University Opera performs ‘La Calisto’

This spring’s University Opera production of Francesco Cavalli’s “La Calisto,” to be staged March 25 and 27, will be a showcase for many developing opera singers on campus.

Details The University Opera will perform “La Calisto” in English, March 25 at 7:30 p.m. and March 27 at 8 p.m. in Music Hall. Tickets, $11/general and $9/UW students, are available through the Vilas Hall Box Office, 262-1500; or by fax, 265-4075.

Drawn from Roman mythology, the “action” finds parallel and contrasting love stories in Jove’s seduction of La Calisto and the huntress Diana’s attraction to the mortal shepherd Endymion.

“La Calisto,” never before presented at UW–Madison, is a perfect vehicle for a student cast, according to director William Farlow, who joined the School of Music faculty as the Opera’s artistic director last fall. “A baroque opera usually will provide more major roles than other works,” he says. For example, “La Calisto” offers about 10 major singing parts, compared to the more typical three or four, he says.

Plus, “baroque operas are excellent for students’ developing voices — the music doesn’t demand excessive range or volume, and often a smaller orchestra can accommodate the work,” Farlow says. In this case, the ensemble in question will be the UW Chamber Orchestra, conducted by David E. Becker.

The University Opera will perform “La Calisto” in English, March 25 at 7:30 p.m. and March 27 at 8 p.m. in Music Hall. Tickets, $11/general and $9/UW students, are available through the Vilas Hall Box Office, 262-1500; or by fax, 265-4075.