Opera Under the Stars
 

Tosca - Giacomo Puccini

Former consul of the Roman Republic, Cesare Angelotti, is on the run. He is being hunted by the chief of police, Baron Scarpia, as the new military regime takes control. Angelotti arrives at a church to seek refuge in a church where his sister has left him supplies in secret to help him during his flight. But the church is not empty. The painter, Mario Caveradossi, is hard at work on a painting of the Madonna, inspired by Angelotti’s sister. He sings, Recondita armonia (Hidden harmony), about the ways his subject looks different from his lover, the famous singer, Floria Tosca.

Angelotti eventually reveals himself to Cavaradossi, recognizing him as a republic sympathizer. Cavaradossi helps Angelotti escape to his next hiding spot right before Scarpia arrives. 

 

In Act 2, Scarpia has managed to capture Cavaradossi but Agnelotti managed to evade capture. Scarpia used Cavaradossi to lure Tosca to his offices and tortures Cavaradossi within earshot of her in an attempt to get her to crack and give up what information she knows. She sings Vissi d’arte (I lived for art), angrily questioning God and her faith. How did she, a devout woman who spent her days using her voice and talents to serve God, end up in this situation? Scarpia is exploiting her for sexual favors in exchange for safe passage for her and Cavaradossi to flee the country. He agrees to stage a fake execution of Cavaradossi, and signs the escape papers. As the ink dries, Tosca grabs a knife from the table and stabs Scarpia. He dies and she departs with the papers to meet Cavaradossi and tell him the escape plan.

 

Act 3 opens with Cavaradossi in his cell awaiting his execution. He does not yet know that a plan is in place to save his life. He requests to write Tosca one final letter and is overwhelmed by fond memories of their time together as he sings, Lucevan le stelle (And the stars shone.)

 

To see how this story ends, come see our Storyteller version of Tosca! Coming to the Hive Collaborative in February!

 

West Side Story - Leonard Burnstein

West Side Story is a retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, set in Upper West Side Manhattan. The Sharks and Jets struggle for control of the neighborhood in a war divided by gang allegiance as well as a racial divide. In the original production, the dancers who made up the two gangs were cast separately and kept apart during the rehearsal process. News articles about current gang violence were pinned to the cast bulletin boards in an effort to keep the drama on stage as gritty and as possible.   

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The show starts with a brawl between the Sharks and the Jets. The Sharks are chased off by officer Krupke and the Jets make a plan to take control of the neighborhood once and for all. They plan to issue a challenge to the leader of the Sharks, Bernardo, at the neighborhood dance that night. Winner take all. Tony, a former member of the Jets, is convinced to join his friends at the neighborhood dance that night. He sings, Something’s Coming, feeling anticipation of change in the air.

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Maria has just arrived from Puerto Rico. She is Bernardo’s little sister. She is excited for her first neighborhood dance. At the dance, she and Tony see each other from across the room, despite the tension between the two gangs, they dance together and fall in love. Bernardo comes and separates the couple, sending Maria home. In this story’s recreation of the famous Balcony Scene from Romeo and Juliet, Tony finds Maria and serenades her while she listens from her fire escape (Maria). Together they sing Tonight, professing their love for each other.

 

Tony visits Maria at the dress shop where she works the next day. She has learned of the plans for the gang rumble and begs Tony to stop it. They sing One Hand One Heart, dreaming about their wedding and the peace they think will come soon.

 

Tony arrives at the rumble and attempts to stop it but it all goes wrong. Bernardo does not bow to Tony’s pleas for peace and the leader of the Sharks (Tony’s close friend) is fatally stabbed by Bernardo. In a fit of rage, Tony kills Bernardo.

 

Blissfully unaware of all the drama, Maria is at the dress shop floating on cloud nine. She sings, I Feel Pretty, reveling in the giddiness of new love. Her world is soon shattered by news of what happened at the Rumble. Life has now gotten very complicated for these two star-crossed lovers.

 

Waitress - Sara Bareilles

Jenna Hunterson is a pie magician working as a waitress in a small town. Trapped in a loveless marriage, she distracts herself by making delicious and unique pies for the restaurant. Her world is turned upside down when she finds out she is pregnant from a drunken one night stand with her abusive husband. At the OBGYN, she is seen by the new doctor in town, Dr. Pomatter. She brought a Mermaid Marshmallow Pie as it is her usual doctor’s favorite. Despite Dr. Pomatter’s protests about sugar being unhealthy, Jenna leaves the pie with him. She leaves a bit undecided about whether she wants to keep the baby or not. 

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Later, Dr. Pomatter happens upon Jenna at the bus stop. He admits that he tried the pie and loved it. He sings, It Only Takes a Taste, praising her baking skills.

 

Encouraged by Dr. Pomatter’s words, Jenna decides to enter a pie contest a few towns over. But she needs money to get there. Her husband controls the finances, so she takes to hiding tips in couch cushions and various places around the house. She also begins an affair with Dr. Pomatter as their appointments continue and they begin to realize they genuinely care for each other. Just before the contest, Jenna’s husband storms into the restaurant in a rage and drags her home. He found the money she had been hiding. Jenna lies and says she was saving the money for the baby to buy supplies but her husband takes the money. Distraught, Jenna sings She Used to Be Mine, mourning the person she has become and longing for the woman she used to be.

 

Eventually, it's time for the baby to arrive. Jenna gives birth to her daughter Lulu. After much trepidation about if she was strong enough to be a mother, looking at Lulu for the first time gives Jenna the strength she needs to end her marriage. She threatens a restraining order on her husband if he acts out. She also officially ends her affair with Dr. Pomatter, but with good will, thanking him for the positive impact on her life. It’s Jenna and Lulu against the world now. Jenna sings Everything Changes, reflecting on how her perspective shifted the moment she became a mother. 

