Light Opera Theatre of Sacramento invites you to enjoy a concert-style presentation of two rarely performed one-act operas, The California premiere of Cabildo by Amy Beach and (possibly) the United States premiere of The Gitanos by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
Amy Beach’s only opera, Cabildo, is a romantic and thrilling nested story about the imprisonment and escape of the legendary gentleman pirate, Pierre Lafitte. As the opera opens, a tour guide regales visitors with the story of Lafitte and his love, Lady Valerie. The tour group moves on but one of the tourists, Mary, remains in the cell, falls asleep, and, through her dreams, Lafitte’s escape comes to life.
In The Gitanos, a band of travelers gathers in an orange grove near an Andalusian nobleman's palace on a celebration day, knowing that it is customary for the nobleman’s daughter, Isola, to offer blessings to passersby. This charming opera was written entirely for women’s voices.
Both of these beautiful short operas will be presented concert style with their original chamber ensemble orchestrations. Direction by Robert Vann with musical direction and conducting by Anne-Marie Endres.
The Gitanos, music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, words by Edward Oxenford
Cabildo, music by Amy Beach, words by Nan Bagly Stephens, and presented with permission by the MacDowell Colony