2014-2015 Single Tickets Now On Sale
Single Tickets to Hawaii Opera Theatre’s 2014-15 Opera Season go on sale July 28
Honolulu, Hawaii – Hawaii Opera Theatre (HOT), the Islands’ only operatic company, announced the 2014-2015 Opera Season this past March. Reversing a trend seen across the nation and for the first time in nearly 20 years, HOT has expanded its repertoire and is presenting four full-scale productions. This includes a contemporary opera, Siren Song, which will be held in a new venue developed by Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu’s evolving Arts & Warehouse District of Kaka’ako.
Kicking off the season is Giacomo Puccini’s beloved and iconic Madam Butterfly (October 10, 12, & 14, 2014), directed by HOT Artistic Director, Henry Akina. Set in the mid-19th century, this tale of love and deceit follows the story of Cio-Cio San (“Butterfly” in Japanese) whose romance with the American Naval Officer Pinkerton seems too good to be true. This timeless story has inspired audiences for centuries. Its popularity has seen spin-offs in film, television, and most notably, the Broadway musical Miss Saigon. The production was originally directed by Akina for the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland (2009 & 2014). Local fashion Designer Anne Namba, who joined Akina’s Artistic Team in June’s The Mikado, also worked on the costumes for the production and will be back with HOT in October. At the conclusion of its current run in Finland, the set will be shipped and travel through the Panama Canal to Honolulu.
Following Puccini’s classic, the trade winds pick up as Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman (February 13, 15, & 17, 2015) sails to the stage. This Wagnerian epic has captivated audiences for more than 150 years. Set along the Norwegian coast, legends tell of a ghost ship, The Flying Dutchman, captained by a man simply known as the Dutchman, whose curse is to wander the seas. His only chance comes once every seven years. Should he find a wife that will be true to him, he’ll be set free. The production was originally conceived at the Glimmerglass Festival in New York.
The nautical theme continues as a young sailor finds himself falling in love with a mysterious woman after he ‘met’ in response to a Lonely Hearts Ad. The romance blossoms with one catch: they have never met. What begins as the experience of young love for the sailor evolves into a catfish scandal turned naval investigation. Find out what happens as HOT breaks new artistic ground with the contemporary opera Siren Song, written by one of the new generation of English composers, Jonathan Dove. This production will be under the stage direction of HOT’s award-winning Artistic Director, Henry Akina. Siren Song (March 20, 21, 22, 27, & 28, 2015) will be performed in at 445 Cooke Street in one of the newly revitalized warehouses owned by Kamehameha Schools on Cooke Street.
HOT brings the 2014-15 Opera Season to a its conclusion by serving up close shaves and meat pies when Stephen Sondheim’s darkly brooding tragedy, Sweeney Todd, is brought to life on the Blaisdell stage (April 24, 26, & 28, 2015). Directed by Karen Tiller, the opera explores the revenge of one man, Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, whose bloodlust is satisfied in a way that only opera can deliver.
Single Tickets for the HOT Opera Season go on sale on July 28, 2014, and can be purchased online at www.HawaiiOpera.org by contacting the HOT Box Office at (808) 596-7858. Season Subscriptions are also available through the HOT Box Office.
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