SHOW & TELL
CURTAIN
CALL By Mark Bretz Photos and graphics courtesy of OTSL
O
pera Theatre of Saint Louis has had a long wait to return to what its “regular” season last looked like, back in 2019. After canceling its 2020 season, OTSL proceeded with an outdoor season in 2021, held on the parking lot of the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of Webster University in Webster Groves. Included in the four-show season was a rare performance of African American composer William Grant Still’s “Highway 1, U.S.A.,” as well as a spirited version of Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi,” Poulenc’s “La Voix Humaine” and OTSL’s original “New Works, Bold Voices Lab 3.” Now, in its 2022 season, OTSL is presenting four fresh productions, including a pair of world premieres. It all began last week, on Saturday, May 21, with the opening-night performance of Bizet’s classic “Carmen,” the first of eight presentations through June 25. Daniela Candillari, who earlier this year was named OTSL’s first principal conductor with a three-year appointment, is conducting members of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra in this version of “Carmen.” Sarah Mesko stars in the title role, with Adam Smith and Christian Pursell in the parts of her lovers, Don Jose and Escamillo, respectively. Rodula Gaitanou serves as stage director. Another perennial favorite, Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” will open on Saturday, May 28, and also will be performed eight times during the 2022 season. Rory Macdonald will conduct, and Omer Ben Seadia will handle direction of a cast featuring Joshua Blue, Erica Petrocelli, Jeni Houser, Johnathan McCullough, Adam Lau and Christian Sanders. “Awakenings,” based on the book by Dr. Oliver Sacks, is a world premiere opera that tells the true story of Sacks’ temporarily successful treatment of so-called sleeping sickness, encephalitis lethargica, a condition that plunged thousands of victims into catatonia in the 20th century. Experimenting with an early medication called L-Dopa for Parkinson’s disease in the 1960s, Sacks
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was able to “awaken” many such patients, albeit temporarily. This version by Tobias Picker and Aryeh Lev Stollman, coproduced by OTSL and Tulsa Opera, will be directed by OTSL artistic director James Robinson and conducted by Roberto Kalb, with Jarrett Porter portraying Sacks. “Awakenings” will open June 5. The fourth production will be the “World Premiere of a New Performing Edition” of “Harvey Milk,” according to OTSL’s season news release, commissioned by Opera Parallele and OTSL. Known as “The Mayor of Castro Street,” Milk was a passionate adherent of gay rights in San Francisco in the 1970s who later became a member of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors. Carolyn Kuan will conduct the production, with co-direction by James Robinson and choreographer Sean Curran. The cast will include Thomas Glass in the title role, Alek Shrader as White and Nathan Stark as Moscone, plus Jonathan Johnson, Raquel Gonzalez, Mack Wolz and Xiao Xiao. Performances will begin June 11. Additionally, OTSL will present “Music as the Message: Sing On, Sing On” on June 7 in partnership with Jazz St. Louis as part of the Black Music Month celebration. Curated by soprano, writer, poet and educator Adrienne Danrich, the free performance at The Grandel in St. Louis’ Grand Center Arts District will celebrate Black artistry across decades and feature local artists and members of the 2022 OTSL Festival Season. Continuing its 2021 commitment to equity
in opera, OTSL will expand Phyllis’ Seats, a 2021 initiative providing free seats to every OTSL performance, named in honor of the late Phyllis Brissenden, one of OTSL’s most generous supporters. For each performance, 50 tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis and may be reserved online or by phone the week of the show. Regarding the free seats, Andrew Jorgensen, OTSL’s general director, has noted: “When our beloved [Life Member of the board of directors] Phyllis Brissenden died and left us a bequest, we wanted to honor her memory in the very best way possible. We hope people who are unsure about opera or who are unsure about their budgets will get to enjoy a production thanks to this program and Phyllis’ generosity. We chose not to put any limits or caveats on these tickets, and thus, it is a first-ofits-kind program.” Audience members will need to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test before entering the Loretto-Hilton Center. OTSL is strongly encouraging patrons to wear masks, although that is not a requirement. As usual for OTSL, all performances will be sung in English, and supertitles will be available. For ticket information, visit experienceopera.org/tickets. Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (Administrative Offices), Sally S. Levy Opera Center, 210 Hazel Ave., St. Louis, 314-961-0171, experienceopera.org
