HMS Pinafore (October 18-27, 2024) and The Merry Widow (June 6-8, 2025)
In 2024-25, Opera-Lytes will celebrate the organization’s 30th anniversary, with staged productions (with orchestra) of HMS Pinafore (October 18-27, 2024) and The Merry Widow (June 6-8, 2025), plus an anniversary concert (February 28, 2025).
Auditions for principal parts in both operettas will be held at Amherst Community Church on Sunday, May 19, 4-6 pm, and Tuesday, May 21, 7-9 pm. Singers should prepare two contrasting songs in English from opera, operetta, or classic Broadway. Bring your music; an accompanist will be provided. You will be asked to read from the dialog.
Contact Lisa Berglund at lisab@operalytes.com to reserve an audition time slot and/or if you have questions. For more information visit the Opera-Lytes Facebook page.
Auditions are not necessary for chorus or smaller solo roles, but are recommended for singers new to the organization. Expressions of interest are welcome.
HMS Pinafore is a comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan, first performed in 1878. The story centers on Ralph Rackstraw, a smart but lowly sailor, and his love for Josephine, the captain's daughter. Ultimately, an inevitable surprise about Rackstraw's birth helps resolve the class differences. The operetta, one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most popular, satirizes love between members of different social classes and the traditions of the British Royal Navy.
The Merry Widow is an operetta by Franz Lehár, that premiered in 1905. Set in the Paris embassy of the Balkan principality of Pontevedrin, the story involves attempts to keep wealthy widow, Hanna Glawari and her inherited millions in the tiny principality by arranging her remarriage, and her reacquaintance with an old flame. It features well-known songs like the "Vilja Song" and "The Merry Widow Waltz."