Archive: Arts & Entertainment

Triphammer Arts Inc. announced three performances of Don Quixote at the Wedding of Comacho, a one-act comic opera by Georg Philipp Telemann, directed by Steven Stull with choreography by Jeanne Goddard. Performances are August 1, 2, and 3 at 7:30pm at the CRS Barn Studio, 2622 North Triphammer Road in Ithaca.

This rarely performed opera features Steven Stull as Don Quixote and David Neal as his faithful sidekick, Sancho Panza, with Rebecca Leistikow, Ivy Walz, Lynn Craver, Michael Roddy, and Jon English playing a range of colorful characters, accompanied by Richard Montgomery and William Cowdery at the keyboards. A chorus of enthusiastic shepherds sings and dances at the wedding feast. Weather permitting, performances will be outdoors, with a panoramic view of Cayuga Lake. In case of rain the performance will move indoors at the same location.

Telemann used this pastoral scene from the long series of Don Quixote's quests, as a framework for lively vocal writing and amusing portrayals of a range of characters.


As Ithaca author Anthony DiRenzo states, "The score is enchanting, a clever and engaging blend of the rustic and the courtly, very much like the episode in Cervantes' novel."

As Telemann's opera begins, Quixote and Sancho are on the road in search of their next adventure. A country wedding party approaches, and the knight and his squire are swept up in the neighborhood festivities. They discover that all hearts are not as happy as they should be -- and that wealth and status may be at odds with true love. With a fresh new English translation and a fine cast, this active production should provide entertainment for the entire family.

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