Opera

In Partnership with Berks Opera Workshop

Opera

About the Opera

Following last year's acclaimed co-production of Mozart's Don Giovanni, Berks Opera Workshop and the Fall Festival of the Arts presents Thaïs, a romantic opera of sensuality and salvation.

As modern as she is timeless, Thaïs lives in a corrupt and decadent society. She trades on her beauty and sexuality to achieve a life of materialism and celebrity, while longing for something more. A charismatic preacher seeks to convert her to Christ, as the crowning ambition of his personal ministry. His efforts are complicated by mixed subconscious motives, however, and the results far exceed his expectations or desires.

Jules Massenet's colorful, evocative and sensuous score includes the famous Meditation, featuring Reading Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster, Christopher Collins Lee. Soprano Tamara Black stars as Thaïs, with baritone Matthew Samluk as the preacher, Athanaël. In French, with English subtitles.

Generous funding for this program is provided by:

Dail and David Richie

The R.M. Palmer Company