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Founded in 1992 by Michael Ballam and Vince Liotta, Utah Festival Opera was inaugurated in July 1993, with the performance of Victor Herbert's Naughty Marietta, in a new production starring Mr. Ballam, and directed by Mr. Liotta.
That first season also brought performances of La Boheme, and a double bill of Mozart's Schauspieldirektor and Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial By Jury.
The first season generated a great deal of word of mouth publicity, as well as generous donations which have insured the health of the festival for years to come. The second season's repertory consisted of Madama Butterfly, Die Fledermaus, and Harold Rome's Fanny.
The summer of 1995 brought two new productions, Mozart's Magic Flute, and Bock and Harnick's She Loves Me, as well as La Traviata.
The 1996 repertoire represented a salute to the state of Utah in its centennial year. The works presented were Puccini's Girl of the Golden West, Sherman Edwards' musical 1776 and Donizetti's comedy Don Pasquale (in an Old West setting).
In 1997, the fifth season of the UFOC, the offerings were Puccini's Tosca, Franz Lehar's The Merry Widow, and Frank Loesser's Greenwillow (in the world premiere of its revised version, performed in the presence of the composer's widow).
Next season will the the five-year anniversary of the first performances, and there has been an exciting development. The "Dansante" building, purchased back in 1994, has been renovated, allowing the UFOC new office space, room for sewing and scene shops, room for storage, plenty of rehearsal space, and a small performance area. During the months of the festival, the company will no longer depend on the use of the city-owned Bullen Center in order to rehearse, and in the rest of the year, the Dansante will be used as an educational and recreational resource for local schoolchildren. The open house will be November 11-12. Be there!
The works chosen for next year's performances include I Do! I Do!, the two-character musical (starring Michael Ballam), by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, the composers of The Fantasticks. Next year's operetta will be Gilbert & Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance, the first Savoyard work performed by the company since Trial by Jury the inaugural year. Finally, the main opera will be a double-bill of Leoncavallo's Pagliacci and Puccini's Gianni Schicchi. The Schicchi will be performed here partly in recognition of the 1988 performances of the work, which were the first live performances in the Ellen Eccles Theatre (then known as the Capitol Theater) in over thirty years. Should be a great season! Don't miss it.
Pagliacci and Gianni Schicchi will be seen on July 16th, 23rd, 25th (matinee), 30th (matinee), August 1st, 5th, and 7th. The Pirates of Penzance will be seen on July 17th, 22nd, 24th, 30th, August 1st (matinee), 6th (matinee), and 8th. I Do! I Do! will be seen on July 18th, 23rd (matinee), 25th, 29th, 31st, August 6th, and 8th (matinee). In addition, at a matinee performance on July 31st, the orchestra, chorus, and soloists will present a special concert of operatic excerpts.
All evening performances begin at 8:00 pm, all matinee performances are at 2:00. Ordered in advance, tickets for all three operas can cost as little as $15.75 (only $5.25 per performance!). For additional ticket information, The UFOC can be reached locally in Logan at 752-0026, or nationwide at 1-800-830-6088. The mailing address is: Utah Festival Opera Company, c/o The Ellen Eccles Theatre, 43 South Main, Logan, UT 84321.
Copyright 1996-97 by Dale G. Abersold