STELLA!
Kentucky Opera closes the 2014/15 Brown-Forman Season with
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

Kentucky Opera completes the BROWN-FORMAN 2014-15 SEASON with a company premiere of André Previn and Philip Littell’s adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ powerful story, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE on Friday, February 13 at 8pm and Sunday, February 15 at 2pm at the Brown Theatre. The opera in three acts was commissioned for and premiered by San Francisco Opera in 1998 conducted by the composer and directed by Colin Graham.
Single tickets start at $34 and are available by calling 502.584.7777 or by visiting KYOpera.org.

Faithfully based on Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize winning play, André Previn's A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE is “A genuine and wholly accessible hit, one sure to remain in the repertory of the world’s opera companies for a great many years.” according to the Wall Street Journal.

The opera tells the story of Blanche DuBois, a fading Southern belle whose pretentions of decorum are a façade to mask her alcoholism and emotional depravity. She moves into her sister's very cramped apartment in a working class neighborhood of the French Quarter. Her socially elitist attitudes create antagonizes her brutish, blue-collar brother-in-law, Stanley. As the dark truths about Blanche's past emerge, her world comes apart at the seams in a spiral of violence and madness. André Previn's jazz-inflected score evokes a highly charged New Orleans setting, creating the perfect tension for this operatic drama.

Who’s Who:
Artist: Maria Kanyova makes her Kentucky Opera debut with the role of the faded Southern Belle, Blanche DuBois
What they are saying: “Her voice could stop time." Robert Trussell, Kansas City Star

Artist: Wes Mason also makes his Kentucky Opera debut as the drunken brute, Stanley Kowalski.
What they are saying: “Wes Mason as Bishop Myriel, whose rich voice and perfect projection reminded Jean Valjean that his soul had been purchased." Jay Wamsley, Deseret News
Artist: Anya Matanovic plays Stella Kowalski who is caught in the middle of the battle between her unbalanced sister, Blanche and her aggressive husband Stanley.
What they are saying: “...Matanovic’s stunning beauty and equally alluring voice were especially captivating ...” Robert Coleman, Opera News

Artist: Marco Cammarota has been with the Kentucky Opera Studio Artists Program for two seasons and makes his professional debut as Mitch, Stanley’s unrefined yet sensitive friend, who catches the eye of Blanche.
What they are saying: “Don Carlos, Marco Cammarota, displayed a superb tenor that contrasted for its sweetness.” Janelle Gelfand, Cincinnati.com.

Artistic Team:
Conductor Joseph Mechavich (FIDELIO, 2014)
Stage Director Jose Maria Condemi*

Blanche DuBois Maria Kanyova*
Stanley Kowalski Wes Mason*
Stella Kowalski Anya Matanovic (Susanna, THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO 2011)
Harold “Mitch” Mitchell Marco Cammarota (Nick, THE GIRL OF THE GOLDEN WEST 2014)
Eunice Hubbell Elizabeth Batton (Charlotte, WERTHER 2008)

Kentucky Opera Debut *
Kentucky Opera Studio Artist +

This production is generously sponsored by Stock Yards Bank and Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC