News from Painted Sky Opera 

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. USA — Painted Sky Opera in collaboration with the Oklahoma Haydn Festival will present La Canterina by Joseph Haydn at 2 pm June 25 and 7 pm June 26 in the Samuel Roberts Noble Theater at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

La Canterina will be Painted Sky Opera’s first production. 

Based in Oklahoma City, Painted Sky Opera seeks to present innovative and inspiring opera through performance and education to the Oklahoma City area.  The founders of the company, Barbara Fox DeMaio and Rob Glaubitz, believe that the vibrant artistic scene in Oklahoma City would be enhanced by the addition of a professional opera company.

“Oklahoma City deserves an opera company of its own,” said DeMaio.  “With the growing cultural scene, it is, for me, a no-brainer. Companies like the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Lyric Theatre, City Rep and Shakespeare in the Park, as well as our rich community theatre scene, have proven that Oklahoma City can support many different genres of music and theatre.”

Tenor Justin Kroll as Don Pelagio  and soprano Emerald Lessley as  Gasparina  – Photo by Wendy Mutz

Having a professional opera company based in Oklahoma City provides local classical singers a new venue to display their talents and receive much needed professional experience.   It also offers singers who have moved away from Oklahoma City an opportunity to come back and advance their careers in their home state.  Soprano Emerald Lessley, who graduated from Classen SAS and University of Central Oklahoma, returns to Oklahoma City to perform the lead role of Gasparina in this production of La Canterina.  Mezzo soprano Courtney Crouse who plays Gasparina’s mother, Apollonia, also has strong Oklahoma City connections, having taught at Oklahoma City University for four years.

The opera itself is a comedy focusing on Gasparina’s  attempts, along with her crafty mother Apollonia to support her singing career and lavish lifestyle by obtaining generous gifts from her suitors, Don Pelagio, her voice teacher (tenor Justin Kroll) and a young rich man, Don Ettore (mezzo-soprano Erin Roth).

Collaborating with Painted Sky Opera will be OKCMOA as well as the Oklahoma Haydn Festival orchestra led by OKC native Jim Waddelow who returns every summer in his work as co-artistic director of the festival.

This year marks the fifth year of the Oklahoma Haydn Festival and the first time the festival has included opera.

“La Canterina is an excellent opportunity to partner with another community group,” said DeMaio about the collaboration.  “Painted Sky Opera hopes to continue to collaborate with the many fine musical and theatre companies that we have in Oklahoma City.”

The production is in Italian with English supertitles and features the Oklahoma Haydn Festival orchestra.  It is the first production in Painted Sky Opera 2016-17 season which also features Menotti’s “The Medium” and Verdi’s “La Traviata.”

Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for seniors, military, students, and members of OKCMOA.   Purchase advance tickets online at the OKCMOA website athttp://www.okcmoa.com/events.

Visit the Painted Sky Opera website at www.paintedskyopera.org for more information about the company and its 2016-17 season.

#######Updated 7-13-16