BCT transforms into a big-top for 'Acis and Galatea'

The world's first circus opera will liven up the Buskirk-Chumley Theater on Wednesday with a cast that includes a a mime, an acrobat, a ringmaster and a portrayal of a dancing bear.\nThe American Opera Theater, formerly the Ignoti Dei Opera, is currently on tour performing G.F. Handel's 1718 opera "Acis and Galatea." This, however, is no run-of-the-mill production. Galatea, generally portrayed as a nymph, will be a trapeze artist, incorporating singing with Cirque Du Soleil-type acts. In this production, Acis has been changed from a shepherd into a mime. \nCombining traditional baroque opera with circus is quite an unusual undertaking that gives it the potential to reach out to a nontraditional opera audience, including children, according to a press release from the American Opera Theater. \n"It's gone better than ever been expected," Timothy Nelson, the opera's stage director, said of the first performances of the opera. "It's pretty amazing. She sings while upside down."\nNelson founded the company in 2004. His rendition of "Acis and Galatea" casts soprano Rebecca Duren as the acrobatic Galatea.\nDuren worked on the act for a few months prior to the show. With her captivating visual performance, the style of Cirque du Soleil makes its way into opera.\nAaron Sheehan is an IU graduate who plays the part of Acis and has a very visual role as a mime, which is not a typical role for an opera singer. Another character, Damon, played by Tony Bouté, is transformed into a ringmaster rather than an inconsequential shepherd as in the original. The nature of these characters' roles is more sensational than that of most opera roles. \n"The idea to turn it into a circus, I don't remember how it started, but everything clicked together," Nelson said.\nThe concept, Nelson said, was a modernization of opera intended to reach children and entire families, not just adults.\n"We try to make everything we do relevant to a modern audience," Nelson said.\nNelson claims that along with modernizing the opera, they would like to see it as more like theater. The choice to perform here in Bloomington at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater is appropriate, not only because it is less like an opera's traditional venue, but also because IU schooled two of the performers. Sumner Thompson, along with Sheehan, is an IU graduate who is performing as Polypheme.\nSo far the opera has only been performed to sold-out shows in Baltimore and has received positive reviews. The turnout, Nelson said, has included many children and young people who would normally not go to see operas. Because of its originality, "Acis and Galatea" has been called a "gateway opera" by some critics. \n"It's a fairly famous piece, but it doesn't get performed on stage a lot," Nelson said.