The Atlanta Opera Goes Back Under the Big Tent This Spring ne of the few American companies to perform live for in-person audiences during the COVID-19 pandemic,” The Atlanta Opera has already “demonstrate[d] how imaginative direction can harness COVID restrictions for artistic effect” (Wall Street Journal). After the success of our acclaimed fall offerings, we are thrilled to present an equally innovative spring lineup of live, in-person events, highlighted by the world premiere productions of new adaptations of two iconic operas. Deconstructed to accommodate the needs and nature of the current season, The Threepenny Opera and The Threepenny Carmen are both conceived by Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun as “opera for starved societies.” Together with three live spring concerts, the new adaptations will feature top-tier artists performing for live audiences in The Atlanta Opera’s customized circus tent, now mounted just outside the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. For
those unable to attend in person, all five productions will also be filmed for future release in the company’s new Spotlight Media digital streaming service. As Opera Wire reports, The Atlanta Opera is proving itself “one of the most exciting opera companies in America.” Zvulun explains: “…We’re taking a look at two iconic works from past centuries — Bizet’s Carmen and Weill’s Threepenny Opera — and asking what they mean for us today. These operas tell stories of marginalized characters and a society that is on the brink of starvation. We’ve deconstructed these works and reconstructed them on a smaller scale, one more suited to our current times. Everything has to be scaled down during the pandemic. Audiences are smaller, run-times are shorter and grand operas must be pared down to focus on the essentials. We’re living in a lean, threepenny world right now, so it’s appropriate that we’re paying homage to Kurt Weill and producing threepenny operas that accommodate our present times.” Tickets for the Big Tent Series (sold in both 2- and 4-person socially distanced “pods”) are on sale now at atlantaopera.org or by calling 404-881-8885.
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(Above)The Threepenny Opera: Erik Teague (Left) The Threepenny Carmen: Joanna Schmink
