"Alcide Al Bivio"

Johann A. Hasse and Pietro Metastasio

Produced by OperaRepo

Columbia Collegium Musicum

Saturday, April 4

8:00 pm

Sunday, April 5

7:00 pm

Free and Open to the Public
Reservations can be made online at tic.columbia.edu or in person at the Ticket and Information Center in Lerner Hall Lobby, Monday - Saturday

Virtue vs. Pleasure: Opera at the Academy

In 1760, the renowned librettist Pietro Metastasio and composer Johann Adolf Hasse put pleasure on trial; on April 4, 2009 , we will reopen the case.

The Columbia Collegium Musicum and a new opera company on campus, OperaRepo, have joined forces to stage Hasse's and Metastasio's allegorical opera Alcide al bivio (Hercules at the Crossroads). An aesthetic battle between Virtue and Pleasure, Alcide al bivio combines over-the-top musical extravagance with severe morality, composed by the most important Italian librettist in history and a German composer (affectionately nicknamed "il caro sassone" or "beloved Saxon") considered in his time to be the master of the Italian operatic style.

Metastasian opera is a pillar of Italian culture too often neglected on the stage; through innovative staging, design and performance by professionals and members of the Columbia community, we hope to make this work relevant and exciting to modern audiences.

Musical Director: Mark Seto

Stage Director: Sarah Meyers

Director, OperaRepo: Annie Holt

Sponsored by the Columbia University Music Department

The Columbia University Arts Initiative

The Graduate School Advisory Council, Columbia University

The Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America