Songbird

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Beau Meyer

Two people embrace while another looks on.

In the foreground: Ben Johnson (left) and Eliza Morris in "Songbird," University Opera, 2024.

Songbird reimagines Jacques Offenbach’s comic operetta La Périchole in 1920s New Orleans, combining 19th century operetta with ragtime. Set in a speakeasy called The Three Muses, Songbird features love, adventure and political corruption all with the crazy backdrop of Mardi Gras. This University Opera production is the first collegiate production of the opera. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 22-23, 2 p.m. on Nov. 24, and 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 26.

media release: University Opera begins the 2024-25 season with Songbird, a reimagining of Offenbach’s hilarious operetta La Périchole in 1920s New Orleans. Songbird was adapted by Eric Sean Fogel, James Lowe (musical arrangement and orchestration), and Kelley Rourke (English lyrics and book). The adaptation, a masterful mashup of 19^th century operetta with the jazzy Ragtime sounds of 1920s New Orleans, makes this comedy swing.

Songbird was commissioned by the Glimmerglass Festival in 2021 and subsequently produced at Washington National Opera and Florentine Opera in Milwaukee. The UW–Madison production will be the first collegiate production of the piece. Four performances will be presented at Music Hall on the UW–Madison campus: November 22 at 7:30 pm, November 23 at 7:30 pm, November 24 at 2 pm, and November 26 at 7:30 pm. David Ronis, Karen K. Bishop Director of Opera, will direct and Oriol Sans, Director of Orchestral Activities, will conduct. Songbird will be sung in English and French with projected supertitles.

Fogel, Lowe, and Rourke transplant La Périchole, originally set in a fantasist version of Peru, to a speakeasy in 1920s New Orleans called the “Three Muses.” This is Prohibition time, but in the Three Muses, you would never know it. The liquor flows, the place is always packed, and Don Andrès, the corrupt Mayor of New Orleans, is on the take.

Vaudeville performers Songbird and Piquillo are struggling to make ends meet. Don Andrès sees their act and offers to help Songbird financially, also seeing an opportunity to satisfy his own lascivious desires. In doing so, he plunges the community into a series of dizzying, madcap escapades. Of course, this all happens amidst the celebratory chaos of Mardi Gras. In the end, love conquers all as Songbird and Piquillo outsmart Don Andrès and everyone goes back to partying. As they say in New Orleans, laissez les bon temps rouler!

The cast features Madison Barrett and Eliza Morris alternating in the title role, Ben Johnson as Piquillo, and Alex Cook as Don Andrès. As Don Andrès’s sidekicks, Michael Chiaverini will perform the role of Don Pedro and Nathan Le will be Panatellas. The “Three Muses,” cousins who run the speakeasy, will be portrayed by Danielle Bullock and May Kohler, alternating as Guadalena; Eloise Berkley and Zoë Miller as Berginella; and Rach Misner as Mastrilla. Corey Lallo will be the Mobster and Matthew Jordan will be the Priest. Rounding out the cast will be Kaitlin Case as Celeste and alum Michael Kelley as the Guide.

Juliana Gessner will be the set designer, Matthew Albrecht will be the lighting designer, and costumes will be designed by Kenneth Hoversten and Emily Popp. Sara Bartlett provides choreography, Brandon Gregory will be the sound designer, Tamara Brown will design hair and wigs, and Zak Wolff will be the props designer.

Musical preparation will be by Thomas Kasdorf, and Frankie Bones is the rehearsal pianist. The production stage manager will be Elizabeth Cantwell. Others on the production staff include Kaitlin Case, assistant director; Oliva Gacka, dramaturg; Cody Diedrich and Scott Shapiro, carpenters; Benjamin Johnson, operations manager for University Opera; Sam Speer, sound assistant; Ray Erickson, lighting board operator; Eva Perez and Owen Yang, assistant stage managers; and Katie Eggers and Kyla Moore, costume assistants.

Tickets are $32 for the general public, $27 for senior citizens, and $10 for UW–Madison students, available in advance through the Campus Arts Ticketing office at (608) 265-ARTS and online. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Wisconsin Union Theater Box Office Monday-Friday, 11:30 am-5:30 pm and Saturdays, 12 pm-5 pm. Tickets may also be purchased at the door beginning one hour before the performance. The Carol Rennebohm Auditorium is located in the Music Hall, on North Park Street at the foot of Bascom Hill.