MAC welcomes a full ballet and opera schedule

IU Opera and Ballet Theater Production Director Tim Stebbins said he is confident everyone can find something to enjoy this season, from comedies to dramas.

“There’s going to be a little bit of something for everyone this season,” Stebbins said.
Favorites like “The Nutcracker” and “Candide” will be joined by new productions such as “The Sleeping Beauty” and “Der Rosenkavalier”.

“IU Opera and Ballet is considered the best of its kind internationally,” said Alain Barker, director of marketing and publicity. “It is by far the best collegiate program.”

The opera and ballet program is home to top notch performances in a state-of-the-art facility, the Musical Arts Center.

The interior of the Musical Arts Center, or MAC, is nearly an exact replica of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. It is home to a three-wagon system used to haul sets for scene changes in various productions.

The MAC is the only opera house, apart from the Metropolitan, with this system.

“We just installed a new million-dollar drive system for the wagons, and it is computerized,” Stebbins said. “We just installed new carpeting in the lobby and new window coverings. So, the MAC is getting quite the face lift.”

Professor Michael Vernon, chair of the ballet department, said he is excited about the upcoming season.

When asked about his favorite of this year’s productions, Vernon said it is difficult for him to choose a favorite since he choreographed both “The Nutcracker” and “The Sleeping Beauty.”

“This is the most contrasting program I’ve put together so far,” Vernon said.
He said the three productions are incredibly different.

Vernon said “The Sleeping Beauty” was originally choreographed in the 1890s by a French man named Marius Petipa. Petipa also choreographed the original “Nutcracker” and “Swan Lake.”

Back then, steps were passed down from ballerina to prodigy repeatedly, and some steps have been changed or lost with time.

Vernon has choreographed the production with the original steps and some new choreography to fill in the blanks created by time.

Production for “The Sleeping Beauty” begins in October for the March shows.
Rehearsals for “The Nutcracker” range from five to six months, but Vernon said because the same production has been presented for the last five years, it takes less time to prepare than newer shows.

“I think everyone will want to take dance lessons after (this season),” Vernon said with a laugh.

As for the fall lineup for the opera, the season provides a look into several types of productions.

Designer David Higgins, who designed sets and costumes for “Cosi fan Tutte”, “La Boheme” and “Candide,” said he is most excited for the first performance this season.
“I am most excited about ‘Cosi fan Tutte,’ the season opener, because it is a new design,” Higgins said via email.

Two of the six operas presented this fall have special footnotes.

“A View from the Bridge” is a modern story set in New York City. The bridge referred to is the Brooklyn Bridge. Its special footnote is that IU presented the collegiate premiere.
“Der Rosenkavalier” is an enormous undertaking lasting four hours. It is so long that rather than beginning at the usual time of 8 p.m., the production will begin at 7 p.m. The last time it was performed at IU was in 1966.

The season wraps up with “Candide,” an opera by Leonard Bernstein, who recently visited IU.

Student prices for most productions in some areas of the Musical Arts Center go for as little as $10. There’s a production sampler available and group rates are available, as well.

For freshmen, there is a new project with RPS and the Office of First Year Experience Programs called “FreshmenGo!” that makes it easy for freshmen to attend an opera and ballet performance with their Resident Assistant.

Andrew Porter wrote about IU’s opera productions in The New Yorker a few years ago.
“Just about the most serious and consistently satisfying of all American opera companies,” he said.