February 14, 2002

MOZART MEETS HOLLYWOOD IN BOISE STATE STAGING OF COMIC OPERA

Imagine Hollywood moviemakers of the early-1930s "talkies" era attempting the first-ever filming of a Mozart opera. That’s the premise behind Boise State University’s staging of Mozart’s comic opera "The Abduction From the Seraglio," at 7:30 p.m. March 2 and 4 p.m. March 3, at the Morrison Center Main Hall. The opera will be sung in English. Tickets are available at Select-a-Seat.

"All the outrageous aspects of Mozart’s opera — melodrama, romance, slapstick and vaudeville — are faithfully represented," said stage director Christopher Raynes, an adjunct music professor at Boise State. "The production tells not only the story Mozart set to music, but also the manner in which such a story might have been portrayed in the days of Hollywood’s first sound movies — all very tongue in cheek, of course."

"Abduction" portrays the adventures and amusing entanglements that result as Belmonte, a Spanish nobleman, attempts to rescue his beloved Konstanza, a Spanish lady, from a high-minded Turkish pasha’s harem. The five leading roles and eight-member chorus are played by Boise State music students and one theatre arts major. The theatre arts department provided stage management, set design, lighting, construction and costumes.

Music professor Craig Purdy will conduct the opera and the Boise State University Chamber Orchestra. "The Abduction from the Seraglio" was Mozart’s earliest comic hit, written when he was 26 years old, just before he married Konstanze Weber after whom he named the lead female role. In 18th century Vienna, Turkish styles, stories and fashions were all the rage. Mozart’s music and story reflect this cultural and musical fad of the day.

The idea of an early Hollywood staging of the opera was the brainchild of Raynes. "Since the opera represents Mozart’s concept of exotic Turkish culture, Christopher found a 20th century equivalent in early ‘talkies,’" said Laura Rushing-Raynes, the opera’s music director and professor of voice at Boise State. "The melodramatic style of those early sound movies works well with ‘Abduction’s’ plot and characters."

Tickets, including Select-a-Seat convenience fees, are $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and $1 for students of all ages, at Select-a-Seat, 426-1110, 426-1494 or www.idahotickets.com. Free tickets are available to Boise State students, faculty and staff at on-campus box offices at the Morrison Center, Pavilion and Student Union Information Desk.

Contact:
Laura Rushing-Raynes
Music department
426-1975

Media contact:
Pat Pyke
communications and marketing
426-1987