November 2, 2006
Weill, Puccini one-act operas to be presented together
The UW Schools of Music and Drama will present two one-act operas on Nov. 8, 10 and 12 in Meany Theater. Kurt Weill’s Die Sieben Todsünden (The Seven Deadly Sins) and Giacomo Puccini’s Suor Angelica (Sister Angelica), explore 19th and 20th century views of sin and redemption.
“We’re presenting two one-act operas only 15 years apart in terms of their première dates — 1918 for Puccini’s Suor Angelica and 1933 for Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins,” said Claudia Zahn, director of opera programs, who is directing the Weill work. “Despite being very different in their world view and presentation, at their core both operas deal with issues of morality.”
The director of the Puccini opera agrees. “In such a unique coupling, the two shows retain their individual identities and sweeping theatrical gestures, but also serve to highlight moral and sociological ideas that will be readily accessible in a side-by-side showing,” noted Andrew Seifert, doctoral candidate in opera production.
The Seven Deadly Sins tells the story of two sisters who set out from a rural area to find their fortune in the big cities and to send enough money back to their family to build a little house. After this opening, the rest of the opera consists of seven scenes devoted to the seven deadly sins, each encountered in a different city.
Sister Angelica is set in a convent at the end of the 17th century. Sister Angelica has been in the convent for seven years at the bidding of her aristocratic family. Despite her life of prayer, she cannot forget the child she had from an illicit relationship which led to her retirement from the world. She’s happy to have her aunt visit her, but during their conversation, the aunt tells her that her child has died. Angelica is devastated, and that night takes poison. But as she is dying she prays to the Blessed Virgin, who appears, surrounded by light, pushing a child in front of herself.
“I hope that our audiences will leave the theater realizing that moral and sociological correlations can be drawn from the human natures of two wildly different sets of musical characters and characterizations, set in two wildly different places,” Seifert said.
Peter Eros and Julia Tai will be the conductors for the operas. Both will be sung in their original languages with English subtitles. Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 8 and 10 and 3 p.m. on Nov. 12. Tickets are $25 ($15 for students and seniors) and are available at the Arts Ticket Office, 206-543-4880 or online at www.meany.org.
