Soprano Jennifer Davison returns to Asheville Lyric Opera where she will play a nun and clown in the upcoming double bill of “Pagliacci” and “Suor Angelica.” The performances take place Friday and Saturday, Oct. 4 and 5, at Diana Wortham Theatre. 8 p.m., adults $30-$58, students $17-$40.
About the show: “This operatic double bill combines comedy, tragedy, and redemption all in one night. I Paliacci, the tragic story of a roaming band of performers begins this evening of one act operas. Suor Angelica, the story of a disgraced nun who finds salvation through unspeakable tragedy, immediately follows I Pagliacci. ALO favorites, Dr. Jon Truitt (director) and Daniel Meyer (conductor) return to craft this double bill.”
From a press release:
A rare operatic pairing requires a rare soprano. Dynamic soprano, Jennifer Davison will play both nun and clown in the upcoming double bill of Pagliacci & Suor Angelica. In Pagliacci, Ms. Davison plays Nedda, the unfaithful wife of hot-tempered Canio, leader of their traveling acting troupe. Ms. Davison then transforms into the title role of Puccini’s Suor Angelica. We’re introduced to Angelica several years after she has taken her solemn vows. It’s unclear as to how she ended up at the cloistered convent, but what is clear is that she has a heavy heart and dark secrets in her past.
With her “sumptuous voice of unusual power” (Opera America) and her riveting dramatic interpretations, Jennifer Davison has won acclaim from audiences and critics alike for her work on the operatic and concert stages of both Europe and the United States. In addition to performing with ALO in the 2013-14 season, Jennifer Davison makes her debut with the Schlossfestspiel Langenlois as the Countess in Wiener Blut, will travel afar for her first Countess in The Marriage of Figaro in New Zealand, sees another exciting role debut as Violetta in La Traviata with the Landestheater Niederbayern, and makes her debut in Innsbruck, Austria as Jenny in Kurt Weill´s The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.
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