FGO Book Club
Tuesday, November 16, 2021 @ 18:30
Company: Florida Grand Opera
Description
FGO Book Club
FROM PAGE TO STAGE!
All are invited to join the new FGO Book Club: From Page to Stage, where you can “read it before you see it.” Readers will explore how independent written works — source material for FGO’s 2021-22 season operas — are transformed into lyric theatre. Each play or book will be explored during two sixty-minute virtual sessions dedicated to examining a different production aspect and part of the story. Artists, designers, and insiders from FGO’s corresponding production will also make guest appearances to provide exclusive peeks behind the scenes.
Book Club members are also invited to enrich their experience by exploring the lyric version of the featured stories. A Streetcar Named Desire runs from January 22 through February 5, 2022, in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Subscription packages and single tickets are available 24/7 at www.fgo.org, or by calling the box office at 1-800-741-1010. Please email info@fgo.org with any questions.
The Book Club premieres with a reading of Tennessee Williams’ 1947 Pulitzer Prize–winning play, A Streetcar Named Desire, still one of the most often-produced theatrical works today. Streetcar was also made into a Golden Globe and Academy Award–winning film starring Vivian Leigh (Gone with the Wind), Kim Hunter (Requiem for a Heavyweight), Karl Malden (Patton), and a young, then-unknown actor named Marlon Brando (The Godfather), who garnered a Best Actor nomination for his performance and launched his distinguished career.
Streetcar’s story has local connections. In 1957, Tennessee Williams staged a revival of the work at the Coconut Grove Theater. However, he soon clashed with Tallulah Bankhead, the tempestuous actor for whom he had written the leading role of Blanche DuBois, and other cast members. Williams retreated to Key West, leaving the production in the hands of stage director Herbert Machiz.
Recognizing the operatic potential of Streetcar, British composer and conductor André Previn set the piece to music in 1995. The opera makes its Florida debut on the FGO stage as the 80th Season opener. It stars Miami native Elizabeth Caballero in the iconic role of Blanche DuBois, Rebecca Krynski Cox as her hapless sister, Stella, and audience favorite Steven LaBrie as the brutish Stanley Kowalski.
“The Book Club is a fantastic way to brush up on old favorites or gain insight into something new,” says Luis Valenzuela, FGO’s Director of Education. “It’s also a wonderful opportunity to prepare to enjoy the opera on a whole new level, whether it’s your first time or fiftieth.”
Session I — November 16, 2021, 6:30 – 7:30 pm
Session II — November 30, 2021, 6:30 – 7:30 pm
There is no cost for participation; however, readers must provide their own books and are encouraged to purchase through Amazon Smile, benefitting Florida Grand Opera.