Verdi’s ‘Otello’ opens June 16

Cast includes artistic director, special guests

MADISON » Madison Lyric Stage will present Verdi’s grand opera, “Otello” with orchestra for four performances – June 16, 17 and 23 at 7:30 p.m. and June 25 at 5:30 p.m. at the North Madison Congregational Church located at 1271 Durham Road in Madison, CT.

Based on Shakespeare’s Othello, Verdi’s epic masterpiece tells the story of a powerful foreign general, Otello, whose life and marriage to the beautiful Desdemona are ruined by a conniving, deceitful and envious soldier, Jago.

Otello is a tale of “otherness,” about a man of honor and courage in a strange land, with few friends, who is ultimately destroyed by a trusted brother-in arms.

Tenor Marc Deaton stars as Otello, with soprano Lara Ryan as Desdemona and baritone Mark Womack as Jago. The opera will be sung in Italian, with English surtitles.

International stage director Marc Verzatt directs, while award-winning conductor and composer Glen Cortese conducts 22 members of the Hartford Independent Chamber Orchestra and a chorus of 25 (including North Madison Congregational Church pastor The Reverend James H. Latimer).

“This is a landmark production for our company as it is the first time that we will use a complete orchestra,” said Deaton, who is also the artistic director of Madison Lyric Stage. “We have an embarrassment of riches involved, from the singers, to the conductor, to our locally well-known director.

The story of Otello resonates loudly today,” Deaton said. “So many of our modern nations are

struggling with issues surrounding immigration and what it means to be a foreigner. Otello is himself an immigrant, and pays the ultimate price for being an outsider.”

Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at madisonlyricstage.org or by calling 203-215-6329. Tickets are also available at R.J. Julia in Madison.

Next up for Madison Lyric Stage is the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, which will play for 10 performances July 19-30.

Deaton has appeared with leading opera companies and orchestras throughout the world. He has four recordings available, including the title role in Tristan und Isolde with the Bulgarian Festival Orchestra on Titanic Records, and a solo disc Marc Deaton: Wagner on Centaur Records.

Verzatt maintains an active career directing opera, operetta, and musical theater throughout the US, South America, and Europe. He has directed productions with the Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Florida Grand Opera, and the opera companies of Fort Worth, Lake George, Madison, Arizona, Toledo, Atlanta, Kansas City, Baltimore, Idaho, and Mississippi. He was most recently on the faculty of Yale University’s School of Music Graduate Opera Program.

Cortese begins his tenth season as music director of the Greeley Philharmonic and his twelfth season as artistic director of the Western New York Chamber. He was named music director emeritus of the Oregon Mozart Players after serving as artistic director for nine seasons. His recent guest engagements have included the the Three Tenors Concert in Tirana Albania to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the independence of Kososvo, RTSH Radio Orchestra (Albania) Emerald City Opera, Opera Fort Collins, Wolftrap Opera, The Charleston Symphony, the Sapporo Festival Orchestra, the Slovak Radio Orchestra the Sofia Philharmonic, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, the Mexico City Philharmonic, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, the Paducah Symphony Orchestra, the Lafayette Symphony, the Billings Symphony, the Lyric Opera of Cleveland, and the Annapolis Symphony.

Madison Lyric Stage is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity and arts collective for the Shoreline of Connecticut. Its mission is to present professional-quality entertainment from the worlds of opera, musical theater and drama. Past productions include: A Little Night Music, Blithe Spirit, Evita, Macbeth, Peter Grimes, Salome, The Glass Menagerie, and many others.

For more information about Madison Lyric Stage, visit madisonlyricstage.org.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Mark Deaton stars in Madison Lyric Stage’s production of Verdi’s opera, “Otello,” opening in Madison June 16.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Mark Womack is Jago in Madison Lyric Stage’s performances of “Otello.”

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Lara Ryan plays the role of Desdemona in Madison Lyric Stage’s performances of “Otello.”