I Arts & Entertainment r . Giuseppe Verdi Grand And Lavish from page 45 Allen Charles Klein's rendering of 8ne of the sets for Aida April 22-30, 2008 at the Detroit Opera louse MICHIGAN 0 P E THEATRE ON desperate divas of 35th Anniversary Season David DiChiera, General Director THE ULTIMATE OPERA EXPERIENCE! Sat., April 22, 8:00 pm Sun., April 23, 2:00 pm Wed., April 26, 7:30 pm Fri., April 28, 8:00 pm Sat., April 29, 8:00 pm Sun., April 30, 2:00 pm PERFORMED IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUPERTITLE TRANSLATION *EXTRAVAGANT SETS! *GORGEOUS COSTUMES! *LIVE ORCHESTRA! *STAR STUDDED INTERNATIONAL CAST! The Definitive Grand Opera... Perfect for first timers! FOR TICKETS, CALL 313-237-SING or visit www.michiganopera.org OPERA. free Opera Talk • 1 hour prior to curtain Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs 'of eadeeeae The 2006 Spring Season is sponsored by Cadillac 1105040 Skyline & The Back Street Horns The Jerry Ross Band Newsmaker •Rumplestiltskth •CUSA •Nightline •Persuasion •Cassens Murphy Band •Simone Vitale Band •intrigue •Sun Messengers •Radio City with a general (Radames) at war with her own people. Radames returns Aida's affection, but he also is the object of Egyptian Princess Amneris' desires. The usual operatic love-tri- angle complications follow, leading to a tragic ending. The role of Aida will be sung by Indra Thomas on April 22, 26 and 29 • and by Lisa Daltirus'April 23, 28 and 30. Jewish opera star Irina Mishura, born in Russia but a Michigan resi- dent since immigiating to the United States in 1992, will sing Amneris on April 22, 26, 28 and 30, alternating with Nancy Maultsby on April 23 and 29. Tenor Salvatore Licitra makes his MOT debut as Radames on April 22, 26 and 29; Antonello Palmombi takes over the role April 23 ; 28 and 30. .Klein's partner in the Aida produc- tion is Director Bliss Hebert, with whom Klein has done 85 productions over 42 years. The two have been life partners for 44 years. Hebert, making his MOT debut, has staged more than 200 productions altogether with 25 major opera companies. Born Designer "I barely scraped by and learned my bar mitzvah by the skin of my teeth," says the Brooklyn-born Klein. "I'm proud to have been born Jewish, but I haven't been too religious ever since." Klein, now 65, was surrounded by many artists in his family, especially his grandfather, a European immi- grant who "set the tone for the fam- ily" by aspiring to be a professional painter. "Actually, he ended up being a home-interior painter, but he used grand techniques for upper-class home owners," explains Klein, who by age 5 was living "a fantasy of design" with the knowledge he would become some type of artist. After earning a degree in theater design at Boston University in 1961, . Joyride Hot Ice LOAM ANS ST-EALING INTIATAIMERHT Call for free video consultation 248-398-9 71 1 48 April 13 • 2006 J141 Since 1972 11012,10 he eventually decided to devote-his career exclusively to opera design. Klein admits his biggest break was meeting Hebert in the 1960s. The latter was then director of the Washington Opera Society Together, they did Don Giovanni in Houston, then spent 16 years at the Santa Fe Opera in New Mexico. "Then we gave it all up and moved to France for a long vacation, but we couldn't quit altogether, and that led to jobs in Berlin and Vienna," Klein says. "We move back and forth now from our homes in France and Miami. I've designed operas for every major company in the United States, Canada, Mexico-and Scotland." For Michigan Opera Theatre, Klein designed productions of Rigoletto in 2004, The Marriage of Figa . ro in • 2002 and Werther in 1999. He doesn't have his own staff; instead, he relies on the workers at the various opera companies to complete his sets. "My biggest challenge is feeling adequate to the task at hand," he con- fides. "But you really can't tell how any opera will go until you see and hear the orchestra; the opera must be a - mirror to the music. That's when you know you've done your job correctly." Other Operas Cinderella, which premiered in Rome in 1817, plays on the DOH stage for the first time. Set in the 18th century with an Italian libretto by Jacopo Ferretti, based on Etienne's French libretto Cendrillon rather than the story by Perrault, the opera lacks several of the conventions generally associated with the story: the glass slipper, a fairy gOdmother and an evil stepmother. But it remains a poignant tale of love transcending social classes. Cinderella goes through enough tra- vail to still be considered a desperate diva.