The Opera Club will be held at the Essex Library on the first Wednesday of the month beginning April 2 from 4 to 5 PM. We are offering five presentations to prepare listeners for the Salt Marsh Opera’s presentation of Lucia di Lammermoor at the Ivoryton Playhouse in October. The presenters include the following:

April 2: George Willauer, retired Professor of English at Connecticut College, will speak about the literary, cultural and historical background of Lucia, including Sir Walter Scott and Romanticism.

May 7: Diana McVey, SMO’s Lucia, will offer insights about preparing to sing the demanding title role in the opera.

June 4: Stephan Tieszan, Concertmaster of the SMO Orchestra, will discuss how Donizetti orchestrated Lucia and why he made certain choices in instrumentation.

NO EVENTS IN JULY OR AUGUST

September 3: Carol Werner-Feiertag, Stage Director for the production, will discuss staging Lucia for the Ivoryton Playhouse.

October 1: James Kuslan, who presented a fascinating illustrated lecture on the Opera Events series, will talk about madness in opera as well as bel canto, and will play sound clips of great Lucias, including Maria Callas.

If you plan to attend any or all of the lectures please call the Ivoryton or Essex Libraries for up-to-date information before each presentation in the event that the venue is changed. There is a $5 suggested donation to defray the cost of the speakers.