CCM Presents the Cincinnati Premiere of Mexican Composer Daniel Catan's Opera 'Rappaccini's Daughter' May 30-June1

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), in partnership with Cincinnati Opera, presents Daniel Catan's lyrical and romantic opera,

Rappaccini's Daughter

, as part of CCM's 2007-08 Studio Series. Performances take place in CCM's Cohen Family Studio Theater May 30-June 1. Admission is free, and reservations are required. Please see below for information on how to reserve.

Premiered in Mexico City in 1991, Rappaccini's Daughter was composed by Mexico native Catan with a libretto by Juan Tovar, and is based on a story by Nathaniel Hawthorne as retold by Mexican Nobel Prize-winning author Octavio Paz. A production followed in 1994 at San Diego Opera, making Catan the first Mexican composer to have a work produced in the United States. The success of Rappaccini's Daughter led to Houston Grand Opera's commission of Catan's next opera, Florencia en el Amazonas, which will be presented by Cincinnati Opera in July 2008.

In the era of the Italian Renaissance, a young woman, raised among her botanist-father's poisonous plants, has developed a curious and tragic condition that causes her touch to be poisonous to all other living creatures. When a young student falls in love with her, she becomes caught between her romantic dreams and that which has made love impossible for her. Rappaccini's Daughter deals not only with the scientific struggle of good and evil, but also with the blurring of the line between the two as they converge.

This production of

Rappaccini's Daughter

is the inaugural project supported by The Corbett Foundation Opera Fusion program, a new partnership between CCM and Cincinnati Opera funded by The Corbett Foundation. The three-year program formalizes the existing partnership between CCM and Cincinnati Opera and is intended to provide educational experiences for young singers and cultivate audiences by exploring new works. Opera Fusion will continue to support collaborative academic programming and enhanced young artist and internship opportunities for CCM students during Cincinnati Opera's annual Summer Festival.

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Studio Opera Series
RAPPACCINI'S DAUGHTER

Composed by Daniel Catan
Libretto by Juan Tovar
Based on a story by Nathaniel Hawthorne as retold by Octavio Paz

Karl Shymanovitz, conductor
Karen Coe Miller, director

Set during the Italian Renaissance, Rappaccini's Daughter tells of a young woman, raised among her botanist-father's poisonous plants, who has developed a curious and tragic condition that causes her touch to be poisonous to all other living creatures. The opera deals not only with the scientific struggle of good and evil, but also with the blurring of the line between the two as they converge. The opera is produced as part of The Corbett Foundation Opera Fusion project, a collaboration between CCM and Cincinnati Opera.

Performance Dates:
May 30-June 1
* Friday, May 30, 8 p.m.
* Saturday, May 31, 8 p.m.
* Sunday, June 1, 2:30 p.m.

Location:
Cohen Family Studio Theater
University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

Admission:
Free-reservations required. Call the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183 beginning Tuesday, May 27 at noon for reservations.

Visit www.ccm.uc.edu for complete performance and ticket information.