The Golden Ticket June 13, 2010

American Lyric Theater (ALT) announces the World Premiere of The Golden Ticket, a new opera based on Roald Dahl’s "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", on June 13, 2010 at 7pm at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis at Webster University’s Loretto-Hilton Center, continuing for five more performances on June 16, 18, 22 (mat), 24, and 26. Tickets are available at www.experienceopera.org or by phone at (314) 961-0644.

Commissioned by American Lyric Theater in New York City and Felicity Dahl, "The Golden Ticket" was written by American composer Peter Ash and British librettist Donald Sturrock. The World Premiere production of "The Golden Ticket" will be staged by James Robinson, Artistic Director of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and choreographed by Seán Curran; with costumes and lighting by Tony Award-winning designers Martin Pakledinaz and Christopher Akerlind, and scenic design by Bruno Schwengl, whose innovative work has been seen at Teatro La Fenice, Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, and Los Angeles Opera.

Bass-Baritone Daniel Okulitch, recently acclaimed as "Don Giovanni" at New York City Opera and in the world premiere of "The Fly" at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, creates the role of Willy Wonka, joining the ranks of Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp in portraying the world’s most famous and eccentric candy man. The cast also includes Michael Kepler Meo as Charlie, Tracy Dahl as Violet Beauregarde, Jennifer Rivera as Veruca Salt, David Trudgen as Mike Teavee, and Andrew Drost as Augustus Gloop. All performances are accompanied by members of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Timothy Redmond.

All of Roald Dahl’s incredible characters, from Willy Wonka and the Oompa Loompas, to the four bratty children – and of course – Charlie, find unique new voices in "The Golden Ticket". “Donald Sturrock has captured Dahl’s fantastic imagination in the libretto and Peter Ash’s score is not only beautiful and theatrical, but also ingeniously uses many traditional operatic conventions to help portray different characters. "The Golden Ticket" is exactly the type of piece that ALT was created to champion, both to support gifted composers and librettists and to bring new audiences to opera. I am thrilled that after three years of development at ALT, audiences in St. Louis and around the world will now be able to enjoy "The Golden Ticket,” Edelson said.

"The Golden Ticket" is a co-production of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, American Lyric Theater and Wexford Festival Opera. Following the engagement in St. Louis, the production will be presented by Ireland’s Wexford Festival Opera for five performances between October 17 and 29, 2010. Additional performances in the United States will be announced by American Lyric Theater later this year.