Opera Sopranos Host Pre-Show Seminar
At Peninsula Players Theatre
Fish Creek, Wisconsin. Peninsula Players Theatre, in conjunction with its production of Ken Ludwig’s hilarious comedy “Lend Me A Tenor,” will host Peninsula Music Festival Sopranos Kathy Pyeatt and Danielle Buonaiuto Thursday, August 13 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets to performances are available; admission to the pre-show seminar is free.
Buonaiuto and Pyeatt will speak about the path that lead them to opera and their lives as professional opera singers. Ludwig’s comedy features a fictional opera singer, international superstar Tito Merelli, who is to give a special sold-out performance of Verdi’s “Otello” in Cleveland, Ohio in the 1930s. Chaos builds to an operatic frenzy when Tito passes out prior to opening curtain. Buonaiuto and Pyeatt will be performing “Don Giovanni’s Return” with the Peninsula Music Festival (PMF) on Saturday, August 15. For more information visit www.musicfestival.com or phone 920-854-4060.
Buonaiuto appears as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and Canada, singing a broad range of music encompassing the standard repertoire, rarely-performed operatic works, and modern music, as well as new works written especially for her. Buonaiuto made her symphonic debut with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as Knabe 1 in “Die Zauberflöte.” She appeared in 2013 as a Bel Canto Young Artist at the Caramoor Festival in New York, singing Voix en Haut in “Don Carlos.” She has performed in Quebec and Ontario as Musetta in “La Bohème” with Jeunesses Musicales Canada, and as Miss Wordsworth in “Albert Herring” with the Bronx Opera.
Buonaiuto’s other credits include Crumb’s “Madrigals,” Berio’s “Folk Songs,” Golijov’s “Ayre” and Schoenberg’s “Pierrot Lunaire.” In August 2014 she joined the Lucerne Festival Academy for a performance of Berio’s “Coro” under Sir Simon Rattle.
Pyeatt sang the title role in “Tosca” with the Asheville Lyric Opera in Bryan, Tennessee and with Springfield Symphony Orchestras in Springfield, Missouri. She recently made her debut with Opera Louisiane as Rosalinda in “Die Fledermaus” and Winter Opera St. Louis as Alice Ford in “Falstaff.” Other credits include performances with the Asheville Lyric Opera as Donna Elvira in “Don Giovanni.” Her performances include numerous roles with the Florentine Opera in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as Lady Billows in “Albert Herring” and with Skylight Opera Theatre as Flora (Fiordiligi) in “Cosi Fan Tutte,” Constanza in “The Abduction from the Seraglio” and the Mother in “Hansel & Gretel.”
Among Pyeatt’s Milwaukee performances are the Concord Chamber Orchestra, Festival City Symphony, Bel Canto Chorus, Fox Valley Symphony, Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra and others. She has performed with the St. Petersburg Opera, Winter Opera, Asheville Lyric Opera, Natchez Opera Festival, Opera Company of North Carolina, Opera Louisiane, Skylight Opera Theatre, Light Opera Works, Springfield Regional Opera, Opera Theatre Highland Park and the DuPage Opera.
“Lend Me A Tenor” was Ludwig’s first play on Broadway and was nominated for seven Tony Awards, and won two. The Washington Post called “Lend Me A Tenor” “one of the classic comedies of the 20th century.”
“Lend Me a Tenor” is performing at the Players through August 16. Opening August 19 and performing through September 6 is John Patrick Shanely’s latest Broadway hit, “Outside Mullingar.” This sweet and prickly Irish love story makes its Wisconsin première and is by the creator of “Doubt” and “Moonstruck.” Closing the Players season is the frolicking, habit-forming musical comedy “Nunsense,” with book, music and lyrics by Dan Goggin performing Sept. 9 through Oct. 18. Pre-show seminars for “Outside Mullingar” and “Nunsense” are forthcoming.
Peninsula Players Theatre is committed to providing educational programming for the community. The Players has a long history of educational initiatives including an intern program that dates back to the founding days of the Players in the 1930s. The theater continues to offer theater tours and post-show discussions as listed in the program and website. Contact the Players Box Office at 920-868-3287 for more information on free seminars, tours or to purchase tickets.