A double bill of courtroom operatic comedies is on the docket as Opera Delaware presents two works separated by 140 years: first, Trial by Jury, by Gilbert and Sullivan and second, Scalia/Ginsburg by contemporary composer Derrick Wang.
Premiered in 1875, Trial by Jury brings is all the comic wit and farce that had become the standard in a Gilbert and Sullivan production. In their second collaboration together, we have a bride to be who brings her fiancé to court for leaving her at the altar. And the judge’s solution is a surprise to us all.
Trial by Jury (in English)
Composer: Arthur Sullivan
Librettist: William Schwenck Gilbert
Director: Cynthia du Pont Tobias
CAST
The Learned Judge: Ben Lowe, baritone
Angelina (the Plaintiff): Anaïs Naharro-Murphy, soprano
Edwin (the Defendant): Colin Doyle, tenor
Bridesmaid (1): Chelsea Duval-Major, mezzo-soprano
Bridesmaid (2): Dana Macintosh, soprano
Counsel for the Plaintiff: Orin Strunk, tenor
Usher: Cody Müller, bass
ENSEMBLE
OperaDelaware Orchestra
OperaDelaware Chorus
CONDUCTOR
Sara Jobin
Derrick Wang’s 2015 Scalia/Ginsburg is inspired by the friendship of Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia who shared two things — a deep philosophical opposition and a love of opera. But what would happen if these two ideological opposites had to appear before a Higher Power?
Scalia/Ginsburg (in English)
Composer & Librettist: Derrick Wang
Director: Fenlon Lamb
CAST
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Jennifer Zetlan, soprano
Justice Antonin Scalia: Brian Cheney, tenor
Commentator: Ben Wager, bass-baritone
ENSEMBLE
OperaDelaware Orchestra
CONDUCTOR
Sara Jobin