Opera Laurier presents ‘Little Women’ as they return with full orchestra
Posted Feb 25, 2023 05:00:00 PM.
Opera Laurier will bring American composer Mark Adamo’s operatic adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved Little Women to life this March 2023.
The performance will take place on March 10 and 11 at 7:30 p.m. and March 12 at 3 p.m. in the Theatre Auditorium at Wilfrid Laurier University.
“It will be exciting to hear the singers and orchestra come together for Little Women,” said music director Kate Carver. “It’s full of beauty and lyricism, as well as creative use of sound effects both for the voices and orchestra. The cast, crew and orchestra have been working hard and the show is going to be gorgeous.”
Directed by Dana Fradkin and conducted by Kira Omelchenko, Little Women will include the Wilfrid Laurier Symphony Orchestra, which marks Opera Laurier’s first performance with a full orchestra since 2019.
“Little Women excites me because it is such a thorough and deep exploration of sisterly relationships and the female experience,” said Fradkin. “Whether it be the 1870s or 2023, a woman's struggle to find and hold on to her own unique voice is always present.”
The Opera Laurier cast is made up of Laurier voice students enrolled in the university’s Practice of Opera course.
Each semester, students produce a fully staged performance. In the fall semester, students stage an evening of operatic scenes that share a central theme. In the winter semester, they stage a major operatic production with an orchestra.
“It's thrilling for me as an artist-educator to share a work with students with which I am so intimately familiar and watch them dive into the material,” said Barber. “The story is so familiar and relatable to our students, the characters are so close to them in age, and the strong feminist and humanist themes that Mark Adamo has emphasized in his adaptation allow our students to connect with them on a deep level, bringing out the best in themselves.”
Tickets to see Little Women are available through Eventbrite. Tickets cost $20 for adults, $12 for seniors, and are free for students
