Richard Wagner's
Forbidden Love
Auditions Saturday, November 16, 2019
Cailin Doran, Stage Director
Juliet Cunningham, Music Director
Martha Birnbaum, Producer
Saturday, November 16, 2019 in Cambridge, The Cambridge Chamber Ensemble is holding auditions for Richard Wagner’s early rousing comic opera Forbidden Love (Das Liebesverbot), to be sung in English. Written in his youth before Wagner became “Wagner,” Forbidden Love is based on Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. The opera is in the style of early 19th century Italian comic opera, but holds hints of the mature Wagner – leitmotifs and unrestrained sexuality vs. established social order.
Performances are at Warehouse XI, Union Square, Somerville, May 22 - 24, 2020. Rehearsals in March - May. Fully costumed and staged, with dual piano accompaniment. Forbidden Love will run about 2 hours and has 11 lead roles, and a small number of chorus parts. This is a paid position.
To request an audition, please email cambchame@gmail.com with a current headshot, resume and audition repertoire titles (see below for suggestions). English preferred or a short piece (32 bars) in English.
ROLES:
Isabella (Novice nun) – soprano
Dorella (former fiancée of Luzio) – soprano
Mariana (Novice nun and Friedrich's jilted wife) – soprano
Luzio (a young nobleman) – tenor
Claudio (Isabella’s brother) – tenor
Pontio Pilato (Danieli’s servant) – tenor
Antonio or Antonia (Luzio’s friend) – tenor or alto
Friedrich (governor of Sicily) – baritone
Brighella (policeman) – buffo baritone
Angelo (Luzio’s friend) – baritone
Danieli (an inkeeper) – bass
Covers/chorus – SATB
Audition Piece Requirements (English preferred)
There will be a short movement sequence and a cold reading.
Isabella: “Ocean Thou Mighty Monster” from Weber’s Oberon or its equivalent
Mariana: a lyric aria
Dorella : a comic aria with a wide range
Brighella : a buffo aria, Rossini or something similar
Luzio : the Donkey aria from The Marriage of Figaro, or its equivalent.
Claudio: Donizetti aria or its equivalent
Friedrich: Scarpio’s aria from Tosca or its equivalent
Pontio Pilato: a comic aria
Antonio, Angelo, Danieli: an aria in English
Chorus: a short piece in English
Cailin Doran, Stage Director
Juliet Cunningham, Music Director
Martha Birnbaum, Producer