Magical Mozart – JH News&Guide

…Some magic seems necessary to bring Mozart’s music and Emanuel Schikaneder’s libretto alive — or at least a heck of a lot of forethought, vision, preparation and expertise. With veteran stage director David Lefkowich and GTMF Music Director Sir Donald Runnicles, the Music Festival pulls together the talents of scores of artists to do just that in its Walk Festival Hall.

There is the Festival Orchestra, of course, led by Runnicles, whose opera experience goes back more than 35 years and includes a lengthy stint as music director and principal conductor of the San Francisco Opera and 17 years and counting as music director of the Deutsche Oper of Berlin.

Since taking the helm of the Grand Teton Festival Orchestra in 2005, Runnicles has dreamed of bringing opera to western Wyoming. The initiative launched in 2018 with Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story,” a concert performance with all of the music but minimal staging. In 2019, it presented highlights from Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville,” with Runnicles acting as a narrator to stitch together the famous arias and duets. In 2022, Runnicles and guests offered a version of Puccini’s “La Bohème,” with props, costumes, projected scenery and limited dramatic staging. And last year it upped production values even more with Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.”

“We ourselves are surprised by how very enthusiastic our audience has been,” he said, adding that people who don’t usually come for the summer’s classical concerts come out for these programs. “We are clearly reaching people who are genuinely excited that we are performing opera.”