Paul’s Case – Location, Tickets Reviews
Paul’s Case is an opera adapted from Willa Cather’s short story of the same name. It is about a teenager in Pittsburgh, PA at the turn of the 20th century who struggles to fit in and clashes with teachers and community elders. He escapes on a train to New York for three days of euphoric, tragic adventure.
Paul’s Case was produced by UrbanArias, a young, D.C. based organization dedicated to creating contemporary opera. It is one of the lead productions at this year’s PROTOTYPE Festival at HERE Art Center.
Maxamoo
Paul’s Case is a gorgeous production performed on the small but larger of the two stages at HERE Art Center. For perspective, the Metropolitan Opera house seats nearly 4,000 people, while the theater for Paul’s Case seats about 150. This means that even from the back row you are intimately close to the talented singers and musicians on stage. It’s a powerful and stirring experience to witness opera in this setting. A nine-person ensemble of musicians accompany the cast of seven and everyone involved is just exceptionally gifted.
The opera is only 90 minutes long. It is sung in English and the story is easy to follow. It’s a great experience for anyone who wants to dip a toe into the waters of opera.
Public Opinion
The public’s reception has been very positive. In fact, the entire run at PROTOTYPE is nearly sold out. As of this writing, only a few tickets remain for the Saturday performance.
Praise from the Twittersphere: @PiccolinaMarino: “BRAVI Paul’s Case team @PROTOTYPEfest @JonathanBlalock @melissawimbish -A truly beautiful night of HEARTFELT performances!” @SophiaVastek: “@Keith_Phares stunning performance in Paul’s Case!” @samtorresnoise: “really enjoyed the new opera “Paul’s Case” at the @PROTOTYPEfest, music beautifully performed by @AModEnsemble“
Critics Reviews
It’s hard to get a critical consensus for the shows at the January theater festivals because the number of shows is immense and the runs are short. But the early buzz is generally positive for Paul’s Case. It had a strong world premiere in Arlington, Virginia last year. See the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and DC Metro Arts for reviews of that production. New York Classical Review praised the PROTOTYPE production, although noting that “As strong as it is, the music also turns out to be an occasional weakness. The effect of cadence after cadence is heard so often that it becomes expected and loses some power to influence, gradually, through each repetition.”
New York Classical Review
Spears opera delivers a polished and compelling character study
TICKETS
$25.00 (Click to purchase tickets from OvationTix, the official online ticket seller for Paul’s Case at PROTOTYPE)
DATES
Performances through January 13, 2014
LOCATION
HERE Art Center
145 6th Avenue
New York City
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RUNNING TIME
90 minutes, no intermission
NEWS
Time Out New York
Prototype Festival: An interview with composer Gregory Spears
CAST & CREW
(partial list)
Music by Gregory Spears
Libretto by Kathryn Walat and Gregory Spears, based on the short story “Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather
Conducted by Robert Wood
Directed by Kevin Newbury
Featuring Jonathan Blalock, Amanda Crider, Keith Phares, Erin Sanzero, Jim Shaffran, Michael Slattery, Melissa Wimbish