Crane Opera Ensemble Presents 'Die Fledermaus' Next Weekend

SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music Presents Crane Opera Ensemble Production of Strauss Operetta, Led by Guest Director

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Center: Daniel Kringer stars as Gabriel von Eisenstein alongside Yvonne Trobe as his wife, Rosalinda, in the Crane Opera Ensemble production of “Die Fledermaus” at The Crane School of Music.

POTSDAM, NY (04/10/2015)(readMedia)-- The Crane Opera Ensemble will present the classic Viennese operetta, "Die Fledermaus" ("The Bat"), by Johann Strauss II, for its spring production.

Performances will be held at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music, in the Sara M. Snell Music Theater, with shows at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, April 17 and 18.

Written in 1874, "Die Fledermaus" has remained a favorite of classical music lovers for its customary waltzes and witty storyline. The production will be directed by Kirsten Cairns, a visiting freelance director and a native of the United Kingdom. Crane professor Kirk Severtson is the music director. The opera features a cast of 33 students, and an expansive production team of students and staff.

Johann Strauss II was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century. Over the course of his career, he composed more than 400 waltzes, most notably "Blue Danube" and "Tales from the Vienna Woods." He perfected the stylistic Viennese waltz, contributing to its melodic, rhythmic and orchestral zeal. Strauss also composed several operettas, including "Der Zigeunerbaron" and "Waldmeister."

British director Kirsten Cairns came to the United States as a postgraduate student at the New England Conservatory. She went straight from her degree to working at the Boston Conservatory. As their director of opera studies, she staged many productions, including "Albert Herring," "The Rape of Lucretia," "L'Elisir d'Amore," "The Turn of the Screw," "La Rondine," "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" and "The Mikado." Before moving to America, Cairns earned her master's degree in voice from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. You can find out more about her work at www.kirstenzcairns.com.

Tickets are currently on sale through the Community Performance Series Box Office. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students and faculty with ID, and are available by calling (315) 267-2277 or visiting www.cpspotsdam.org.

About the Crane Opera Ensemble:

The award-winning Crane Opera Ensemble provides exciting opportunities for students to experience all facets of performance and production. Two fully staged productions are produced each year, one with orchestra and one with a chamber instrumental group or piano. The ensemble enjoys a collaborative relationship with the Department of Theatre and Dance, co-producing a musical theatre production every three years. Productions of "Amahl and the Night Visitors," "On The Town," "L'Egisto," "L'Enfant et les Sortilèges" and "The Mikado" have received top awards from the National Opera Association, The American Prize and the American College Theatre Festival. Its opera education outreach program has served more than 4,000 North Country school children, many experiencing opera for the first time.

For more information about SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music, please visit www.potsdam.edu/crane.

Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York's only All-Steinway institution.

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