It’s the middle of July. Vacation season is upon us and scenic
beachside
pictures abound on
. But never fear if you’re still stuck in town sans fresh
tanlines
! Wednesday night, the Metropolitan Opera has a ticket to your own island getaway complete with all of your favorite characters and music.
Tomorrow evening, the Met will continue its summer encore broadcasts with
The Enchanted Island
, a recent work by British theater director Jeremy Sams. Premiered in 2011,
The Enchanted Island
is a pasticcio (a musical mashup, not a nut) that combines the music of George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi and Henry Purcell among others. Sams, who himself is the son of a Shakespeare scholar, also draws inspiration from
The Tempest
and
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
for a libretto that is familiar yet wholly new.
As characters from the two plays begin to collide, mayhem and confusion predictably ensue. Attempting to maintain harmony, the mighty sea god Neptune intervenes and endeavours to correct the mishaps of the rest of the gang. The gorgeous sets, extravagant costumes and repurposed Baroque tunes make
The Enchanted Island
exactly that. Watch the trailer here [4].
Plácido
Domingo dazzles as Neptune and shares the stage with all-stars David Daniels, Joyce
DiDonato
, Danielle de
Niese
and Luca
Pisaroni
. William Christie conducts.
Curtain goes up at 7 pm this Wednesday, July 16th at all area
Cinemark
theaters. Tickets can be purchased at the box office or online here [5].
(Photo by Ken Howard, courtesy of Metropolitan Opera.)
Follow Michael on Twitter: @rackoflambert [6].