The Grand Teton Music Festival will debut its inaugural opera, “La Boheme,” this weekend in Walk Festival Hall.
It’s a historic moment for the orchestra, founded 60 years ago in a tent at the base of Teton Village.
Festival conductor Sir Donald Runnicles is world-renowned for conducting opera and has been pushing for something like this for quite some time, said Emma Kail, executive director for the Grand Teton Music Festival.
“I hope it can be a core part of our programming,” Kail said. “We’ve seen that people are really excited about this project both from the international and national response and from our ticket sales.”
Performances begin at 8 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday in Walk Festival Hall.
…The performance will be semi-staged, meaning that the orchestra will remain front and center for the entirety of the performance. The use of props, costumes and varying scenes will be limited.
“I think having these world-class musicians in view allows us to not only experience the singing but also the music making that happens with ‘La Boheme,’” production director David Lefkowich said. “It’s such a glorious score, and to hear and see these instruments play is rare.”
Saturday’s performance will be livestreamed for free at GTMF.org, and portions of the program will be broadcast on WyomingPBS on Nov. 18.
