Join Opera Fusion for two performances of Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Medium, a haunting tale of Madame Flora, a fake fortune teller who becomes unhinged when she meets up with the supernatural.
The eerie plot includes sham séances in which Madam Flora’s guests think they’re communicating with deceased loved ones, as well as a phantom, a medium meltdown, a dark lullaby, a puppet theater, a confession and a shooting.
The opera, sung in English, has two 30-minute acts. For added fun, the company invites guests to come in their favorite costume or mask. At a post-show reception of wine and nibbles, Madame Flora will foretell and proclaim a costume contest winner; the prize will be two tickets to a future Opera Fusion show.
Birgit Djupedal Fioravante, soprano and executive director of the South Florida Company Opera Fusion, will star as Madame Flora. Singing the role of her daughter, Monica, will be Kyaunnee Richardson, a soprano and veteran of many Opera Fusion performances. The other artists are: Toby: Brayan Quevedo (a silent role); Mrs. Gobineau: Sandra Marante, soprano; Mr. Gobineau: Matthew Bischoff, tenor; and Mrs. Nolan: Shanna Nolan Gundry, mezzo-soprano. Music director for The Medium is Gordon Roberts, and the stage and set/lighting designer is Ardean Landhuis.
Fioravante made her Carnegie Hall debut with the Opera Orchestra of New York singing Fricka in scenes from Wagner’s Ring Cycle before moving to Florida to raise her two daughters. She has continued to perform in opera, concerts and recitals, appearing on radio and television. She has been a guest soloist with symphony orchestras and opera companies including Pittsburgh Opera, Florida Grand Opera and Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra.
Menotti (1911-2007) wrote both the words and music for The Medium. His many other works include Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Consul, The Saint of Bleecker Street and Help, Help, the Globolinks!
Opera Fusion was born in 2014 to fill a void in the arts community in South Florida — to provide high-quality opera at an affordable price, featuring local artists. It aims to build new audiences by introducing new generations to the beauty and expressiveness of the human voice and the operatic art form in all its many facets.
Performances of The Medium will be at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, at Sunshine Cathedral, 1480 S.W. Ninth Ave., Fort Lauderdale; and 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28, at Mary Immaculate Catholic Church, 500 Spencer Drive, West Palm Beach. Tickets, at $30 for either show, are available at OperaFusion.org and at the door.
