Tri-Cities Opera announces changes for 2015-16 season

For its 67th season that begins this fall, Tri-Cities Opera is determined to freshen things up a bit — and a few of the changes are starting now.

During a press event Tuesday at the Tri-Cities Opera Center on Clinton Street in Binghamton, Susan S. Ashbaker, the company's general director, unveiled a new logo and website, But the biggest difference will be how the season is structured and where the performances will take place.

Bookended by what Ashbaker jokingly called "the good barber and the bad barber," the 2015-16 offerings will begin with Rossini's classic "The Barber of Seville" on Oct. 23 and 25 and end with the bloody Stephen Sondheim musical "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" on April 29 and May 1, 2016. Both will be presented at the Forum.

In between will be two productions at the opera center as part of its new "Signature Series." Those are Tchaikovsky's "Iolanta" from Nov. 12-15 and two one-act operas — Gian Carlo Menotti's "The Telephone" and Leonard Bernstein's "Trouble in Tahiti" — from Feb. 18-21.

"It was a fusion of creativity and financial responsibility. We own this building, so we don't have to pay rent," Ashbaker said — unlike the added cost when staging at the Forum.

"It wasn't just an economic decision, though, because we can present amazing works here. We've shown that this season with add-ons like 'La Voix Humaine' and 'Speed Dating Tonight.' This is an opportunity to be up-close and personal, and to be able to offer a wider variety of repertoire is a wonderful thing."

Over the summer, the opera center will convert its current performance space into a black-box theater, as well as upgrade the building's facade, roof, electrical system and theatrical lights.

Also announced Tuesday is a three-year, $120,000 grant from the Klee Foundation earmarked for TCO's community affairs department, meant to enhance the company's outreach, box office and marketing. The money will help fund the hiring of a new staff member to oversee the effort.

"We are grateful for their support and their belief in Tri-Cities Opera. The financial support helps to fuel our desire for change and innovation towards excellence and an re-envisioned, re-energized opera company," Ashbaker said.

Another new feature of Tri-Cities Opera performances will start with its production of Charles Gounod's "Faust" on April 17 and April 19: Selected seats in the balcony will be designated as the "Family Zone" (where young children can enjoy opera without worrying other patrons) and the "Twitter Zone" (where those hooked to social media can quietly utilize their mobile devices). As part of the "Family Zone," children ages 5 to 12 can get one free ticket for each adult ticket purchased.

Among the returning performers for next season will be mezzo-soprano Mary Beth Nelson (recently seen in the title role of "The Italian Girl in Algiers") and bass-baritone Jake Stamatis (who made his TCO debut in 2013's "Carmen"). New faces include soprano Abigail Rethwisch (Opera Iowa), guest conductor Vlad Iftinca (Metropolitan Opera) and pianist Warren Jones (Manhattan School of Music).

At Tuesday's press conference, singer Jenni Bank gave a taste of what's ahead with a selection from "Sweeney Todd" called "The Worst Pies in London." Bank was born in South Africa but grew up in Binghamton, and she has since performed all over the world in operas and musicals, including gigs with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and Wolf Trap Opera, and she is scheduled to reprise her role as The Duchess in Unsuk Chin's "Alice in Wonderland" later this year with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Her role as Mrs. Lovett — the lascivious pie lady and partner-in-crime to the murderous Sweeney Todd — will be her professional stage debut in the Southern Tier (although she previously sang with Binghamton Philharmonic).

The return brings Bank full circle, because she was a TCO fan growing up in the area.

"I saw almost all of them, especially in high school when I started getting into opera and exploring what opera was," she said. "I would see all these great singers who I can now count as colleagues, which is really lovely."

She has understudied the Mrs. Lovett role in the past, and she admitted that "it's one of my favorite Sondheim pieces, so to get to sing it — and to sing it in my hometown — is just so thrilling."

Follow Chris Kocher on Twitter: @PSBChrisKocher

Digital

See the new Tri-Cities Opera website at tricitiesopera.com.