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Colburn is partnering with the LA Opera to stage and stream an unjustly neglected 1780 chamber opera by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a pioneering Black composer who was a contemporary of Mozart.
Directed by Bruce Lemon, Jr., in a socially distanced stage setting that blends both modern film and traditional opera staging, the performance will be streamed online with the cast and musicians performing at the Colburn School’s Zipper Hall. Bologne’s brilliant score is conducted by LA Opera Music Director James Conlon, leading the LA Opera Orchestra in a separately recorded session.
The comic romance tells the story of Léontine, a beautiful young widow who has become disillusioned with love. Much to her surprise, she receives a steady stream of letters and gifts from an unknown man professing his undying passion. This amuses her friend Valcour, who also claims to have no interest in romance. But now, after hiding his true feelings for years, Valcour works up the courage to reveal that he himself is the devoted secret admirer. Will his (inevitably awkward) confession sway a woman sworn to resist all affairs of the heart?
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A production of LA Opera and The Colburn School with Members of the LA Opera Orchestra
James Conlon, Conductor Bruce Lemon, Jr., Director
Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Composer Madame de Genlis (Stéphanie-Félicité), Librettist
Tiffany Townsend, Léontine Robert Stahley, Valcour Gabriela Flores, Dorothée Michael J. Hawk, Ophémon Alaysha Fox, Jeannette Jacob Ingbar, Colin