A new children’s opera commissioned by the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech from composer Lori Laitman will celebrate its world premiere this October. The one-act opera is based on a Grimm’s fairytale of the same name and is brilliantly retold by Dana Gioia, a librettist, poet, and former chair of the National Endowment of the Arts.
The Center for the Arts will offer four performances of the opera – on Friday Oct. 17 at 7:30; Saturday Oct. 18 at 2 and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 19 at 2 p.m. in the Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, located within the Moss Arts Center’s Street and Davis Performance Hall at 190 Alumni Mall in Blacksburg, Virginia.
“The Three Feathers” takes place in a mysterious world inhabited by a king, his three princess daughters, and courtiers. The story will carry audiences of all ages on a journey of song and spectacle, through the underworld kingdom of the Frog Prince and his chorus of rats, bats, and frogs. Center for the Arts is partnering with the Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts, Opera Roanoke, and the Blacksburg Children’s Chorale to bring “The Three Feathers” to the stage.
An American composer of vocal music, Laitman has composed over 250 songs, setting the words of classic and contemporary English-language poets to music.
Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for students and youth 18 years old and under. Tickets can be purchased at www.artscenter.vt.edu; at the Moss Arts Center box office from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday; or by calling 540-231-5300.
The Center for the Arts, Virginia Tech’s professional presenting program, and the university-level Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology are located in the Moss Arts Center. The Center for the Arts is creating a thriving creative community fueled by inspiration, where patrons have meaningful experiences, enjoying arts of the highest caliber in a wide variety of forms.
