Friday, March 12, 2010

LA Opera: The Stigmatized

LA Opera’s ARLENE STONE will present a free audio presentation of this rapturously evocative late-romantic tragedy, the first ever production in the Western hemisphere. Whether you’re a hardcore opera aficionado or a curious novice, you’ll be delightfully entertained, and encouraged to ask questions and offer comments. You might even be inspired to make a trip to the L.A. Music Center for the full production conducted by James Conlon. . With the celebrated Recovered Voices project, LA Opera has played a leading role in rediscovering works by composers who struggled to make their voices heard under the Third Reich. A central figure in the remarkable flowering of opera in early 20th-century Austria, Schreker’s luxuriously orchestrated and exquisitely beautiful score illuminates a story that explores the darker aspects of sexual desire and conquest. In The Stigmatized, the misshapen Alviano has created an idyllic island of great beauty as an escape from his tortured existence. A beautiful painter, Carlotta, mistakes her pity toward him for love; she then turns to a handsome rival, the debauched Count Tamare, with disastrous results. Make Crowell Library your LA Opera gateway!