Our next Dinner and a Diva is on Tuesday evening, May 15, with an encore performance on Monday, May 21, featuring highlights from Georges Bizet's popular opera Carmen. Heather Witt and Amanda Perera, mezzo-sopranos; Melanie Burbules, soprano; Joseph McBrayer, tenor; and, Gus Godbee, baritone will tell the story of a naive soldier who falls for the charms of a fiery gypsy and then loses her to a glamorous toreador. Our singers will be accompanied by Catherine Giel, Capitol City Opera’s music director.
When Carmen was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, on March 3, 1875, it was not a particularly well received. Critics panned it, in large measure because they were not accustomed to seeing the lives of the common folk, much less the world of gypsies, smugglers, deserters, factory workers, and other ne’er-do-wells given center stage .
The opera's initial run was 36 performances. However, before the run was concluded Bizet, who was 36-years-old and suffered with a heart condition, died suddenly. He died convinced he had written the greatest failure in the history of opera. History would prove him wrong!
Over the years the music of Carmen has been widely acclaimed for the brilliance of the melody, harmony, atmosphere and orchestration, and for the skill with which Bizet crafted the music to capture the emotions and suffering of his characters. It is the source of many memorable and widely recognized songs, notably those known by the popular names “Toréador Song” and “Habanera.”
The dinner includes a sampling of premium hors d’ oeuvres, fresh salad, choice of two gourmet entrees, decadent dessert, hot coffee/tea, and two glasses of fine wine, for only $60 per person (tax included; gratuity separate). The performers from the Capitol City Opera Company sing between each course. The evening begins at 6:15 p.m. with a cash bar and hors d’oeuvres reception; dinner and performance start promptly at 7 p.m. Reservations are required. Please call 404-634-6268.
A big thank you to Karen Steinberg, for sponsoring this Dinner and a Diva!