UA Takes Part in National Opera Event

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas will bring a live video simulcast performance by the Washington National Opera to audiences in Northwest Arkansas this September. Plácido Domingo, general director of Washington National Opera, announced plans for a free nationwide simulcast, and the university’s participation, during a news conference in Washington, D.C.

“We at Washington National Opera have had a longtime commitment to making opera accessible and meaningful to the broader D.C. community,” said Domingo. “It is so exciting to announce our continuing efforts to make opera more accessible — both locally and on a national scale.” 

Sunday, Sept. 23, Washington National Opera will present the live simulcast of La Bohème to viewers at the National Mall, at select movie theaters in the D.C. area and at 17 universities, colleges and high schools around the country. Washington National Opera pioneered simulcast broadcasts in the capital in 2005 and 2006. This will be its first effort to take the broadcast nationwide.

“With this initiative, Washington National Opera dramatically expands our pledge to bring opera to the nation and the next generation,” said Kenneth Feinberg, president of Washington National Opera. “We are excited to use simulcast technology to give the gift of opera to the American public in a way that has never been done before.”

Details of the time and place for the performance at the University of Arkansas are still being worked out, according to Chris Lacy, director of opera studies in the music department of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

The simulcast performance will be a modern-day take on Puccini’s timeless opera from acclaimed director Mariusz Trelinski. It is a co-production with Teatr Wielki of Warsaw. The production is set in the present day, with Rodolfo as a photographer and part of a contemporary group of artists searching for their identity and longing for a deeper and more profound connection with society. Domingo described the opera as a human drama of loss and love, as the characters struggle with their careers and to truly connect with each other in a world that is increasingly connected technologically.

“What a wonderful way to draw younger audiences to opera with this innovative new production of La Bohème!” Domingo said. 

In addition to the University of Arkansas, Washington National Opera will present simulcasts to: Brockton High School, Brockton, Mass; Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa.; Duke University, Durham, N.C.; Lowell High School, San Francisco, Calif.; Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.; Rice University, Houston; Temple University, Philadelphia.; Tulane University, New Orleans; Union College, Schenectady, N.Y.; U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.; University of Colorado at Boulder; University of Massachusetts Amherst; University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; University of Virginia, Charlottesville; University of Washington at Seattle; and Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.