Wagner’s rarely performed Die Feen rounds out the season’s mainstage roster in a new production directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted by Joseph Colaneri. Die Feen is generously sponsored by Elizabeth M. and Jean-Marie R. Eveillard.

An otherworldly romance full of fairies, demons and princes, Die Feen brings fantasy and whimsy to the stage. Despite all odds, a mortal prince and a high-ranking fairy begin a romance that causes chaos and suspicion across their different worlds. The score and libretto elucidates the promise of Wagner’s future compositions, showing signs of what would later become his signature sound.

“The seeds of the many great operas to come are sowed in this work,” Colaneri said. “In it we hear Wagner’s Italian bel canto based melodic exuberance and his pioneering development of the dramatic lyric voices that form the central core of his operatic style. The opera is at once personal in its expressive solo vocal passages and flamboyant in its many stirring and soaring ensembles.”

The production runs July 16 through August 21, 2020.

Ian Koziara will sing the role of Arindal for all performances.