OCR Text |
Show 4 La Traviata' to open at Kingsbury Hall n I,, , V i. i 1 , . J Verdi's "La Traviata," will be presented Feb. 13 by the University Opera Company in Kingsbury Hall. The production will be directed by Ardean Watts, with choreography by Mattlyn Gavers, a member of the ballet faculty. A special chorus and members of the Utah Symphony Orchestra will also take part in presenting Verdi s melodies to Utah theatre-goers. The cast will feature Ariel Bybee in the role of Parisian courtesan Violetta Valery. Miss Bybee, a former Utahn now pursuing a professional career in Los Angeles, was a regional winner of the San Francisco Opera auditions last spring and placed second in the national competitions. Utahns will remember Miss Bybee for her 1967 portrayal of Cio Cio San in the University production of "Madame Butterfly." She is a graduate of Brigham Young University and was a resident performer at the Valley Music Hall during its first season of musicals. "Ariel Bybee is a natural choice for the role of Violetta," said company director Ardean Watts. "She brings a youthfulness that is often missing in productions of 'La Traviata.' I don't know of any soprano who has her vitality and personal excitement." Essentially a prima donna's opera, "La Traviata" is the touching portrait of Violetta, frail Parisian mistress, loved from afar by Alfredo. The heart of the opera is the encounter in which Alfredo's father asks Violetta to renounce his son for the family's honor. Broken-hearted Violetta goes back to her former ways and is bitterly rejected by Alfredo. Finally, Alfredo learns the truth from his father and returns to Violetta, but it is too late. She falls into a fit of coughing, appeals to heaven to spare her because happiness is so near, but then dies in her lover's arms. Also starring in the cast will be tenor Thomas D. East as Alfredo Germont, and baritone Don Watts as Georgio Germont. Mr. East is an assistant professor of music at the University. He has been a Fulbright and Rockefeller fellow, and has appeared with major American and European orchestras and opera companies. 1 1 Ariel Bybee is featured in the opera "La Traviata" in the role of Violetta Miss Bybee is involved in her professional career in Los Angeles where she has been highly praised for her performances by the San Francisco critics. |