CCM Announces 2007-2008 Studio Series

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is pleased to share details for the 2007-2008 Studio Series season of opera, drama and musical theater. The series features nine works spanning Shakespeare to Sondheim, presented in CCM's intimate theater spaces.

All Studio Series productions are FREE and open to the public. Due to limited seating, ticket reservations are required-please see individual event descriptions for ordering information. For additional information, contact the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183.
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Oct. 18-20, 2007
Assassins
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by John Weidman

This edgy and provocative musical explores the madness and the mania of nine notorious presidential assassins. From John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, Stephen Sondheim takes a poignant look at twisted American dreams and tarnished hopes with his usual inspired lyrics and innovative score. The winner of five Tony Awards, Assassins is a contemporary American classic.

Director: Nicholas Muni
Musical Director: Jason Yarcho
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Free, reservations required. Contact the Box Office beginning Monday, Oct. 15 at noon.

Musical Theater Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation
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Nov. 1-3, 2007
Twelfth Night
By William Shakespeare

Abounding in Shakespeare's classic devices of love, mistaken identity and eccentric relatives, Twelfth Night tells the tale of Viola, a shipwreck survivor mourning her brother, lost at sea. Madly in love with Orsino (who, of course, loves another), Viola disguises herself as a man and becomes his servant. A complicated love triangle ensues, complete with confusion, commotion and witty banter, until all turns out well in the end.

Director: Brian Robertson
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Free, reservations required. Contact the Box Office beginning Monday, Oct. 29 at noon.

Studio Drama Series Sponsor: Neil R. Artman & Margaret L. Straub
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Nov. 9-11, 2007
The School for Lovers (a.k.a. Cosi fan tutte)
Composed by W.A. Mozart
Libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte

This new twist on Mozart's classic opera takes place in a modern-day human relations class. Alfonso, a professor, in cahoots with his graduate assistant, Despina, attempts to educate his students on the nature of love. Alfonso asks them to enact the story of two young men, Guglielmo and Ferrando, who dare each other to test the fidelity of their lady loves, Dorabella and Fiordiligi. Over the course of the class, each of the story’s four main characters is inhabited by different students, who successively take the stage to continue the action with a new point of view.

Conductor: Kelly Hale
Director: Nicholas Muni
Admission: Free, reservations required. Contact the Box Office beginning Monday, Nov. 5 at noon.

Get a video sampling here.
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Feb. 21-23, 2008
The Good Person of Setzuan
By Bertolt Brecht

A parable set in a metaphorical modern China, The Good Person of Setzuan concerns Shen Te, a compassionate and generous prostitute who is rewarded for her "goodness" by a group of visiting gods. Opening a humble tobacco shop with the reward, Shen Te soon discovers that she cannot be both charitable and a successful capitalist. In order to protect herself from greedy neighbors, Shen Te invents an alter ego in the form of a ruthless male cousin named Shui Ta, only to find her true persona eventually consumed by the severity of her cousin's. When it seems that Shen Te has disappeared, Shui Ta is accused of harming her and placed on trial. With The Good Person of Setzuan, Brecht explores the existential dilemma of trying to be a "good" person in a morally ambiguous world.

Director: Michael Burnham
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Free, reservations required. Contact the Box Office beginning Monday, Feb. 18 at noon.

Studio Drama Series Sponsor: Neil R. Artman & Margaret L. Straub
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March 7-9, 2008
The Coronation of Poppea
Composed by Claudio Monteverdi
Libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello

Monteverdi's last opera, L'incoronazione di Poppea ("The Coronation of Poppea") recounts the story of Poppea Sabina, the manipulative mistress of Roman emperor Nero. Following an irony-laden prologue in which Amore, a god of love, vows to prove his superiority over Virtue and Fortune, the opera presents Poppea's schemes as she works her way towards becoming empress of Rome. The opera's ironic subtext foreshadows Poppea's ultimately tragic end.

Conductor: Andrew Crooks
Director: Nicholas Muni
Location: Dieterle Vocal Arts Center, Room 300
Admission: Free, tickets available at the door only
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March 13-15, 2008
Passion
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James Lapine

A haunting tale of obsessive love in 19th-century Italy, Passion follows Giorgio, a handsome soldier romantically involved with a married woman in Milan. When he is transferred to a remote military outpost, Giorgio meets Fosca, the homely and ailing cousin of his commanding officer. While he initially resists her affections, Giorgio eventually discovers a deeper beauty in Fosca. The Tony Award-winning Passion is an unforgettable study of the redemptive power of love.

Director: Robert Wood
Musical Director: David Gardos
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater 
Admission: Free, reservations required. Contact the Box Office beginning Monday, March 10 at noon.

Musical Theater Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation
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May 1-3, 2008
Recent Tragic Events
By Craig Wright

On the evening of Sept. 12, 2001, Waverly, a self-possessed advertising executive, prepares for a blind date in Minneapolis while her TV recounts the tragedy from the streets of New York, and her mother calls with frantic updates in the search for her twin sister, a NYC resident. Despite the uncertainty surrounding her world, Waverly is dedicated to seeing her plans through. Written by Craig Wright ("Six Feet Under," "Brothers & Sisters"), Recent Tragic Events brings surreal irreverence to the bizarre times that followed 9/11. The result is a refreshingly authentic look at a very traumatic time.

Director: Ed Cohen
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Free, reservations required. Contact the Box Office beginning Monday, April 28 at noon.

Studio Drama Series Sponsor: Neil R. Artman & Margaret L. Straub
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May 15-17, 2008
Godspell
Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Book by John Michael Tebelak

A musical retelling of the biblical Gospel according to Saint Matthew, Godspell presents a modern take on the life of Jesus. Stephen Schwartz's pop-rock score brings Jesus' parables to life with hits such as "Day By Day." An uplifting, contemporary reflection on Jesus' enduring message of tolerance and love, Godspell has become one of the biggest off-Broadway and Broadway successes of all time.

Director: Ashton Byrum
Musical Director: David Gardos
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Free, reservations required. Contact the Box Office beginning Monday, May 12 at noon.

Musical Theater Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation
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May 30-June 1, 2008
Rappaccini's Daughter
Composed by Daniel Catan
Libretto by Juan Tovar

Set during the Italian Renaissance, Rappaccini's Daughter is a multilayered story that deals not only with the scientific struggle of good and evil, but also with the blurred lines created as good and evil merge. Catan elaborates, "When we reach boundaries of human knowledge, we stare into the most profound darkness... There is a heaven, but also hell on the other side. A vision can be perverted. An ideal can be made to serve the most horrific and inhumane causes... Rappaccini's Daughter is an opera for the 21st century."

Rappaccini's Daughter is presented in collaboration with Cincinnati Opera.

Conductor: Karl Shymanovitz
Director: Karen Coe Miller
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Free, reservations required. Contact the Box Office beginning Tuesday, May 27 at noon.
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Please note: Production details are subject to change.

For additional production and ticket information, contact the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183.

Visit the CCM Web site for a complete calendar of events: www.ccm.uc.edu.