 

Turandot - Giacomo Puccini

The beautiful but cold Princess Turandot will marry a suitor only if they can answer three riddles correctly. The Prince of Persia has attempted the riddles and failed. He is set to be executed. Amongst the chaos in the crowds at this execution, a young man bumps into an old blind man and his servant girl. The blind man happens to be the young man’s father, the former King of Tartary. He has escaped to this land with his one remaining faithful servant, the girl Liu who is with him. The execution continues and Turandot appears to oversee its progress. The young man (who we now know is the exiled Prince of Tartary), instantly falls for her beauty and despite watching a different Prince beheaded right in front of him, he rings the ceremonial gong 3 times, and declares himself a suitor.

 

The next day, the riddles take place. The former Prince of Tartary gets all three questions correct. Turandot is distraught as she has sworn never to marry. The Prince, moved, tells her he has a riddle for her. If Turandot can discover the Prince’s name before dawn the next day, he will die. To find her answer, Turandot has the king of Tartary and Liu captured. To save the king, Liu declares only she knows the Prince’s name. She has been in love with the Prince for years and this is her act of bravery to protect him. Turandot has her tortured, but Liu holds her ground. She turns on Turandot and sings Tu che di gel sei cinta (You who are encircled by ice), saying Turandot too will grow to know the Prince’s love and kindness. It will melt her frozen heart. Then Liu grabs a dagger and plunges it into her chest taking the Prince’s name with her to the grave.

While the Prince waits for the sun to rise, he sings the famous aria Nessun Dorma (Let none sleep). He feels assured in his victory and is confident that the beautiful Turandot will be his come morning light.

The Prince does reprimand Turandot for Liu’s death but then grabs her and kisses her passionately. She resists at first, but it does melt her heart a bit. The Prince then reveals that his name is Calaf just before the sun rises, leaving his fate in Turandot’s hands.

 

Intermission

 

La Bohème - Giacomo Puccini

In an Overdressed first, we are going to perform almost an entire act of an opera for you. Presenting, Act 3 of La Bohème! The only piece missing is the final quartet of the act! We are over the moon to present this large of a section for you all. Here is what is happening:

The scene takes place outside a local tavern in the depths of winter. One chilly night, Mimì arrives in distress: her relationship with Rodolfo has soured due to his jealous tendencies and her worsening health. She confides in Marcello and asks him to fetch Rodolfo for a final farewell.

When Rodolfo appears, Mimì loses courage and hides herself. Confiding in Marcello, Rodolfo admits he fears Mimì’s illness will soon end her life. He left because he felt it was too hard to watch her decline. A sudden bout of coughing betrays Mimì’s presence, and the lovers are brought together in a poignant farewell duet. They agree to stay together until the spring thaw, knowing that this is most likely wishful thinking.

 

Les Misérables - Claude-Michel Schönberg

Set against the backdrop of the Paris Uprising of 1832, also known as the June Rebellion, this musical is a tale of love, loss, hardship, and how sometimes laws are better broken. We follow the character Jean Valjean, a man who escapes a chain gang after being caught stealing a loaf of bread. Soon after his escape, he encounters a priest whose kindness changes Valjean’s life. He vows to be a good person and builds himself into a wealthy, upstanding citizen of Paris. Inspector Javert is an upstanding man who believed firmly in the law. He is rigid in his morality and when he recognizes Valjean years after his escape, Javert makes it his mission to recapture the escaped prisoner so he can finish out his sentence. 

 

Then we have the younger characters. Marius is a bright student who is part of the Republican movement calling for the end of the French Monarchy. Cosette is an orphan, adopted and raised by Valjean as an act of penance. Eponine is the young woman who grew up with Cosette as the spoiled barkeeper’s daughter but now lives on the street and is hopelessly in love with Marius. But Marius and Cosette meet and fall in love and Eponine must watch from the sidelines. Their lives are all entangled together, pulled by love (sometimes unrequited), loyalty, family, and duty. The message is as poignant today as it was when the show was first written. Life is full of shades of grey and everyone is fighting for what they believe in, even if it seems like we disagree.

 

For the full synopsis, follow this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables_(musical)

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We will be ending our show with the finale version of Do You Hear the People Sing. If you know it, please join us and sing along. Lyrics are below.

 

Do you hear the people sing?

Lost in the valley of the night?

It is the music of a people who are climbing to the light.

For the wretched of the earth 

There is a flame that never dies,

Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.

 

They will live again in freedom in the garden of the Lord

They will walk behind the plough-share,

They will put away the sword.

The chain will be broken and all men will have their reward!!

 

Will you join in our crusade?

Who will be strong and stand with me? 

Somewhere beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?

Do you hear the people sing? Say, do you hear the distant drum?

It is the future that they bring when tomorrow comes.

 

Will you join in our crusade?

Who will be strong and stand with me? 

Somewhere beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?

Do you hear the people sing? Say, do you hear the distant drum?

It is the future that they bring when tomorrow comes.

 

Ah! Tomorrow comes!

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Thank you!!

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We want to thank all of you for joining us this evening. We hope you had an enjoyable evening with us. Cheers!

 

​While this concert is free, we do take donations. It is with your support that we can continue our mission - to make opera accessible to everyone. If you would like to donate, you can place cash in the jars on the tables near the stage. We also accept payment via Vemno @overdressedduo. For a check donation or if you would like a receipt for your donation, please speak with one of our volunteers wearing the pink volunteer lanyards. We thank you for your support.

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​Overdressed is a 501c3 non-profit organization.

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