LIFE & ARTS
The Daily Cougar
Thursday, January 29, 2009 n 7
Moores opens two operas Early Mozart work to make Houston premiere The Moores School of Music is opening and alternating two operas this week — Lucio Silla by W. A. Mozart and Florencia en el Amazonas, by Daniel Catan. Sung in Italian with English surtitles, the opera Lucio Silla is about a Roman dictator by the same name who falls for his arch nemesis Cecilio’s wife. “Throughout the opera, Cecilio tries to get back to his wife, Giunia, who Silla has tried to (keep) for himself by telling her that (Cecilio) is dead,” music performance graduate Shannon Langman said. A Houston premiere, Lucio Silla stars some of the finest singers of the Moores School of Music. The cast includes voice performance graduate students Andrew Peck and Steven Uliana, who share the role of Silla. Vocal performance graduate Jennifer Noel and music performance graduate Shannon Langman share the role of Cecilio. “This is a quality opera. It has a good plot and it moves very quickly. It is very early Mozart, so it isn’t done quite as often and this is the Houston premiere of the opera, so it will be fun to hear Mozart’s music that influenced his later work, such as Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro,” music education and vocal performance senior Briana Kruse said. Cinna, the ambiguous adversary of Silla and ally of Cecilio will be played by vocal performance senior Gwendolyn Alfred during Friday’s performance and music education and music performance Rebecca Weinmann will take over the role during Sunday’s performance. Celia, the sister of Silla, will be played by graduate student Abigail Charlton during Friday’s performance and Kruse will take over the role on Sunday.
Sillia’s advise, Aufidio, will be filled by vocal performance senior Frankie Espinoza on Friday and voice graduate student Jack Beetle on Sunday. “Aufidio is a really neat character. I’ve never played an in depth character before. He’s very manipulative, sinister, selfish and controlling. It’s such a fun role to play. It’s not every day that a tenor gets to play the bad guy,” Espinoza said. Lucio Silla runs for two days only, at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Sunday at the Edythe Bates Old Moores Opera Center. Florencia en el Amazonas by Daniel Catan is an opera about an opera singer, soprano Florencia Grimaldi. Sung in Spanish with surtitles, Florencia details a trip down the Amazon and the havoc that ensues after a storm. Commissioned by Daniel Catan of the Houston Grand Opera, this will be Florencia’s first production at UH, and its second production at a university. Florencia opens at 7:30 p.m. today and plays Saturday through Monday at the Edythe Bates Old Moores Opera Center. Reserved seating is available and tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for students and senior citizens. Both operas are produced and directed by Buck Ross, director of the Moores Opera Center. Of Lucio Silla, “It’s Mozart’s earlier work. He wrote this opera while in his teens and it has beautiful arias. It’s such a neat show. I think there are characters that people can relate to in an extreme way. They’re over the top characters. Also, it would help to support your fellow UH students,” Espinoza said. arts@dailycougar.com
Credit: Tony Nguyen The Daily Cougar
The Moores School of Music presents Spanish opera Florencia en el Amazonas tonight at 7:30 p.m.
Midnight Madness returns River Oaks Theatre to start film series with classic fairytale comedy By Paulette Ehmer THE DAILY COUGAR Beginning Friday, River Oaks Theatre will launch their first Midnight Madness viewing of 2009. A River Oaks Theatre tradition, Midnight Madness screens classic (and not so classic) films every Friday and Saturday night. The first screening of the year will be The Princess Bride, starring Carey Elwes, is considered by many to be a satirical fairytale. Also being screened at midnight at a later date is Tron, Amelie and Conan the Barbarian. Midnight Madness is perhaps best known for its screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a 1976 cult classic, complete with a live cast. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a quirky tale about a newly
engaged couple that gets lost while driving and stumbles across the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a transvestite who is holding an annual convention for visitors from the planet Transsexual. This interactive masterpiece originated in 1975 but was quickly shelved and considered a failure. After some slight revamping and tweaking, a new and exciting era of movie watching was born. For many moviegoers, the idea of throwing rice, toilet paper and water during a movie is unfathomable, however this is all a part of the RHPS experience. The entire idea of this film is to get the crowd involved and let fun and action take control. Things such as screaming out profanities and shooting water pistols are perfectly acceptable. After a successful 33 years, RHPS
is the longest theatrical release in film history. RHPS is also the first movie from a major film studio to be in the midnight movie market. One of the many things that distinguishes this film from many others are the 1950s style costumes. These costumes have become a must for avid RHPS viewers and dressing up in character is a way that seasoned fans display their RHPS solidarity. Like many others around the world, Houstonians can join in on the RHPS fun. RHPS is performed the second Saturday of every month. For times and ticket prices call 713-866-8881 or visit http:// www.landmarktheatres.com. For more on the Beautiful Creatures, visit myspace.com/houstonrhps. arts@thedailycougar.com
Aurora continued from page 6
artists working in the Southwest, through endowments from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Brown Foundation, Texas Commission on the Arts, the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, the Nightingale Code Foundation, the Oshman Foundation, the Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Through over fifty programs and exhibitions every year, Aurora strives to provide for a public arena where artists in new media and forms can have a thoughtprovoking exchange with their audiences. The Aurora Picture Show’s screening of Sound Forms will run for one night only on Saturday at the Aurora Theatre, 800 Aurora Street. Admission is free with a valid student I.D, with tickets selling for $6. For additional information and to purchase tickets to Sound Forms call the Aurora Theatre at 713868-2101 or visit http://www. aurorapictureshow.com. arts@thedailycougar.com
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