Viva, Verdi!
For Season Fifteen, we’re doubling down on the genius of Giuseppe. His final two operas, so different in tone and texture, bear witness to the immense scope of his talent as both dramatist and composer. In September we start off with the dramatic intensity of Otello. It'll have you on the edge of your seat. In May 2025, the jocular hilarity of Falstaff will send you rolling through the aisles with laughter. It promises to be an unforgettable season!
A lesson for the ages
"This is a spiderweb in which your heart is caught."
In Otello, the musical imagination of Giuseppe Verdi crosses paths with the sculptural prose of William Shakespeare, and the resulting mashup is anything but predictable. At its core, this story illustrates the destructive power that true love can wield when confidence is placed in the wrong hands, and conspiracy lands in the wrong ear.
Don’t be shocked if this sounds modern and familiar. Both Verdi and The Bard had an uncanny sense for themes that transcend time. Both revel in the currencies of personal vanity, human insecurity, skullduggery, and alternative fact.
Another timeless touch, Verdi’s lively score is a through-composed masterpiece reminiscent of a movie soundtrack. While the arias are demanding for the artists, they’re a delight for the audience, right from the first bars of Otello’s opening Esultate to the soaring culmination of Desdemona’s Ave Maria. If you’re looking for a complex and beautifully wrought opera experience that engages on every level, you’ll find it here.
Coming to Vashon Center for the Arts:
- Friday, September 20, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, September 22, 2024 at 2:30 p.m.
What could possibly go wrong?
Sir John Falstaff is coming to Vashon and he’s a charmer. A clownish knight with a big belly and a bigger ego, this randy rascal thinks he can pay off his debts by romancing not one, but two, wealthy married women.
To no one’s surprise, Falstaff’s wacky scheme for bluffing his way to solvency goes awry. It’s comic chaos as the old buffoon is pranked by the clever women again and again. In the end, the outmatched Falstaff accepts his fate, order is restored, and happiness reigns!
Giuseppe Verdi’s final opera, an homage to Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, is a comic and musical masterpiece. It should not be missed by anyone who enjoys a timely and hilarious comeuppance!
Coming to Vashon Center for the Arts:
- Friday, May 23, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, May 25, 2025 at 2:30 p.m.