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Rossini Festival

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Written by Shannon Cournoyer

Monday, 31 March 2008

The 7th Knoxville Opera’s Rossini Festival welcomes you April 18-20. The weekend begins with a performance of the opera Tosca on Friday evening then moves to a street festival on Saturday and finishes with a second performance of Tosca on Sunday. In between, there is food, fun and a second opera, La Traviata.

Knoxville Opera’s Production Manager and Chorus Master Don Townsend calls the Rossini Festival, “A celebration of the visual, performing and culinary arts.” Complete information about Tosca is in an accompanying article.

Downtown’s Gay Street is closed from Main to Wall Street on Saturday. The culinary focus of the festival is Mediterranean food and wine. Pasta is up and down the street. Popular Italian restaurants will have booths to sell their wares. Desserts include cheesecake on a stick, tiramisu, gelato and Italian ice. Beer and wine will also be sold with wine $5 and beer $3 per glass and all proceeds going to help fund the event.

Rossini Festival The opera La Traviata by Verdi will have two Saturday performances at the Bijou Theater, one at 2:30 pm and one at 8 pm. Presented by UT Opera Theater and orchestra, this revisits the opera which was the first one performed by Knoxville Opera in 1978. The opera is based on Alexandre Dumas’ Camille and tells the story of a young Parisian courtesan who falls in love with a younger man but pushes him away at his father’s request. The man is heartbroken and angry but all is forgiven by the end when she dies tragically in his arms.

Also during the day, stages scattered throughout the festival will have performers such as jazz bands, high school and college musicians and the casts of both operas. The cast of Tosca will perform part of the show at 1 pm and 2 pm. There are some special performers to watch for on the stages such as Daniel Barry, one of the main performers in Tosca, who is known as a soloist. Herbert Eckhoff, a basso profundo who has sung in many countries, will also take the stage. Opera singer Jamie Rogers will also perform.

If you enjoy arts and crafts, about 70 artisans and crafters will be here offering pieces of pottery, fine art, designer jewelry, textile arts, braided rugs and more. Artists will also demonstrate their craft; a spinner works textiles, an artist creates batik, iron and metal workers shape metal.

Market Square will be the World of children and have many fun activities for kids. A man dressed as Christopher Columbus will tell Italian history and children can build models of the Nina, Pinta or Santa Maria. The more adventurous can have a bungee ride or go up the climbing wall. Popcorn and cotton candy are part of this kid-friendly area.

Fencing will be demonstrated by the Oak Ridge Fencing Club and the Society of Creative Anachronism will wear medieval attire and have sword fights in the street.

Knoxville Opera Rossini Festival has a raffle and tickets will be sold at all Kroger’s before the event with winners chosen at 8:45 Saturday evening. Prizes include a trip to Napa Valley wine country and Kroger gift cards.

While the fair itself is free, some activities such as the climbing wall carry fees. The operas, of course, have a ticket price. Don Townsend says of the event, “This is the opera’s annual gift to the city of Knoxville.” For opera tickets and more information, phone 865-524-0795 or visit www.knoxvilleopera.com.

EWPhotos courtesy of the Knoxville Opera’s Rossini Festival