SOCI ET Y & CU LT U R E arbiter
Clockwise from left: Opera Philadelphia’s David B. Devan; Elizabeth Cree; We Shall Not Be Moved; The Wake World; The Magic Flute.
The new O17 Festival offers tantalizing takes on classic operas at unexpected city venues. By JoAnn Greco
Opera Philadelphia is set to wow crowds beyond the hallowed halls of the Academy of Music for its inaugural opera festival, O17, Sept. 14-25. Here, General Director and President David B. Devan talks about some of the big surprises in store.
Starting with the premieres, Elizabeth Cree at the Perelman Theater is a Victorian thriller by Pulitzer Prize winner Kevin Puts and librettist Mark Campbell; Daniel Bernard Roumain and Marc Bamuthi Joseph’s We Shall Not Be Moved, directed by Bill T. Jones at the Wilma Theater, is inspired by the frustrations expressed by Philadelphia’s inner-city youth; and The Wake World, an adaptation of an Aleister Crowley story by composer and librettist David Hertzberg, uses its setting at the Barnes Foundation to amazing effect. Anything else you’re excited about?
We’re also offering War Stories at the Art Museum, which pairs Monteverdi’s Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda with I Have No Stories to Tell You from composer Lembit Beecher and librettist
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Hannah Moscovitch, and a version of Mozart’s The Magic Flute at the Academy of Music that includes video components and is unlike anything we’ve ever produced. So—something for everyone, right?
Yes, some operagoers like to dress up and go to the Academy, others want more intimate or immersive experiences. And it’s not an age thing: There are plenty of opera buffs who are looking for something different. How will the festival showcase Philadelphia?
You can’t get this mix of opera anywhere else in the world—people will get on trains and planes to come see these works by leading composers and artists. Plus, they’ll experience some of the city’s richest cultural institutions. All-access tickets from $175, operaphila.org
DAVID B. DEVAN PHOTO BY GENE SMIRNOV
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Can you describe the range of productions?