Visiting Artist-in-Residence Idan Cohen offers a sneak peek into the dance opera I Capuleti e i Montecci (The Capulets and the Montagues)
The Amherst College Theater and Dance Department, in collaboration with the Idan Cohen Dance Co. of Israel, presents I Capuleti e i Montecchi (The Capulets and the Montagues), a dance opera that will premiere at Amherst College, April 21 and 23.
I Capuleti e i Montecchi is based on the same Italian sources as Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. In this version, the Capuleti and Montecchi are rival political factions, not, as described by Shakespeare, "two households, both alike in dignity."
This international production presents a unique collaboration between members of the Amherst Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mark Lane Swanson, costume and set design by Suzanne P. Dougan, and the internationally renowned Idan Cohen Dance Co.
In this dance opera, the roles of Romeo and Juliet are both performed by women, considered to be two of Israel’s leading opera singers. Romeo will be played by Karin Shifrin, a mezzo-soprano, and Juliet by Anastasia Klevan, a soprano.
The international cast also includes celebrated artists Israeli tenor Eitan Abraham Drori as Tebaldo, baritone Guy Peleg Pelc as Capelio, and the American bass-baritone Enrico Lagasca as Lorenzo.
Music by Vincenzo Bellini, libretto by Felice Romani
Amherst Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mark Lane Swanson
Directed and choreographed by Idan Cohen
Costumes and set design by Suzanne Palmer Dougan
Lighting design by Kathy Couch
Rehearsal directors: Melannie Berson and Noa Shiloh
Idan Cohen Dance Co. dancers: Naama Tamir, Tomer Giat, Tomer Golan, Coral Friedman, Gal Calic and Dana Zeharia
The production is supported in part by the Israeli Consulate (NYC), The Pais Foundation (Israel), Asylum Arts, a global network for Jewish Culture, the Amherst College Faculty Research Award Program, the Amherst College Theater and Dance Department, Amherst College Hillel, the Amherst College Office of the Jewish Advisor, and a grant from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.
Tickets are free, and no reservation is required. For more information, call (413) 542-2277. Performances are Thursday and Saturday at 8 p.m. in Kirby Theater.