REVIEW: Classical Opera Gets the Slapstick Treatment in Avon Players’ Uproarious Production of ‘Lend Me a Tenor’

Mention the word ‘opera’ and likely the first image that springs to mind is a woman in a Viking hat with blond braids, wearing a breastplate, and hitting an impossibly high note that can shatter any nearby glass objects. Or perhaps it’s the 1957 Bugs Bunny cartoon “What’s Opera, Doc?” spoofing Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. And while there is such a thing as opera comedies, I find it hard to believe that any opera attendee would ever leave a performance with their sides aching from … [Read more...]

Laugh Along with the Avon Players’ ‘Lend Me a Tenor’

An impresario’s desperation leads to comedic confusion    Metro Detroit audiences will get a humorous view of the world of opera as Avon Players presents the classic farce Lend Me a Tenor, running March 6-21 in Rochester Hills, MI. Henry Saunders (Joe Colosi), the general manager of a Midwestern opera company, is primed to welcome the world-famous Tito Morelli (Jonathan Farrell) for his one-night-only appearance as Pagliacci. The star arrives late and is accidentally given a double dose of … [Read more...]