Mixed Precipitation celebrates 17 years of outdoor summer fun. This year they are revisiting one of their favorite productions, The Return of King Idomeneo. First created in 2012, this adaptation of Mozart’s 1781 opera Idomeneo, re di Creta (Idomeneo, King of Crete), was a breakout production for Mixed Precipitation and exemplified their playful and passionate outdoor performance style.
Saturday, July 26 | 7:00 p.m.
Details
Where: Caponi Art Park
Cost: All performances are offered for a suggested donation ($5 – $45). This performance is fun for all ages.
Parking: Main parking lot may be limited. Overflow parking at the Lexington-Diffley Skate Park
Additional Information: Bring lawn chairs or blankets. It is summer in Minnesota so don’t forget to bring some bug spray just in case!
About The Return of King Idomeneo
Artistic Director Scotty Reynolds has brought together a team of artists, featuring many longtime company members and those performing in their first Mixed Precipitation production.
This new production is directed by Paul Coate, with choreography by Antonia Perez. Music Director Gary Ruschman leads the musical forces.
Mozart’s epic music comes to a 1950s street corner with a unique mash-up of passionate arias, exciting choruses, 50s doo-wop, and 60s girl groups. This mythical show is family-friendly and full of adventure.
Our adaptation, The Return of King Idomeneo, brings the action to mid-century America, as the town of Crete celebrates the return of its victorious hometown heroes from the long and bloody Trojan War. General Idomeneo has taken hostages from Troy: three brilliant scientists, Hecuba and her daughters Ilia and Cassandra. And Neptune, the vengeful god of the sea, prepares to unleash his sewage monsters.
Mozart and Librettist Giambattista Varesco based their opera on a version of the Greek story of General Idomeneus, inspired by the Greek Pantheon and Homer’s Odyssey. Idomeneo, ré di Creta is considered an early Mozart masterpiece and his first “great opera”. The score contains several majestic choruses, Placido e il mar, Nettuno s’onori and the famous quartet Andrò ramingo e solo.
Tenor Roland Hawkins and Phil Takemura Sears lead the cast, sharing the role of Idomeneo. Also featured in the cast are Sopranos Jill Morgan and Alexis Reed, who share the role of Electra, Joni Griffith as Idamante, and Kaoru Shoji as Ilia. Playing multiple roles and multiple instruments are Galina Đorđević, Marc Haroo, Debi Kilde, Jason Kornelis, Nick Miller, Anna Pladson, Trevor Woggon, and Alex Yang.
This touring spectacle features the work of set designer Abby Palen, Rabbit Food Puppetry, costume designer Rhiannon Fiskradatz, and stage manager Ches Cipriano.
About Mixed Precipitation
Mixed Precipitation’s mission is to create festive theatrical events that inspire social engagement. Since 2009, they have presented their signature events, A Picnic Operetta and Pickup Truck Opera, at community gardens, urban farms, parks, orchards, and vineyards throughout Minnesota. The company showcases musicians and theater artists with fun adaptations of operas by Mozart, Handel, Beethoven, Purcell, and many others. Their work has been presented by St. Mary’s University, Carleton College, The Sheldon Theatre of Red Wing, Historic Holmes Theater of Detroit Lakes, and community groups all over Minnesota. Their site-responsive outdoor performances have become a Minnesota summer tradition. Previous projects include the Mpls Pinter Studies, and the Winter Olympic Quadrennial Salon, Tonya and Nancy: The Opera (2010, 2014, 2018).
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