HOT’s 2014-2015 Opera Season – Life Changing Journeys
Hawaii Opera Theatre (HOT), the Islands’ only major operatic company, announces the 2014-2015 Opera Season (Download Brochure: 2014-2015 HOT Opera Season). For the first time in nearly 20 years, HOT is presenting four full-scale productions, including a contemporary opera in a new venue developed by Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu’s evolving Arts & Warehouse District of Kaka’ako.
Giacomo Puccini’s beloved and iconic Madam Butterfly opens the season on 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. This production was originally directed by Henry Akina at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland, and follows HOT’s intention to bring great opera productions from around the world to local audiences.
Opera Season continues February 13, 15, & 17, 2015, as Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman 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 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 will run on March 20, 21, 27, & 28, 2015, and will be performed in one of the newly revitalized warehouses owned by Kamehameha Schools on Cooke Street.
For the final work of the 2014-15 Opera Season, HOT offers close shaves and meat pies as 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.
Subscribe today by contacting the HOT Box Office at (808) 596-7858. From now through April 30, Season Subscribers can experience all four productions for as little as $120.
