Main Stage Opera with Symphony Orchestra

Friday, April 28 at 7:30PM
Saturday, April 29 at 7:30PM
Sunday, April 30 at 2:30PM

Music by Benjamin Britten
Lyrics by Peter Pears

Set on Shenandoah Conservatory’s main proscenium stage and directed by Director of Opera Ella Marchment, our main stage production provides audiences with the full opera experience. This year’s production is based on Shakespeare’s popular and beloved comedy of mistaken identities, confused lovers and alarming transformations.

Benjamin Britten’s 1960 A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which features a libretto adapted by Peter Pears, harnesses the Bard’s exceptional storytelling with Britten’s expressive and atmospheric harmonies.

Backed by the full force of the Symphony Orchestra, audiences are transported to a beguiling and enchanting world where fantasy and reality intertwine. Marchment breathes new life into the work through a rich collaboration with U.K.-based guest scenic designer Madeleine Boyd, who sets the opera in an industrial environment — an old distillery that has been “reclaimed by nature.”

Sung in English with subtitles

Directed by Ella Marchment
Music direction by Jan Wagner

Digital Program

View Digital Program

Shenandoah Conservatory uses digital programs for all performances. In addition to their engaging and accessible design, digital programs are cost effective, environmentally friendly and enable us to create and update our programs more efficiently, which means we can focus our resources on the performances you love! View our digital programs by clicking the button above, scanning the QR code in our venue or texting PROGRAM to (540) 307-2336 at the performance. [Note: Digital programs are best viewed on your mobile or tablet device.]

SUGGESTED SHOW RATING: PG

This production contains theatrical haze, fog and flashing lighting effects. Contact the Box Office for more information.

Meet the Director

Universally acclaimed as one of Europe’s most original and progressive directors, and widely celebrated as the founder of the global #OperaHarmony movement, auteur-director Ella Marchment has also taken on leadership roles for international arts organizations and spoken and lectured at world-renowned companies and conservatoires, including Opera Europa in the Netherlands, the Royal Opera House in London, the Juilliard School in New York, and the Royal College of Music in London. She was previously director of the opera programme at Northern Illinois University and is the current artistic director of Manor Opera in the UK, and Opera Festival of Chicago. Visit www.ellamarchment.org to learn more.

Food & Drink

Concessions will be available for purchase beginning one hour prior to this performance.

ACCESSIBILITY

All facilities are wheelchair accessible. Infrared hearing system headsets are available in Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre only. Accommodations for disabilities may be arranged by contacting the Box Office at least three days prior to the performance.

Photos by C King Media (The New World of Opera, Spring 2022)