[New York] Gotham Chamber Opera's SCENES OF GYPSY LIFE at The Morgan - Jan 16 & 17

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 4, 2008

GOTHAM CHAMBER OPERA

in collaboration with THE MORGAN LIBRARY & MUSEUM

presents

SCENES OF GYPSY LIFE

{a cautionary tale featuring music of Janˆ°ˆ®ek and Dvoˆ½ˆ°k}

PLEASE JOIN US:

Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 7:30pm

Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 7:30pm

RSVP to Michelle Brandon, michellembrandon@yahoo.com

Gotham Chamber Opera, in collaboration with The Morgan Library & Museum, presents a new production, SCENES OF GYPSY LIFE {a cautionary tale featuring music of Janˆ°ˆ®ek and Dvoˆ½ˆ°k}, on January 16 and 17, 2008.

Specifically conceived for the Gilder Lehrman Hall at the Morgan by Artistic Director Neal Goren and Stage Director Eric Einhorn, SCENES OF GYPSY LIFE retells a familiar story ¬ó wholesome farm boy bewitched by sultry Gypsy temptress ¬ó in a new, fully staged format. Consisting of Janˆ°ˆ®ek's Diary of One Who Disappeared and Dvoˆ½ˆ°k's Gypsy Songs, we see and hear the young man speaking to himself as the events unfold, along with interpolations by the Gypsy and her friends. Like Carmen's Don Josˆ©, our protagonist, played by Garrett Sorensen, abandons his life and, guilt-laden, joins the Gypsy clan to satisfy his passion.

Scenic design is by Cameron Anderson, costume design is by Candida Nichols, lighting design is by Shawn Kaufman, and choreography is by Seˆ°n Curran. The role of Zefka is played by Abigail Nims with Leah Edwards, Amanda Crider and Hannah Penn portraying her gypsy friends.

Gotham Chamber Opera's 2007/2008 season began in September with a new production of a rarely performed work, Astor Piazzolla's MARˆçA DE BUENOS AIRES. The production, staged by David Parsons, danced by Parsons Dance, and choreographed by David Parsons along with celebrated tango choreographer Pablo Pugliese, played to sold-out houses at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, New York University.

In May 2008, the company will continue its celebration of opera and dance with ARIADNE UNHINGED: Music of Monteverdi, Haydn, and Schoenberg, staged by maverick director/choreographer Karole Armitage. Featuring one singer, six musicians, and the Armitage Gone! Dance Company, the production has sets by internationally-renowned photographer Vera Lutter. Mezzo sopranos Emily Langford Johnson and Brenda Patterson will perform the role of Ariadne in alternating performances. Costume design is by Peter Speliopoulos and lighting design is by Clifton Taylor.

Ariadne has just been abandoned by her lover and savior, Theseus, on the island of Naxos, where she alternates between near-madness and madness. In ARIADNE UNHINGED, Gotham's new version of the classic story, three musical works from different centuries intertwine to reflect Ariadne's emotional and psychological states: Monteverdi's Lamento d'Arianna, Haydn's solo cantata Arianna a Naxos, and Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire. In another first, internationally renowned photographer Vera Lutter provides the stunning visual backdrop for this daring exploration. This production was conceived by Artistic Director Neal Goren for the Gotham Chamber Opera as a continuation of the company's ongoing series of operas based on the myth of Ariadne. The first installment in this series was the US stage premiere of Handel's Arianna in Creta, performed in February 2005; audiences can look forward to a Gotham production of Strauss's original 1912 version of Ariadne auf Naxos in a future season, among other Ariadne offerings.

Gotham Chamber Opera is New York City's leading company dedicated to the highest quality productions of chamber operas rarely performed in opera houses today. The company's mission is to present vibrant, fully-staged productions of works from the Baroque era to the present that are intended for intimate venues.

Founded by conductor and Artistic Director Neal Goren in 2000, in its short history, the Gotham Chamber Opera has presented six U.S. premieres of 18th- and 20th-century operas, including such masterpieces as Mozart's Il Sogno di Scipione; Darius Milhaud's Les Malheurs d'Orphˆ©e; Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu's Dada opera, Les Larmes du Couteau; and Swiss composer Heinrich Sutermeister's Die schwarze Spinne. In February 2005, Gotham's U.S. stage premiere of Handel's Arianna in Creta played to packed theaters. Also in 2005, Lincoln Center Festival and Spoleto Festival USA presented Gotham Chamber Opera's U.S. premiere of Ottorino Respighi's fantastical puppet opera, La bella dormente nel bosco featuring the puppetry of Basil Twist. In the spring of 2006, Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring received its first professional staging in New York in more than 30 years, and in winter 2007, Rossini's Il signor Bruschino received its first major professional New York staging in over a half century. Future productions include operas by Cavalli, Mussorgsky, and Haydn.

SCENES OF GYPSY LIFE will be presented on January 16 and 17, 2008 at 7:30pm at the Gilder Lehrman Hall, The Morgan Library & Museum, 225 Madison Avenue, NYC. Tickets are $35 for members of The Morgan Library and $45 for non-members. Tickets are available at www.themorgan.org or by phone at 212-685-0008 x560.

ARIADNE UNHINGED will run from May 7-11, 2008 at The Playhouse, Abrons Arts Center, with performances Wednesday, May 7 at 7:30pm (Opening Night); Thursday, May 8 at 8pm; Friday, May 9 at 8pm; Saturday, May 10 at 2pm and 8pm; and Sunday, May 11 at 2pm. The Playhouse, Abrons Arts Center is located at 466 Grand Street, NYC. Tickets are $70-$30 ($300 for Opening Night gala seats) and are available through Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or www.ticketcentral.com.

For more information, visit www.gothamchamberopera.org.

Contact: Michelle Brandon, (646) 765-4773, michellembrandon@yahoo.com