Archive: Arts & Entertainment

Steven Stull and Jeanne Goddard. Photo by Dede Hatch
Whoa, there! Can it be true? The Opera Cowpokes are back in town, with that special blend of music, dance, horseplay, cowboy poetry, and lost (and found) love. Triphammer Arts presents Opera Cowpokes Alive!, a multi-genre musical extravaganza, with performances Thursday through Sunday, August 1-4 at 7:00pm at the CRS Barn Studio, 2622 N. Triphammer Road, Ithaca.

Opera Cowpokes Alive! features opera stars performing western and country/western songs, traditional folk songs (many with new, topical lyrics), and favorite opera choruses, all tied together with a humorous original script. This unique production breaks down the barriers between "classical" and "popular" performance and bring together an impressive collection of musicians and dancers from both worlds in Opera Cowpokes Alive! You'll enjoy tunes from Grand Opera to Grand Ol' Opry, including perennial favorites like "Cool Water" and "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" accompanied by a dynamic Western swing band and cowgirl dancers.

Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, this family and cult favorite welcomes well-known Ithaca musicians, new guest artists, and many alumni of the original production from across the US to its original setting, overlooking Cayuga Lake. The expansive outdoor performance space, with its stunning view of Cayuga Lake sunsets and the rustic wooden backdrop of the barn, provides a picturesque setting and the perfect informal atmosphere for this music.

Here's what people are saying about Opera Cowpokes Alive! "You blew my socks off - boots and all!" "We had a rip-roar'n, dirt-kick'n time!" "I've never considered myself either a country or a western fan, but was mighty taken by [your] renditions.... It's a fun change from lust, vengeance, dying consumptives and so on."

Opera Cowpokes ALIVE! is conceived and coordinated by Steven Stull and Jeanne Goddard, with Peter Chwazik, music director. Other performers include: singers Dan Bates, Natasha Bratkovski, Timothy LeFebvre, Nathan McEwen, David Neal, Phyllis Pancella, Benno Ressa, Peter Sicilian, Ivy Walz, Alison Wahl; instrumentalists Harry Aceto (bass), Max Buckholtz (fiddle/mandolin), Dave Davies (guitar), Rick Manning (fiddle/mandolin), Doug Robinson (guitar), John White (piano).

So, grab your boots, hang on to your hat, and bring the entire family as Lucia di Lammermoor meets Lucille in Opera Cowpokes Alive!

In case of rain, the performance will be held under the new tent at the same location.

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