The Magic Of 'The Scarf' Returns To Boston

Boston, MA (JUST IN TIME COMMUNICATIONS) - Now embarking on its fourth year, Intermezzo-The New England Chamber Opera Series, opens its 2006 season with a fully staged and orchestrated production of the Lee Hoiby's The Scarf, a one-act opera based on a play by Anton Chekov.

The performances take place Friday, February 10, 2006, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, February 12, 2006 at 4 p.m., at the Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center at Villa Victoria, 85 West Newton St., South End, Boston, MA. Adult tickets cost $25, senior tickets cost $20, and students may purchase tickets for $15. Tickets may be purchased at the door, reserved online by sending an e-mail message to e-mail protected from spam bots, or by calling 617-899-4261.
Both performances are fully staged, sung in English, and, in a first for the company, accompanied by a 10-piece chamber orchestra.

"The use of instruments instead of solo piano allows the true emotions and textures of the music to come through," says John Whittlesey, founder and artistic director of Intermezzo. "Using orchestral instruments is very integral to telling the story of this opera."

"The Scarf" tells the story of Miriam, an unfortunate young woman married into a wretched life. Miriam senses a glimmer of hope after sheltering a postman during a storm, and sends him off with the gift of a romance-inducing magic scarf. Trouble and rage follow when the scarf comes back wrapped around the neck of Miriam's elderly husband.

The production features Boston opera favorites Laura Choi Stuart in the lead role as Miriam, Thomas Oesterling as Reuel, the oppressive husband, and Nikolas Nackley as the Postman, all making their Intermezzo debuts.

David Feltner, artistic director of the Chamber Orchestra of Boston serves as conductor, while Marc Astafan, co-director of the opera program at the New England Conservatory of Music, provides stage direction. William Fregosi, returns as set and light designer.

Hoiby composed The Scarf at the request of composer Gian-Carlo Menotti for the first Spoletto Festival in Italy, in 1957. This production is the first Boston-area staging of this opera in more than a decade.

About the company- Intermezzo: The New England Chamber Opera Series was born out of a vision to produce contemporary chamber operas and bring new and exciting works to the musical life of New England. Chamber opera merges the musical and dramatic flavor of grand opera with the immediacy of art song, performed on a smaller, more intimate scale.