Michael H. Hardern
Operetta Research Center
16 April, 2016
Victor Herbert’s wildly popular 1897 comic operetta, The Serenade, forever changed the landscape of musical theater in America and abroad! VHRP Live will present a “semistaged” performance of the rarely heard, original form, which has not been performed in New York City, or on the East Coast in over a century!
Poster for the 2016 production of Victor Herbert’s “Serenade.”
Herbert’s first major victory, The Serenade is known for a melody that sweeps the Spanish countryside, and a lighthearted storyline with a nearsighted guardian wooing the girl a youthful suitor wants to steal away. Audiences will be treated to Herbert’s marvelously melodic score, including songs such as “Cupid And I, ” “I Love Thee, I Adore Thee, ” “The Singing Lesson, ” “Gaze On This Face, ” “Song of the Carbine, ” “A Duke of High Degree, ” “Woman Lovely Woman.”
20 resident artists comprise the VHRP Live’s roster of exceptional talent among which are the voices featured in this cast of Brian Kilday, Vira Slywotzky, Bray Wilkins, Natalie Ballenger, Matthew Wages, Stephen Faulk, David Seatter, Glenn Seven Allen, Daniel Greenwood, and Katherine Corle; additional company members are Drew Bolander, Chelsea Friedlander, Jovani McCleary, Angela Christine Smith, Sarah Caldwell Smith, and Seph Stanek. Music Director Michael Thomas conducts, William Hicks accompanies on piano, and Emily Cornelius choreographs. Original book and lyrics by Harry B. Smith, 2016 book adapted by Alyce Mott.
Get your tickets now for this strictly limited, two night engagement, on Wednesday April 27th and Thursday April 28th, 2016, at 8pm.
For more information, click here.
Just a note to say that should Victor Herbert still know about the living, he would be supremely proud that his music is still being passionately performed in New York City. And among the impassioned devotees to his works, the most impassioned of all is Ms. Alyce Mott, who lives only to produce performances of Victor Herbert’s melodious music by the best young singers of today.