018 operas is Debussy’s rarely performed Pelléas et Mélisande, which Gregorian and Lumpkin describe as both “sensual and mysterious.” This production serves to promote the Opera Institute’s mission of exploring adventurous and unusual repertoire, inviting singers, orchestral musicians, and design teams to take an equally adventurous and unusually artistic journey.
Pelléas et Mélisande
Saturday, March 31, 7:30pm
Sunday, April 1, 2:00pm
Presented by Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Music: Opera Institute and School of Theatre
An opera in five acts with music by Claude Debussy • Conducted by William Lumpkin • Stage Direction by E. Loren Meeker • Sung in French with English supertitles.
Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre 219 Tremont St, Boston, MA cutlermajestic.org
Tickets: $20 General Public • $15 BU Alumni, WGBH and WBUR members, senior citizens • $10 CFA Membership $5 Students with valid ID • Free with BU ID, two tickets, at the door, subject to availability.
Learn more at bu.edu/cfa/opera.