HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (October 12, 2011) - The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) Opera Theatre will present the musical drama The Consul by Gian-Carlo Menotti for three performances from October 26, 28 and 30 in the Wilson Hall Theatre at 7 p.m.
The opera production is being directed by David Harwell, assistant professor of communications at UAH and features special guest bass Eric Jordan in the role of John Sorel.
Opera companies nationwide have sought Jordan, a professional operatic performer, for his trademark "big bass and presence to match" (Opera News). His "powerful, nuanced singing and thoughtful acting" (The New York Times) add an especially sonorous quality to The Consul.
Set in a post-World War II communist country, The Consul tells the story of John and Magda Sorel. John, a political activist, has been arrested by the secret police. Magda seeks the only person she believes can help her- the Consul. However, Magda soon learns that an audience with the Consul is not easily gained, and time may run out for her family as the bureaucracy drags its feet.
"It's strikingly fluid music," Jordan said of the opera, for which Menotti won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Music and 1950 New York Drama Critics' Circle award for Best Musical.
"It's kind of eerie- there is a macabre touch to this opera that makes it perfect to perform before Halloween ," Jordan added. "If you think opera is boring, this one will prove that you're dead wrong!"
On the first dark night of The Consul , October 27 at 8 p.m., Jordan will host a benefit concert as The Opera Cowboy and the Mountain Band. The group, made up of Jordan on guitar, Mark "Mad Dog" Defeneugh on lap steel, and Scott "Scott Rock" Thornton on bass, will present Johnny Cash's entire At Folsom Prison album, as well as some extras. When asked to describe an evening with the band, Jordan said, "It's just a whole lot of fun!"
For information about tickets to the performance, please contact Donna Lamp, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m., to 5 p.m., at (256) 824-6871, or in Morton Hall 342 on the UAH campus. For information about The Consul and UAH Theatre, please visit http://theater.uah.edu/.
