The New Orleans Opera has finished its first ever production created for film, Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Medium. It is directed by James Marvel, conducted by Robert Lyall, and features Victoria Livengood, Sarah Jane McMahon, Carlo Barrera, Amy Pfrimmer, Kathryn Frady, and Dennis Jesse, accompanied by the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.
Tickets are available for purchase online or by phone at (504) 529-3000. Tickets are $40 for the link, which premieres April 16, and discounts are available for military, teachers, all essential workers, and students. Of special note, links to view the film are included for subscribers to the opera’s spring 2021 season.
The Medium, a 1946 hour-long melodrama, centers around Madame Flora (Victoria Livengood) as she experiences a bizarre encounter with the supernatural that leads to mayhem and murder.
“Evidence suggests that The Medium was inspired by a séance that [Menotti] had attended,” said Lyall.
The Medium is not recommended for children. The performance is sung in English and was produced in New Orleans by Esplanade Studios.
Additional events for Spring 2021 from New Orleans Opera:
Thursday, April 8, 2021 at 7 p.m. on Zoom, the last installment of the spring adult education lecture series, ALLONS! – a discussion about the opera, Freedom Ride, with Wilfred Delphin, Dan Shore, and Dara Rahming, $12 (student discounts available).
Friday, April 9, 2021 at 7 p.m., The Orpheum Sessions – A Night at the Opera, in partnership with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, $15. Tickets available through the LPO. Please call (504) 523-6530, opt. 2.
Saturday, April 10, 2021 at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on the lawn at the Guild Home, 2504 Prytania Street, Opera on Tap – In Our Yard: Shakespeare, $30/pod of three people.
Friday, April 23, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. at The Broadside Theater, 600 N. Broad Street, a screening of La Traviata, a Franco Zeffirelli film with an opera concert prior to the movie, $30/person.
Monday, April 26, 2021 at 7 p.m., Masterclass Monday on YouTube, in partnership with Loyola University. This is the last session of the season for this free series and is led by Alfred Walker.
Saturday, May 15, 2021 at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on the lawn at the Guild Home, 2504 Prytania Street, Opera on Tap – In Our Yard: Around the World, $30/pod of three people.
For more information, visit www.neworleansopera.org.
