USU Opera Theatre Presents 'Martha' at the Caine Lyric Theatre

Utah State University’s Opera Theatre, a program based in the Department of Music and the Caine School of the Arts in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, presents “Martha,” a comic opera by German composer Friedrich von Flotow (1813-1883) and librettist Wilhelm Friedrich.

Performances are at the Caine Lyric Theatre (28 W. Center, Logan) Nov. 20-22 at 7:30 p.m. An earlier announced Saturday matinee performance has been canceled, and tickets for the matinee will be honored at any evening performance. Tickets can be purchased at the Caine School of the Arts box office online or call (435) 797-8022. Tickets are also available at the Caine Lyric Theatre one hour prior to curtain.

Martha is a light-hearted, operetta-style Romantic era comedy, sung in German with English supertitles. The story takes place at the royal castle in Richmond, England, during the reign of Queen Anne (approximately 1710) and features Lady Harriet Durham, a maid-of-honor to the queen. Bored with court life and uninteresting admirers, she retires to the country. For adventure, she and her maid, Nancy, masquerade as country servants at the Richmond Fair and find themselves indentured to the farmers Plunkett and Lionel. Of course, they must be rescued from this plight, and there are hopeless twists of love relationships, unsuspected royal ancestry and wild huntresses.

Martha offers wonderful performance opportunities for young artists, while providing great comic opera entertainment to the public — especially those who have never attended opera before, said Lynn Jemison-Keisker, director of the opera theatre program at USU.

“The English translation insures audiences will enjoy the storyline of the fast, Gilbert and Sullivan-style patter and heartwarming melodies,” she said.

Jemison-Keisker said familiar tunes will be recognized, including the well known Irish folk song “The Last Rose of Summer” that plays a prominent role in uniting the leading characters Lionel and Martha. Lionel’s aria “Ach, so fromm” — better known in Italian as “M’appari” — was made famous by Caruso, who sang the leading role throughout his career in the early 20th century and favored the aria in many concerts.

“We know audiences will enjoy this fun-filled family entertainment appropriate for all ages,” Jemison-Keisker said.

Guest stage director Rachel M. Harris returns to USU Opera Theatre to collaborate on the project with Jemison-Keisker, who also serves as pianist-conductor with colleagues Merilee Broadbent on second piano and Allyson Bailey on flute. The company includes 40 USU Opera Theatre student artists.