ADVANCE SALES ONLINE CLOSE AT 3:00 on Wednesday. Tickets will be available at the door, but please arrive a few minutes early.
The Italian city of Parma and its magnificent Teatro Regio enjoy fame— some would say infamy— as the “toughest,” most passionate and best-informed opera audience in the world. At the heart of tonight’s multi-media presentation is a screening of the “lost” 1963 film, In the Mouth of the Wolf (55 minutes, directed by Robert Morgan, in English with some subtitles), a vivid record of this all-but-vanished world where even the cops and street-sweepers sing opera. Meanwhile, the nervous stars of Teatro Regio’s new production of Verdi’s opera Luisa Miller at the Regio—opera greats Margherita Roberti, Piero Cappuccilli, Renato Cioni and their maestro Alberto Erede—all fret at having to perform before Parma’s Verdi-mad populace. By turns witty and heartfelt, In the Mouth of the Wolf is a deliriously entertaining opera film unlike any other that asks: What is it about Parma?
August Ventura, creator of the Verdi Documentary Film Project, will present this extraordinary re-discovery—unseen in over half a century—along with its fascinating backstory and some of his own interview footage of people who were there. The Verdi Documentary Film Project promotes the composer’s legacy of music, charity, patriotism, honor, grace, and reason, through documentary film, writing, and multi-media presentations.
This unique presentation—which has been playing to packed houses— will be rounded out by a live Verdian performance by guests including Metropolitan Opera soprano Korliss Uecker and baritone/pianist James Rensink, with Robert Osborn, Kathleen Reveille, Marie-Claire Giraud, Mike He, and John Patrick Schutz, making this a must for opera-lovers and neophytes alike.
Event Sponsor: M&T Bank
Beverage Sponsor: John Henry Co.
Our Annual Year-End Celebration and Thank You to Members
Members: $15
General Admission: $25
