1/16/98
Editors, news editors: Photographers are welcome at the full-costume dress rehearsal from 7-10 p.m. Jan. 28 at Grover Center on the Ohio University Athens campus. Any photographer desiring a posed or group shot should arrive by 6:45 p.m. so as not to disrupt the full orchestra rehearsal.

Contact: Roger Stephens, director of the School of Music, 740-593-4244

ATHENS, Ohio -- The Ohio University School of Music presents the opera "The Gondoliers," featuring a cast and orchestra of 60 students, at Grover Center Jan. 30 and 31.

A comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan, "The Gondoliers" is set in 1750 Italy. The plot, which revolves around the quest for a lost heir to the throne, follows the love entanglements of three couples: Casilda, the rightful queen, and Luiz, a drummer; Giuseppe, a gondolier, and Tessa, a peasant girl; and Marco and Gianetta, another gondolier and peasant girl.

In a first-ever road trip, the School of Music will perform the opera at the Smoot Theatre in Parkersburg, W.Va., Feb. 7. Ongoing renovations to Templeton-Blackburn Memorial Auditorium on the Athens campus provided an opportunity to use alternative facilities, said Roger Stephens, director of the School of Music and this production.

Stephens, whose students present an opera each year, anticipates an enthusiastic response from audiences in Athens and Parkersburg.

"It's going to be one of the best (operas) we've done because of a tremendous cast," Stephens says. "And The Gondoliers' is so fun and funny ... it's something that will appeal to everyone."

The Grover Center shows are at 8 p.m. Jan. 30 and 31. Reserved tickets, which are $12 for regular admission and $5 for students, are available at the Haning Hall box office or by calling 740-593-1780. Tickets for the show at the Smoot at 8 p.m. Feb. 7 are $15 for regular admission and $10 for students. They are available by calling 304-422-7529.