UA News

UA Opera Theater presents its fall production, featuring "La Périchole," an
 operetta by Jacques Offenbach, to open its 2008-2009 season. The English 
version is by Maurice Valency, and it is performed by permission of Boosey & 
Hawkes, Inc., publisher.



The storybook setting features two impoverished street singers,
 Périchole and Paquillo, who cannot afford a wedding service, let alone their 
next meal. The Viceroy, Don Andrés, during an incognito tour of Lima, falls
 for Périchole and offers her a position at court, which she accepts, leaving a 
remorseful letter for Paquillo. By chance, Don
 Andrés' men choose Paquillo as a husband, getting him too drunk to recognize the bride.
 When he discovers what has happened, he denounces Périchole and is imprisoned.
 The two finally escape, happily reconciled, and Don Andrés forgives them.



The production features graduate singers in the major roles and 
includes local favorite Joseph McGrath in the role of the old prisoner. The 
Arizona Symphony, under the direction of Charles Bontrager, will provide the 
orchestral music.



As a special feature, the UA School of Dance will present a circus scene in Act 
One, and a beautiful ballet in Act Two.