Ars Nova will be presenting Douglas Moore's "The Ballad of Baby Doe" at the VBC Playhouse June 11-13, 2010. Directed by Ron Harris, this American opera is based on factual events in Leadville, CO and features full chorus and orchestra which is conducted by Nashville's Emelyne Bingham.
The dates and times are:
June 11 and 12 at 7:30 PM
June 13 at 2:30 PM
Online Ticketing Now Available
Tickets for Friday, June 11 at 7:30 PM
Tickets for Saturday, June 12 at 7:30 PM
Tickets for Sunday, June 13 at 2:30 PM
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Ticket pricing
$28.50 premium
$25.50 senior/student premium
$23.50 adults
$19.50 students/seniors
($2 discount on groups of 10 or more)
$10 dress rehearsal - Thursday night, June 10 at 7:30 p.m. (at the door only)
Director: Ron Harris
Assistant Director: John Weber
Producer: Kate Corlandi
Musical Director: Dr. Suzanne Galer
Cast
Baby Doe - Christie Weber
Horace Tabor - Michael Beutjer
Augusta Tabor - Rebecca Rogers
Mama McCourt- Amelia Cohen
Friends of Augusta - Suzanne Galer, Secalee Espada, Jane Orton, and Katherine Witherow
William Jennings Bryan - Ben Corlandi
Cronies - Michael Whitley, Jerry Nutt, David Caine, and James Mandras
Synopsis
Based on historical characters in the American west in the late nineteenth century, both the themes of the opera and Moore's music are unmistakably American. Horace Tabor was a Colorado silver mining tycoon, his successs due, at least in part, to his marriage to Augusta, the "boss' daughter". But Augusta clings to social convention and middle class values, while Horace, from more humble beginnings, is less constrained.
Elizabeth "Baby" Doe arrives in town, having divorced her miner husband. She and Horace fall in love. Some months later Augusta learns of the affair and vows to break it up, but she fails - Horace divorces her and marries Baby Doe. Augusta is deeply bitter, and Horace and Baby Doe, despite the huge financial success of the silver mines, are snubbed socially. Tabor's fortune is lost when the silver mining collapses, but Baby Doe remains loyal to him.
The opera's setting is quintessentially American: the westward migration, a mining town at the frontier, populist politics, upward economic mobility, and the openness of democratic opportunity side-by-side with social climbing and class distinction.
Moore's music draws on folk themes, hymns, and old waltzes. It is melodic and accessible. Moore gives his soprano ravishingly beautiful arias, as shimmery as the silver itself, which were made famous by soprano Beverly Sills.
Online ticketing is available for these performances. Call 256-883-1105 for more information.
Ars Nova is made possible in part through generous grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts 
