Boston Midsummer Opera presents "Trouble and Chocolate" July 30, 2010

Boston audiences will be in for a tasty treat this summer when Boston Midsummer Opera (BMO) presents its 2010 production, a unique two-course evening featuring Leonard Bernstein’s bittersweet classic “Trouble in Tahiti” and Lee Hoiby’s delicious “Bon Appétit!,” starring Tony Award winner Judy Kaye as Julia Child. Playing at the Tsai Performance Center at Boston University for three performances only, July 28, 30 and August 1, both productions are sung in English and performed with orchestra. Music director and nationally acclaimed conductor Susan Davenny Wyner will lead the fully staged and costumed productions.

“Trouble in Tahiti,” a tale of suburban love in distress, depicts the longing lurking beneath the surface of a perfect 1950’s American marriage. Directed by Scott Edmiston, this one-act masterpiece was Leonard Bernstein's first foray into opera musical theater when it premiered in 1952 with Bernstein conducting. Bernstein attacks the subject matter of the malaise hiding behind the picture-perfect family lives of post-war suburbia by focusing on one married couple, Sam and Dinah, who are played by baritone Stephen Salters and mezzo-soprano Sandra Piques Eddy. The work depicts one day in their lives and also features a trio of solo singers (Megan Roth, mezzo soprano, Brian R. Robinson, tenor, David Lara, baritone) that Bernstein refers to as "a sort of Greek chorus born of pop radio commercials." Bernstein sought to break new ground by creating “a truly American opera” with “Trouble and Tahiti.” He wrote his own libretto and deliberately avoided anything overtly “operatic.” All of the music and words derive from American vernacular and popular roots. He said his goal was to set American words the most natural way possible without losing lyricism or melody so that “they will sound in the American cadence and with the American kind of syncopated, almost slurred quality.” Bernstein began “Trouble and Tahiti” while on his honeymoon with his new bride, actress Felicia Monealegre, in Mexico—calling it “a really nice surprise from the Gods” and telling his manager to cancel all his gigs because his creative juices were flowing. Even so, he barely finished it in time for its first performance at Brandeis. It is thought that Sam and Dinah may well have been inspired by the difficult marriage of Bernstein's own mother and father.

The evening concludes with a taste of “Bon Appétit!,” Lee Hoiby's delightful musicalization of a classic Julia Child television broadcast, directed by David Green. In this “episode,” the master chef, played by veteran Broadway star Judy Kaye, demonstrates the makings of a classic French chocolate cake in her beloved and inimitable style. Hoiby's lively score illuminates Child's words and witticisms and takes viewers on a musical journey as this culinary adventure unfolds before their eyes.

Performances of Trouble in Tahiti and Bon Appétit! are Wednesday, July 28 and Friday, July 30 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, August 1 at 3 p.m. at the Tsai Performance Center at Boston University, 685 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. Tickets, priced at $50.00 to $30.00 (plus a $5.00 handling fee per ticket order) for all performances, are available by calling 617-227-0442, online at www.bostonmidsummeropera. org, or by mailing a request to Boston Midsummer Opera, Box 513, 66 Charles Street, Boston, MA 02114.
For more information, visit www.bostonmidsummeropera.org.