Upcoming Events
Puccini Double Bill
Join us as we bring you from laughter to tears with Puccini's gorgeous mini-operas, Gianni Schicchi and Suor Angelica, performed in English translation. Performances run June 9-12, 2022 at Calliope Productions in Boylston. Tickets now on sale. This program is supported in part by grants from the Bolton, Boylston and Lancaster Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
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As the wealthy patriarch of the Donati family passes into eternity, his eager family members are gathered to discover the details of the will. When things are looking grim for the family, they call in Gianni Schicci to help them get what they want. Based on a character from Dante's Divine Comedy, this one act comedy contains one of the most famous soprano arias in all of opera - O Mio Babbino Caro (O My Beloved Papa). Join the Donati family feud and see who winds up with the coveted mule! Sister Angelica is the herbalist at a convent, where she has been living for the 7 years since she was sent there by her affluent family for having a child out of wedlock. Content with her life with the other nuns, she is visited one day by her aunt, the Principessa (Princess), who asks her to sign away all rights to her inheritance so that her sister can be married. Angelica then learns the first news she's had of her child, and her grief overwhelms her. Senza Mamma (Without Your Mama) is the most famous aria of this sublime, lush operatic gem. Please note that there are two casts for certain principal roles in Suor Angelica - the cast lists are on the ticket page next to their performance dates. |
Summer Concerts at the West Boylston Bandstand
GWO is excited to return to the West Boylston Bandstand for 4 wonderful summer concerts! Save the Wednesdays on July 20 & 27, and August 3 & 10 at 6:30 PM (rain date - the following Thursday) for this family friendly, fabulous live event! (Free of charge - donations accepted with gratitude!) This program is supported in part by a grant from the West Boylston Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Recent Events
A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Greater Worcester Opera presented 6 performances of the Tony award winning musical, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder. Filmed live onstage with full sets and costumes, our fabulous cast brought this production to life and garnered excellent reviews! Cast: Taylor Lawton, Ben Morse, Paige Fowler, Elaine Crane, Martha Warren, Jeanine Went, Connell Benn, Travis Benoit, Brad Amidon, Kevin Dibble and Brawley Fowler (with a cameo appearance by Jacqueline Haney and Mark Leibold.) Stage and music directed by Aldo Fabrizi, sound engineered and edited by Charles Crane, and filmed and edited by Ryan Malyar.
Special congratulations to our EMACT Consultant's Choice Award winners Taylor Lawton (Excellence in Musical Theater Performance) and Charles Crane (Excellence in Sound Engineering.)
Special congratulations to our EMACT Consultant's Choice Award winners Taylor Lawton (Excellence in Musical Theater Performance) and Charles Crane (Excellence in Sound Engineering.)
Read our 4/25/2021 article by Richard Duckett in the Telegram and Gazette: online link here. Pdf here.
Review by METRMag here
Review by Tony's Corner here
Review by METRMag here
Review by Tony's Corner here
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder was presented through special arrangement with Music Theater International (MTI). Streaming is presented through special arrangement with MTI. All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. Mtishows.com. All covid protocols were followed during this production and filming.
Watch this short video from founder Elaine Crane about how you can be a part of our work. It's never too late to donate!
A Gilbert & Sullivan Christmas Carol Radio Play - December 13, 2020
Join us for a jolly romp through Gayden Wren's witty adaptation of this classic story, set to the music of Arthur Sullivan, with lyrics inspired by W.S. Gilbert. In the form of an Olde Tyme radio play, this will be an entertaining event for all ages! Featuring the vocal talents of Greater Worcester Opera. Free to enjoy (suggested donation $10.) To be broadcast on Sunday, December 13, 2020 at 7:00 pm on Facebook and YouTube; available on YouTube afterwards.
To watch the premiere live on December 13 at 7:00, or to see the video after this time, click this link.
To watch the premiere live on December 13 at 7:00, or to see the video after this time, click this link.
