Mercury Opera presents Il Tabarro on the Edmonton Queen Riverboat

Mercury Opera presents

IL TABARRO

Rollin' on the river with the small but hot opera company

All aboard the Edmonton Queen Riverboat as Mercury Opera presents Puccini's one act opera Il Tabarro. This shocking story of a passionate and tragic love-triangle sets sail on the August 13^th and 15^th at 7.30pm. Admission, which is $75, includes a riverboat cruise, hors d'hoeuvres, as well as a cash bar, followed by Mercury Opera's intimate and stunning performance of Il Tabarro. Tickets for are on sale now at TIX On The Square, call 780-420-1757 or visit www.tixonthesquare.ca

Il Tabarro (The Cloak), the first in Puccini's Il Trittico, a triptych of one-act operas, is the brooding tale of a barge owner, Michele, and his younger wife, Giorgetta. Traditionally set in 1910 Paris, Mercury Opera's production takes its audience to the banks of sultry New Orleans, where Giorgetta and Luigi, a stevedore, reveal their secret mutual love. As Michele reflects on his marriage's happier days and attempts to uncover his wife's seducer, Luigi plots to kill Michele and flee with Giorgetta.

Mercury Opera's production of Il Tabarro features Georgian baritone Zurab Ninua in his debut as Michele, Edmonton-native and soprano Darcia Parada as Giorgetta, and American tenor Christian ‰Żebek as Luigi, as well as Boris Derow, Roland Burks and Lilia Krieger as Tinca, Talpa and Frugola, respectively. The cast includes Mark Gowda, Dan Rowley, Michael Otto, Adam Arnold, Paul Chachia, Russ Bergen, Matt Kinsman, Jonathan Vanderzyde, Connor Meeker, Claire Meeker, Joseph Chambrinho, Jessy Mossop, Michelle Diederichs, Regina Landek, Amanda Clark, Sanja Szakanji, and Nansee Hughes.

A professional company recently relocated to Edmonton from New York, Mercury Opera is tiny but hot, like the planet nearest the sun. With a mission to mount and stage imaginative opera performances in a non-traditional arena, the company presents innovative multimedia productions in intimate settings, making the audience feel it's a part of the action. Proving opera doesn't have to be big to be grand, Pagliacci, Mercury Opera's Edmonton premiere, enjoyed rave reviews last summer, capturing the imaginations of critics and audiences alike during its runs inside a tent in Giovanni Caboto Park and the Edmonton International Fringe Festival.

For more information about Mercury Opera or its production of Il Tabarro, please visit www.mercuryopera.com.