Bernstein’s Comical Candide Brings Timeless Music to Atlanta

Aworld of adventure and discovery comes to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre March 4-12 as The Atlanta Opera’s groundbreaking 2022-23 Mainstage season continues with Leonard Bernstein’s Candide. Tenor Jack Swanson, soprano Deanna Breiwick, and bass Kevin Burdette headline a marquee cast of singers. Alison Moritz directs. This production kicks off a momentous spring for The Atlanta Opera. The 2022-23 Discoveries series concludes with The Anonymous Lover, an unearthed gem by 18th-century Black composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. A love story for the ages by a composer considered prolific during his time and an influence to Wolfgang Amadeus, this romantic comedy is one not to miss. Morehouse College serves as host for the production of this captivating opera, running March 31-April 2.

Finally, the legend begins as Das Rheingold, the first entry in Wagner’s epic Ring Cycle, commands the stage April 29-May 7 as the final production of a transcendent season of opera in Atlanta.

These scintillating productions will also be available to stream online as The Atlanta Opera Film Studio continues its unprecedented growth as a pioneer of digital opera content through livestream events and fully-produced opera films. Additionally, the Film Studio is thrilled to present its official film of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, using elements captured during last season’s live production of the innovative opera and digitally mastered with over 40 additional scenes not seen on stage. This incredible film will be available to stream later this month on The Atlanta Opera streaming platform. For information visit atlantaopera.org.

It’s a Play…on Words. A Shakespeare Whodunnit!

The Atlanta Shakespeare Company Explores the Authorship Controversy with a New Comedy

For hundreds of years, literary scholars and historians have debated the true authorship of Shakespeare’s plays. A new comedy, By My Will, playing at The Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse in April, explores this idea in smart and surprising ways. An assortment of 16th century playwrights, poets and regal figures meet up in a unique location to determine who among them wrote the works attributed to the man from Stratford. It’s a veritable comic vivisection of the authorship question with twists, turns, and bawdy humor. You might even say, it’s a play...on words!

From Artistic Director Jeff Watkins’ point of view, doubts have abounded about the authorship question since the mid-19th century. “Many of our audience members have been curious and brave enough to explore those doubts with me over the years so I wanted to create a fun evening delving into it with them. It’s an honor and a privilege for an Artistic Director to be able to commission a new work for their theatre.

Even better that I got to give this task to my college friend, Doug.”

Awardwinning playwright

Douglas Post learned a lot writing the piece. “There is an adage in my line of work that states, ‘You never learn how to write a play. You only learn how to write THIS play.’ The challenges are always new. In the case of By My Will, I read dozens of texts, plays and collections of poetry. At some point the characters involved in this story began to speak to me. My responsibility was to transcribe their words as fast as possible. I knew that the piece wanted to be a comedy. And I knew it had to have a series of twists and turns that would hopefully delight our audience and keep them guessing.”

Douglas is confident By My Will will “inspire you to think through some issues related to the writing of Shakespeare’s plays that you may not have previously considered. It will provoke conversation. And it will provide some serious laughs.”

For information and tickets visit shakespearetavern.com.