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Recent Press Releases
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Boston-When David Paul Gibson worked with Italian-born opera composer Gian-Carlo Menotti in the 1980's, he couldn't have realized he'd benefit from the collaboration over two decades later. But that's exactly what happened when a Boston opera group asked Gibson to take charge of their production of one of Menotti's most famous works. Gibson directs Intermezzo-The New England Chamber Opera Series, in two performances of The Medium, a chamber opera sung in English and composed by Menotti in 1946. The production takes place at Berklee College of Music's David Friend Recital Hall on January 23 at 8 pm, and January 25 at 4 pm. The Medium premiered in 1946 and after a successful Broadway run, achieved commercial success as the first opera ever shown in movie houses. The appearance of conductor Arturo Toscanini at two early performances caused a stir among theatergoers and imbedded Menotti's work in the public's eye. Gibson worked as an assistant to Menotti at the Spoleto Festival in Charlestown, SC, during the composer's time as artistic director there. "Menotti wasn't just interested in writing good music, he also put great importance on the text," Gibson says. "The libretto is very precise. All the characters grab you within the first ten minutes." The emphasis on story and text is even more intriguing when one realizes that English was the composer's second language. "In The Medium, Menotti wrote a drama equally compelling both in song and word. It would be great theatre even without the music." # # # About the director: Composer, conductor, director, and singer David Paul Gibson is a graduate of Western Kentucky University and is an "on-stage" and "behind-the-scenes" veteran of countless operatic performances. Intermezzo will premiere Gibson's own new work, Verlain and Rimbaud, in January 2005. Gibson teaches music at Western Kentucky University and directs music at The Presbyterian Church in Bowling Green. About the company: Intermezzo-The New England Chamber Opera Series debuted early last year with a performance of American chamber operas at the Community Music Center of Boston. This year's season includes Menotti's The Medium and four world-premiere works by American composers. Chamber opera merges the musical and dramatic flavor of grand opera with the immediacy of art song. All performances are sung in English and take place in small, intimate, theaters. Visit Intermezzo on the Web at www.intermezzo-opera.org.
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