Astoria Music Festival Presents "Ariadne" For Strauss 150th

Marie Plette will sing the title role of Ariadne.

2014 marks the 150th birthday of Richard Strauss. Festivals and opera houses around the world have celebrated this special anniversary. Now the Northwest brings one of his most famous operas to life for the Astoria Music Festival. "Not heard in Oregon for nearly fifty years, Strauss’s operatic mash-up juxtaposes high-minded opera with ribald comedy. The richest man in Vienna has invited you to a party, for which he’s commissioned a new opera – a tragedy of the jilted Ariadne – and a comic farce, The Fickle Zerbinetta and her Four Lovers, but dinner’s running late, so we’ll save time and present them simultaneously, resulting in some of history’s most glorious music, brilliant coloratura, arching melodies, and a kaleidoscope of lush orchestral color." The cast for Ariadne auf Naxos includes Marie Plette (Ariadne), Maria Aleida (Zerbinetta), Angela Niederloh (Composer), Matthew Hayward (Harlequin), and Allan Glassman (Bacchus). [Source] Other opera stars that have already appeared at this year's Astoria Music Festival are Angela Meade, Richard Zeller, Amber Wagner, and Amy Hansen. The festival will conclude with a performance of Mozart's Cosí fan tutte. Get more information here.

Stars to Come Out for Astoria Music Festival in Oregon

Swenson to sing Mozart's "Exsultate
Jubilate" and Mahler Symphony #4

"This year, in what may be the greatest musical event ever presented in Astoria, the festival brings to the stage one of the finest sopranos in American operatic history, Ruth Ann Swenson, in a concert of Mozart and Mahler. Opportunities like this are rare indeed, and there is no need to say more, other than this: Don't miss it. The 2011 festival's major opera production is Verdi's Il Trovatore. One of the most popular operas ever written, it has an evil count, a vengeful gypsy woman, a passionate troubadour, love, death and a mysterious power. The only thing missing is coffee. Enrico Caruso once said of Il Trovatore that a successful performance only required the four greatest singers in the world. The Astoria Music Festival has come close to Caruso's ideal, with a cast that stars the latest sensational Metropolitan

Meade stars as Verdi's Leonora

Opera diva, Angela Meade, who happens to almost be a local girl (she comes from Washington). Richard Zeller, he of the magnificent baritone and a perennial festival favorite, plays the evil Count Luna. Tenor Daniel Snyder, Canadian mezzo-soprano Rebecca Hass and local favorite Deac Guidi round out the cast. The 'mini opera' is Maxwell Davies' Eight Songs for a Mad King, starring John Duykers...as King George III. The North Coast Chorale and the Baroque Band will join soprano Amy Hansen and organist Julia Brown in a presentation of music by Handel, the mad king's favorite composer. The final opera is Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. A comic opera that is one of the world's favorites, the festival has managed to make it a unique event – or two events. The first is a Master Class with Swenson and singers from the Vocal Artist Apprentice Program, who will perform the opera. This is a unique chance to see the making of singers and of a performance. The other reason this Figaro is unique is the ticket price: $5." [Source]

Learn more about the festival by going to their website.