Boston University School of Music: Opera Institute and School of Theatre Present Little Women at Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre
Boston University School of Music: Opera Institute and School of Theatre Present Little Women at Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre
Adamo’s opera is a compelling interpretation of Louisa May Alcott’s great American novel. Running from February 23-26 at BU’s Booth Theatre
Boston University College of Fine Arts (CFA) School of Music: Opera Institute and School of Theatre proudly present Little Women, based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott, at Boston University’s Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre, with music and libretto by Mark Adamo.
Adamo’s opera is a compelling interpretation of Alcott’s great American novel, a coming-of-age story about four sisters and their journey from childhood to adulthood in civil-war era New England.
“Doing Little Women in Boston is particularly special for all of us here since we are just down the road from where Louisa May Alcott lived and wrote her iconic novel. I think this helps us feel a great closeness to the story and the characters that inspired Mark Adamo to create his beautiful opera,” says Eve Summer, the Stage Director of the BU production. “So many stories in the repertoire center romantic relationships and the way they impact or are impacted by community around them, but although Little Women has its share of romance, it’s unique in the number of powerful loves it deeply explores within a family and including the others touched by that family’s reach. This opera gives us a glimpse into just how much depth and power exists in any kind of relationship that we invest in.”
Doing Little Women in Boston is particularly special for all of us here since we are just down the road from where Louisa May Alcott lived and wrote her iconic novel. I think this helps us feel a great closeness to the story and the characters that inspired Mark Adamo to create his beautiful opera.
BU Opera Institute’s Artistic Director, William Lumpkin, is the show’s conductor. “Mr. Adamo’s setting of Little Women, which he refers to as a ‘riot of inflection and color’, cleverly combines a crisply rhythmic and angular use of recitative along with lyrical and emotionally impactful moments, all supported by a brilliant and colorful orchestration,” says Lumpkin, who’s also an Associate Professor of Music at BU School of Music.
Summer adds, “It’s very family-friendly, an opera for all ages! Expect to laugh, cry, and be wrapped up in beauty and in bittersweet nostalgia.”
The opera is sung in English and the performance duration is two hours.
LITTLE WOMEN
A co-production of the Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Music: Opera Institute and the School of Theatre
- Music and Libretto by Mark Adamo
- Based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott
- William Lumpkin, conductor
- Eve Summer, stage director
Dates & Times
- Thursday, February 23, 2023 • 7:30pm
- Friday, February 24, 2023 • 7:30pm
- Saturday, February 25, 2023 • 7:30pm
- Sunday, February 26, 2023 • 2pm
Location
Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre • BU West Campus • 820 Commonwealth Avenue, Brookline, MA
TICKETS
$20 General Admission + $2.50 convenience fee
Discounted tickets are available for the BU community, BU alumni, Brookline residents, and students enrolled in universities within Boston. Please use the following promo codes when purchasing tickets through Ovation Tix.
- Free ticket for all BU Faculty and Staff- BUFS
- Free ticket for all BU Students- BUSTU
- 50% tickets for all Brookline Residents- BUBROOKLINE
- 50% tickets for BU Alum- BUALUM
- 50% tickets for Students outside of BU- STUDENT50
Behind-the-Scenes of Little Women
Take a look at the process of our design and production students as they build the set, prepare the lights, and make the costumes for BU’s upcoming production of Little Women, opening February 23 at Booth Theatre. Photos by Emily Wang (COM’26)
About Us
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized institution of higher education and research. With more than 34,000 students, it is the fourth-largest independent university in the United States. BU consists of 17 schools and colleges, along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes integral to the University’s research and teaching mission. In 2012, BU joined the Association of American Universities (AAU), a consortium of 62 leading research universities in the United States and Canada. Learn more at bu.edu.
Established in 1954, Boston University College of Fine Arts (CFA) is a community of artist-scholars and scholar-artists who are passionate about the fine and performing arts, committed to diversity and inclusion, and determined to improve the lives of others through art. With programs in Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts, CFA prepares students for a meaningful creative life by developing their intellectual capacity to create art, shift perspective, think broadly, and master relevant skills. CFA offers a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs, as well as a range of online degrees and certificates. Learn more at bu.edu/cfa.
The Opera Institute at CFA School of Music is an intensive, highly selective two-year performance-based training program for emerging operatic artists. A professional faculty and renowned guest artists provide personal support and training in all areas pertinent to a career in opera, including voice, acting, languages, and movement styles. Additionally, the Opera Institute also selects undergraduate and graduate singers from the School of Music who demonstrate true operatic potential and have mastered an intermediate integration of acting, vocal, and movement skills for the Opera Theater, Opera Workshop, and Opera Project programs. More at bu.edu/cfa/opera.
The School of Theatre at Boston University College of Fine Arts offers conservatory-style education for the study of acting, stage management, design, production, and all aspects of the theatre profession within the setting of a major research university. The School of Theatre seeks to provide students with opportunities for artistic growth through a rigorous curriculum, professional connections, and an emphasis on collaboration and new work.