NDSU Opera Theatre presents
An Evening of Comic Operas

The North Dakota State University Opera Theatre is proud to present An Evening of Comic Operas, Friday, May 2 at 7:30 pm in Festival Concert Hall. Tickets are available at the door and are $5 for adults and $2 for students and seniors.

Featured operas include The Maid as Mistress by Giovannia Battista Pergolesi, Sunday Excursion by Alec Wilder and The Stoned Guest by P.D.Q. Bach.

The Maid as Mistress
Five years ago, Dr. Pandolfo took Zerbina, a girl from a poor background, into his household as a maid, providing her with an education and many other advantages. Now grown into an attractive young lady, Zerbina pays almost no attention to Pandolfo, refusing to serve his breakfast or clean the house, and spends all of her time reading or gossiping with her friend, Scapin, Pandolfo’s manservant. She has decided that her best strategy to get on in life is to marry Pandolfo, an idea she plans to put into his head through diverse ruses. Although Pandolfo is at first astonished by her suggestions, he finds himself more and more attracted to the prospect of marrying her, and it requires only mistaken identify and a moment of jealousy to push him into a declaration of love.

Sunday Excursion
After spending a dull day in New York, Alice and Veronica are returning home to New Haven on the train. Coincidentally, they sit near Marvin and Hillary, who were similarly disappointed in their trip to the big city. As they complain about their experiences, one of the boys suddenly realizes that he and one of the girls are classmates, and they pair off, as do the others, and their day ends happily. Throughout the ride, Tim, a “candy butcher,” roams up and down the aisles, selling his treats.

The Stoned Guest
A parody of various operas, including Carmen, Don Giovanni, and Dargomizhsky’s The Stone Guest, this “half-act opera” brings together rival divas Carmen Ghia and Donna Ribalda, Don Octave, the not-so-heroic tenor, and the Commendatoreador, who combines the worst qualities of Don Giovanni’s Commendatore and Carmen’s torero, Escamillo. Although, like many operas, The Stoned Guest ends in death for the protagonists, it manages to have a happy ending, largely through the intercession of the Houndentenor. To say more would be to spoil the surprises.

Music Lessons for NDSU Students!

Need to brush up on your skills? Interested in learning how to play an instrument? NDSU Music is offering private lessons to NDSU students!

All students may register for private lessons in voice, piano, guitar, and certain other instruments depending on teacher availability. Lessons may be taken for credit. There is an applied lesson fee of $275 for the entire semester.

Interested? Call the Division of Fine Arts at 231-7932 or email to ana.rusness@ndsu.edu for details!