Recent Events
Summer 2020 Events
Coming to you online, via Zoom and Facebook (links posted below) In light of the current health situation, GWO will be bringing you summer events in a very different way this year - through your computer. We know it's not the same as being in the same room and sharing the wonderful experience of live performance, but it's our way of still reaching out to our community, to bring you artistic joy while we anxiously await the day we can all return to live, in-person performance. These events will be livestreamed for free. That said, donations would be greatly appreciated, as summer concerts are usually an important fundraiser for GWO, and as with every performance, there is a cost to bringing these concerts to our audience. July 15 (7:30 PM) - Marriage of Figaro Play Reading Zoom play reading of the Beaumarchais play upon which Mozart's magnificent opera, The Marriage of Figaro, was based. There's a great deal of character development in this rarely performed work that will deepen your understanding of the opera - join us to watch/listen to many of our onstage performers bring these characters to life! Watch the play reading on our YouTube channel: Act I (38 min), Act II (45 min), Act III (35 min), Act IV (24 min), Act V (29 min) July 22 (7:30 PM) - Music from Italy - Live Concert Join the artists of GWO as we present a live concert of music from Italy, featuring arias and art songs from the cradle of classical music. Accompanied by Olga Rogach. Watch the concert at any time on our YouTube channel: Link to Italian Concert. July 29 (7:30 PM) - Gilbert and Sullivan - Live Concert GWO brings you an evening of Gilbert & Sullivan, recorded live! Accompanied by Olga Rogach, you'll hear many of your favorite songs from this Dynamic Duo's beloved canon. Watch the video on our YouTube channel by Link to Gilbert & Sullivan Concert. August 5 (7:30 PM) - John and Abigail Adams : Letters from Quarantine GWO brings you a unique event - a dramatic reading of selected letters of American history's first "power couple". John and Abigail Adams both went through times of quarantine during the 18th century small pox epidemic - he shortly before their marriage, and she along with her 4 small children while her husband was helping birth the new country in Philadelphia. As expressed in their letters, they felt the pangs of isolation, fear, uncertainty and separation, much like the ones we've all been facing in the past months. Dramatically read by Todd Yard and Elaine Crane. Watch the film on our YouTube channel - John and Abigail Adams : Letters from Quarantine, or click the "play" button below. |
Concerts, programs and other ongoing events
The ABC's of Opera
This multi-media introduction to opera includes an engaging talk about the nuts and bolts of this beautiful art form, and live examples. Perfect for a library series or community center, our artists and lecturer unpack the mysteries and highlight the joys of opera in an informative and fun presentation!
Concerts
GWO has a variety of travelling concerts to fit every need and budget. Our professional artists can create concerts specific to your needs, or you can book one of our current selections:
Italian Concert - regional songs, art songs and arias from Italy, featuring voice and mandolin
Broadway Concert - a wide array of songs from the Great White Way
Great American Songbook Concert - featuring standards made popular by Sinatra, Fitzgerald and more
Opera Concert - arias and ensembles to delight, move and entertain
Bernstein on Broadway - a narrated concert of some of this treasured composer's works
Italian Concert - regional songs, art songs and arias from Italy, featuring voice and mandolin
Broadway Concert - a wide array of songs from the Great White Way
Great American Songbook Concert - featuring standards made popular by Sinatra, Fitzgerald and more
Opera Concert - arias and ensembles to delight, move and entertain
Bernstein on Broadway - a narrated concert of some of this treasured composer's works
For more information about concerts, please fill out the form below, or email contact@greaterworcesteropera.org
Touring Opera for Students
For a fact sheet including prices, click here
Diamonds and ToadsGreater Worcester Opera is pleased to offer an original production for elementary age students. Diamonds and Toads is based on the French fairy tale by Perrault and tells the tale of two sisters, and how by way of a Fairy they learn the value of kind speech, and empathy. This tale has a valuable lesson, and is also an excellent introduction to the music of Mozart. The cast features Sandy Fritze as the Fairy, Erin Conley/Christine Petkus as Rose and Elaine Crane as Grace, with storybook sets and costumes. The production gave its first performance on January 30, 2009 in Worcester and has been delighting schools and communities throughout Massachusetts ever since.
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Hansel and Gretel
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