Pergolesiís Home Service Really Delivers!

Admission is free.

What happens to a tiny little opera company in times like these, when the
arts are no longer so generously funded? In Bent Lorentzenís opera
Pergolesiís Home Service, Impresario Umberto Pergolesi has created a mobile
opera company that will perform pint sized productions in your own home:
Norma in your roof garden, Tosca in your dining room, La Traviata in your
bedroom or even Wagnerís The Flying Dutchman in your bathroom. Pergolesiís
Home Service is a sophisticated new version of the Baroque Opera La Serva
Padrona.

Composer Bent Lorentzen, one of the outstanding figures in contemporary
Danish music, will attend the premiere. Lorentzenís music resists
categorization into conventional slots. He has flirted with various styles,
but their impact has not deprived his music of its personality and
individuality of expression. He often collaborates with Michael Leinert who
co-wrote the libretto for Pergolesi. School of Music faculty member Susan
Owen-Leinert wrote the English translation of the work.

German stage director Michael Leinert will direct the production. Susan
Owen-Leinert is cast as Theater Director Umberto Pergolesi. April Hamilton, a
graduate student at the School of Music, performs as Serpina, an opera
singer. Moira Logan, Associate Dean and Director of Research and Graduate
Studies for the College of Communication and Fine Arts, takes the versatile
role of Vespone, an actress and mime. School of Music professor John Mueller
plays the virtuosic trombone part. Mark Ensley, Director of Opera Studies at
the School of Music and Music Director of The Chamber Opera of Memphis
conducts from the keyboard.

The Chamber Opera of Memphis, founded by Susan-Owen Leinert and Michael
Leinert, was created to establish a forum for contemporary and experimental
music theater. Their 2007-2008 production of Peter Maxwell Daviesí The Medium
was performed at the School of Music, at the Hamburger Kammeroper and the
Robert Schumann Hochschule Duesseldorf in Germany, where they received great
reviews and public response.

Located in one of the nationís most influential musical cities, The Rudi
E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis is a different kind
of music school. Here, students and faculty are committed to the essence of
performance that is so unique to the region. This essence, regardless of
genre, is the creativity, originality, quality and entrepreneurial spirit
that are central to the rich musical heritage of Memphis.

Accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, the School
offers 20 degrees in more than 24 areas of concentration, taught by 45
world-class faculty members who are recognized from Carnegie Hall to The
GrammysÆ. With more than 250 faculty, student and guest performances each
year, we are where the music is.


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