Cincinnati Opera will take a giant artistic step when it presents two new productions as part of its 2002 summer festival. The Cincinnati premieres and world-class stars are first steps to putting Cincinnati Opera on the map.

        In July 2002, Cincinnati Opera will be the first company outside of California to produce Dead Man Walking, the opera by Jake Heggie and playwright Terrence McNally (Master Class, Love! Valour! Compassion!), based on the award-winning book by Sister Helen Prejean. When San Francisco Opera gave the premiere last year, London's The Guardian wrote, “Dead Man Walking makes the most concentrated impact of any piece of American music theater since West Side Story.”

A scene from the opera, Dead Man Walking. | ZOOM |

        There's more. The company will mount a new production of Richard Strauss' Elektra for the first time, with Deborah Polaski in the title role and opera legend Anja Silja as Klytemnestra. Both will make their Cincinnati Opera debuts.

        Ms. Polaski, who studied at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, is one of the world's reigning Elektras. She is famed from the Metropolitan Opera to Bayreuth for her Wagner and Strauss roles.

        Ms. Silja is one of the most famous Wagnerian sopranos of Bayreuth in the '60s. She is considered a singing actress of great magnetism; in recent years, Emilia Marty (The Makropulos Case) has become a signature role. She is married to Cleveland Orchestra music director Christoph von Dohnanyi.

        “Based on the overall community response — box office, donations and word of mouth, ... it's clear that Cincinnati Opera is ready to take the next step,” says artistic director Nicholas Muni, who will direct Elektra next year. “The word "out there' about our artistic product is very positive. ... We are beginning to claim a place among the most exciting summer opera festivals.”

FESTIVAL LINEUPS

Cincinnati Opera 2002 Summer Festival     Romeo et Juliette: June 20, 22 and 28     The Marriage of Figaro: June 27 and 29     Dead Man Walking: July 11, 13 and 19     Elektra: July 17 and 20.     Subscription renewals will be sent in the fall. Information: 241-2742. Cincinnati Opera 2001 Summer Festival     Madame Butterfly: June 21, 23 and 29     Bluebeard's Castle/Erwartung: June 28 and 30     The Magic Flute: July 12,14 and 20     Nabucco: July 19 and 21     Subscriptions: $40-$352; single tickets: $12-$90. 241-2742.

        Dead Man Walking generated an enormous amount of media interest at its San Francisco premiere. The topical subject matter — the death penalty — follows the story of Sister Helen Prejean, who befriends death-row inmate Joseph de Rocher.

        Two traditional favorites will balance the season. The 2002 summer festival will open with Gounod's Romeo et Juliette (June 20, 22 and 28). The Marriage of Figaro, the great opera buffa by Mozart and his librettist Lorenzo da Ponte, will be June 27 and 29.

        Casting is still being finalized. Dead Man Walking (July 11, 13 and 19) may include original cast members, Mr. Muni says. There is no word yet on whether the company will nab superstar mezzo Susan Graham to sing Sister Prejean, the role which, in the movie version, won Susan Sarandon an Academy Award.

        Sister Prejean, who consulted for the movie and the opera, is expected to attend the Cincinnati premiere. She is a member of Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille, whose national headquarters is in Cincinnati.

        Sebastian Weigle will conduct Elektra (July 17 and 20). Other Elektra cast members include Danish soprano Inga Nielsen (Chrysothemis); and Robert Hale (Orestes). The designer is Peter Werner, completing the Victorian trilogy that in past seasons included The Turn of the Screw and Salome.

        In Romeo et Juliette, Russian soprano Dina Kuznetsova and Fernando de la Mora, a native of Mexico, will create the roles of the doomed lovers. Jean-Francois Lapointe, who sang Pelleas last year, will return as Mercutio.

        No casting is firmed up for The Marriage of Figaro.
        With the artistic leap comes a financial leap. The operating budget of $5.6 million for the 2001 season, which begins June 21 with Madame Butterfly, is expected to swell to about $6.2 million next year. Some of that is because Dead Man Walking will cost about $1 million (because of royalty fees and a large cast), compared to the usual $600,000 to $700,000 it takes to mount an opera.

        The company will continue its strategy of having two “festival weekends” this summer and next. In 2002, out-of-towners can see two operas over one weekend: Romeo et Juliette and The Marriage of Figaro in June; or, Dead Man Walking and Elektra in July.

        “It will be our next step in developing the opera tourist traveling to Cincinnati,” Mr. Muni says.
       

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