Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
NORTH MANCHESTER – Manchester College is bringing a feast of three fanciful operas and food to North Manchester Friday and Saturday.
“Feast and Fantasy” is kid-friendly, lighthearted and comical, promises David Moan, who will direct “Hänsel and Gretel,” one of two after-dinner operas.
“The music is complex, but it’s easy to follow because it all tells a story.”
The College is sharing the Manchester Church of the Brethren, 1306 Beckley St., for the operatic dinner theatre experience. The evening of opera begins with a 6 p.m. spaghetti dinner and the Baroque comedy “La Serva Padrona” by Pergolesi.
Reservations are necessary for the dinner performance; the $15 ticket includes two more short operas that begin at 7 p.m.
After-dinner guests are in for a treat, too, with “Hänsel and Gretel” by Humperdinck and “Help! Help! The Globolinks!” by Menotti. Tickets for the two after-dinner performances are $5, available at the door. Arrive at the church by 7 p.m.
Reserve seats at the dinner tables from the Manchester home page at www.manchester.edu or call the Music Department office at 260-982-5426.
“Feast and Fantasy” is a fundraiser for the A Cappella Choir, which heads for New York City in late May for its annual music tour. The short dinner production, “La Serva Padrona,” has lots of audience interaction, “so guests should not be surprised to find an opera singer sitting briefly at their table or folding a basket of laundry nearby,” says Debra Lynn, chair of the Music Department and director of the other two operas.
“Hänsel and Gretel” offers a twist to the familiar story: Director Moan has set the production as a live marionette show.
“Help! Help! The Globolinks!” is a bizarre opera about aliens, their potential student captives and budget cuts to school music programs. Many of the characters are modeled after people who are famous or well-known in the community.
