[EVENT] Barber’s Vanessa at Robinson College
After an “outstanding” (Varsity) production of Mozart’s Idomeneo, The Iambe Company returns with a fully staged production of Samuel Barber’s gloriously beautiful and rarely performed Vanessa. One of the 20th century’s most richly romantic operas, this intensely psychological work draws on influences as diverse as Puccini, Wagner and Chekov, and is imbued with Barber’s characteristic lyricism.
Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to see a hidden jewel of the operatic repertoire sung by a brilliant cast of young professionals joining forces with some of the finest Cambridge singers!
In the words of Menotti, Barber’s lover and the librettist for Vanessa:
“This is the story of two women, Vanessa and Erika, caught in the central dilemma which faces every human being: whether to fight for one’s ideals to the point of shutting oneself off from reality, or compromise with what life has to offer, even lying to oneself for the mere sake of living. Like a sullen Greek chorus, a third woman (the old Grandmother) condemns by her very silence the refusal first of Vanessa, then of Erika, to accept the bitter truth that life offers no solution except its own inherent struggle. When Vanessa, in her final eagerness to embrace life, realizes this truth, it is perhaps too late.”
Vanessa
An opera by Samuel Barber
Thursday 3rd, Friday 4th and Saturday 5th March at 7.30pm
Robinson College Auditorium
Tickets £8/£5 available at www.adcticketing.com
