“An immediate hit and that rare thing: a genuinely funny opera.” So said The Guardian of Gerald Barry’s The Importance of Being Earnest.
Many cucumber sandwiches are eaten, jigs danced, and dinner plates sacrificed for laughs in Irish composer Gerald Barry’s sharp and ingenious opera setting of Oscar Wilde’s classic play The Importance of Being Earnest. The highly charged score—which skitters across extreme serialism, Beethovenian grandeur, Sprechstimme (with megaphones), and variations on “Auld Lang Syne”—not only matches but elevates Wilde’s wit. The result is a delightful work of comic virtuosity, delivered with perfect comedic timing by an exceptionally gifted cast and the New York Philharmonic.
U.S. stage premiere
Production by the Royal Opera.
Part of NY PHIL BIENNIAL 2016
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
THURSDAY thru SATURDAY @ 7:30 PM
Age Guidance: 16
Show Notes: 1 Intermission