PRESS RELEASE Union Avenue Opera 733 N. Union Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63108 . 314-361-2881 FOR RELEASE UPON RECEIPT Contact: Emily DePauw June 24, 2015
[email protected] Don Giovanni opens Union Avenue Opera’s Twenty-first Festival Season St. Louis, MO, June 24, 2015 – Twenty-six artists will make their Union Avenue Opera debut during its Twenty-first Festival Season this summer including ten artist during the season opener Don Giovanni (July 10, 11, 17, 18 at 8:00pm.) Long considered one of the greatest operas of all time, Don Giovanni is Mozart’s version of the notorious Don Juan legend. In the decadent pursuit of pleasure, Spanish nobleman Don Giovanni travels through Europe seducing women and leaving behind him a trail of broken hearts, broken promises, and broken lives. When Don Giovanni commits murder, he unleashes a dark power beyond his control. The Don pushes his limits and meets his ultimate demise in this brilliantly crafted opera featuring the famous arias “Batti, batti, o bel Masetto,” “Madamina, il catalogo è questo,” and “Fin ch’han dal vino.” “I am so pleased with the design direction we are taking with UAO’s Don Giovanni,” said stage director Jon Truitt (Madama Butterfly, 2013). “One of the challenges of presenting the opera is to synthesize the disparate elements of comedy, drama, horror, and romance that are so prevalent in it. To address these challenges from a design standpoint our set designer, Kyra Bishop, and I have taken a nod from the world of Shakespeare by using a constant set that is repeatedly re-imagined to represent different scenes.” “It’s really exciting for me to present this vision of Don Giovanni that’s been in my head for so many years and to be able to see it realized by such a talented team” said Truitt.