Organization

Don Giovanni - Opera

Presented by West Bay Opera at Lucie Stern Community Theatre and Center

February 17-February 26, 2012

Arguably Mozart's best and most dramatically accomplished opera, and considered by some to be the best opera ever written, Don Giovanni packs in arias and ensembles of tremendous technical challenge and sublime beauty. Combining tragedy, humor, and astonishing depth of characterization, Don Giovanni is a piece sure to dazzle and inspire, and it is the world's seventh most performed opera.

Aida - Opera

Presented by West Bay Opera at Lucie Stern Community Theatre and Center

May 25-June 3, 2012

Composed at the request of the Ottoman ruler of Egypt for the opening of the Suez Canal in 1871, Aida is among the most performed operas ever. It is really an intimate drama set against the larger-than-life backdrop of a bloody war between Egypt and Ethiopia.

Amneris, the Pharaoh's daughter, is infatuated with Radames, the general who leads the Egyptian army against Ethiopia. She is infuriated to find out that Radames and Aida, her slave, are secretly in love. Radames returns

Samson Et Dalila - Opera

Presented by West Bay Opera at Lucie Stern Community Theatre and Center

October 14-October 23, 2011

This is Saint-Saëns' best known opera. It is a retelling of the bliblical story of Samson and Delilah. The embodiment of French grand opera at its best, it includes three of the best known and most popular mezzo-soprano arias in the entire repertoire, as well as the music of the famous and wild bacchanale. The love scene between Samson and Delilah in the second act is a defining moment in French grand opera.

The story takes place in Gaza, in biblical times. The Jews, forced into

Dido and Aeneas, La Vida Breve - Opera

Presented by West Bay Opera at Lucie Stern Community Theatre and Center

May 20-May 29, 2011

Two very different stories of love forsaken are featured as a pair in this production. In Henry Purcell’s English baroque masterpiece, Dido and Aeneas, Trojan hero Aeneas courts Dido, the Queen of Carthage. Then, tricked by evil witches, he abandons Dido and she dies of grief.

In Manuel de Falla’s La Vida Breve, Salud, a gypsy girl in Granada, is courted by Paco, a handsome young man from a rich famiiy. Eventually, she discovers that he is getting married to

Turandot - Opera

Presented by West Bay Opera at Lucie Stern Community Theatre and Center

February 18-February 27, 2011

Vowing to honor the memory of an ancestor, Princess Lo-u-Ling, who was raped and murdered by a conquering prince, Turandot, the Chinese Princess, has sworn she will never be possessed by a man. Princes seeking her hand must answer three riddles posed by her. The price of failure is death. Calaf, son of the deposed Tartar king, sees Turandot appear before the masses and is instantly smitten and determined to win her hand.

Puccini’s last opera, left unfinished by his

La Forza del Destino - Opera

Presented by West Bay Opera at Lucie Stern Community Theatre and Center

October 15-October 24, 2010

Leonora is in love with Alvaro and plans to elope with him. Her father, the Marquis de Calatrava, intercepts them. Alvaro accidentally wounds the Marquis, who dies cursing them. Carlos, Leonora’s brother, swears revenge. Set in Seville in the eighteenth century, the piece explores themes of pride, love, revenge and hope.

A late Verdi piece, written right before Don Carlo, La Forza del Destino boasts perhaps the most famous Verdi overture and plenty of memorable arias,

La Traviata

Presented by West Bay Opera at Lucie Stern Community Theatre and Center

May 21-May 30, 2010

In the world of 19th century Paris’ glittering demi-monde, rich men enjoy the company of beautiful women - for a price. Yet, for a brief moment in this decadent whirlwind, two hearts find true love, only to be separated by family, society and finally, death. With its spectacular music and poignant story, Verdi’s La Traviata is one of the most popular of all operas. Directed by Heather Mathews in Italian with English titles.