ASU’s Opera Theatre To Present Operas By Gian Carlo Menotti At Hayes Center March 29-April 1

The Mariam and Robert Hayes Performing Art Center in Blowing Rock will host the Appalachian State University Opera Theatre for two operas by Gian Carlo Menotti on March 29 through April 1.
The Telephone and The Medium will be presented on the Blowing Rock stage, products of one of the greatest composers of his time.
Menotti wrote his first opera before he was 11 and went on to become perhaps the most popular and prolific opera composer, winning two Pulitzer Prices. He died February 1, 2007 in Monaco at the age of 95.
The Telephone beckons us back to the time of the rotary telephone. It is the story of a young couple whose primary conflict involves this “wonderful” invention. Lucy is obsessed with talking on the telephone, and Ben, her boyfriend who desperately wants to propose to her, can’t seem to capture her attention because of this obsession. Therefore, he must resort to the only mode of communication Lucy understands.
The Medium could be described as a psychological drama. According to Menotti, “It describes the tragedy of a woman caught between two world, a world of reality, which she cannot wholly comprehend, and a super-natural world in which she cannot believe.”
It is the story of Madame Flora (Baba - a fake medium), her daughter, Monica, and a young mute servant boy, Toby. Baba makes her living preying on the emotions of grieving parents by pretending to make contact with their deceased children. She uses Monica and Toby to help create this illusion: Monica as the dead children, and Toby as the “stagehand.” During a séance, however, Baba experiences an unexplained event. During a pretend trance, she feels someone or something touch her, and from this moment forward, Baba spirals out of control into a darkness from which she can’t hope to emerge. However, it is those around her who suffer the most.
These productions feature outstanding singers and will be fully staged by Dr. Joseph Amaya, professor of voice in the Mariam Cannon Hayes School of Music at ASU, with musical direction by Dr. Jim Anderson, director of orchestral activities in the School of Music.
Performances are Thursday through Saturday, March 29, 30, and 31 at 8 p.m., with a Sunday matinee, April 1 at 2 p.m. all at the Hayes Center in Blowing Rock.This production represents collaboration between the Stage Company and the School of Music. Tickets are $18 for adults and $9 for students and can be reserved or purchased through the Hayes Center Box Office (828) 295-9627 or via website at http://www.brcac.org.