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many questions as it answers.”
Based on the acclaimed play
Liliom
by Ferenc
Molnár,
Carousel
is a complex story of missed
opportunities and second chances that was the
personal favorite of composer Richard Rodgers.
Carousel barker and general ne’er-do-well Billy
Bigelow falls in love with the beautiful, innocent
young mill-worker Julie Jordan, but neither of them
can truly express the depth of their feelings. They
marry, have a child, and then Billy dies in tragic
circumstances. Years later, his ghost is given a
chance at redemption through helping his now-
grown daughter Louise.
To fully explore the possibilities inherent in the
music and story, Lyric has assembled an amazing
creative team. Tony Award-winning director Rob
Ashford returns to direct after making his Lyric
debut in February 2014 with the acclaimed new
production of Rossini’s
The Barber of Seville
. Joining
him is costume designer Catherine Zuber, who
also designed the
Barber
costumes. Making his
theatrical debut as set designer is Italian artist Paolo
Ventura. Rob Ashford saw the haunting circus-
inspired images in Ventura’s 2008 “Winter Stories”
exhibition several years ago and knew that they
were the ideal inspiration for a future production
of
Carousel
. When he was approached to direct
Lyric’s new production, he suggested Ventura as a
designer, who was immediately drawn to the project.
Together, the design team has created a visual world
that Ashford describes as “tinged in melancholy”
that will also contain moments of profound beauty
and hope.
To audiences who are familiar with the piece,
Freud promises a unique, fresh approach to this
beloved work: “Audiences who come to Lyric will see a
Carousel
that will have its own, very distinctive identity.”
Maggie Berndt, Lyric Opera’s public relations
specialist, is former publicist of the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra.
Lyric’s Musical Theater Initiative continued in 2013-14 with
The Sound of Music.
(Below) Billy Zane portrayed Captain von Trapp, opposite Jenn Gambatese as Maria.
Denyce Graves
Defies Categorization
Superstar mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves is
featured in Lyric’s
Carousel
as Nettie Fowler,
who acts as a mother hen to the New England
waterfront community depicted by Rodgers and
Hammerstein.
Graves, who has performed everywhere –
from the world’s greatest opera houses to the
White House – is embarking on her first full-
length musical theater production with
Carousel
.
She welcomes the challenge: “I’ve always loved
musical theater, and I feel so much better about
getting my feet wet in this genre at an opera
house. I’m thrilled to bits about doing this.”
Lyric audiences are sure to relish hearing
Graves’s powerful voice in
Carousel,
a show that
Graves approaches with reverence and a long
history. “‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is one of the
first songs I ever heard as a child,” she reminisces.
“My mother used to sing it to me, and I’d always
thought it was a spiritual!” On Lyric’s stage, she
plans to approach each performance of the song
with the “honesty, truthfulness, and compassion”
that it demands.
Graves has always been devoted to musical
theater, which she’s performed a great deal
as concert excerpts. She has had a chance to
compare notes with her good friend and fellow
opera star Christine Brewer (the Mother Abbess
in last season’s Lyric production of
The Sound
of Music
) when the two performed recently at a
concert for peace and unity in Ferguson, Missouri.
Brewer found that memorizing her spoken lines
was the most difficult part of preparation for
her musical debut. “I’m cautious to make this
statement, but I have a very good and detailed
memory (my husband can attest to that!) and
memorizing opera hasn’t been an issue, but
memorizing lines will be different for sure,” notes
Graves.
All in all, Graves is delighted and grateful to
turn over what she calls “a new page” in her career.
Catch her onstage at Lyric starting in April!
TODDROSENBERG
TODDROSENBERG