Unison Media
For Immediate release
Composer Paola Prestini and librettist Mark Campbell will release the live original cast recording of their opera Edward Tulane on June 2 on VIA (VisionIntoArt) Records.
The opera, which is based on the novel The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by two-time Newbery Medalist and #1 New York Times best-selling author Kate DiCamillo, opened to critical acclaim in 2022 following a two-year postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Minnesota Star-Tribune exclaiming that “Edward Tulane delights with evocative music, dazzling visuals and heart… Prestini's arias and orchestrations are a paradoxical combination of simplicity and complexity,” and the Twin Cities Pioneer Press praising how “the New York-based composer brings an edginess to the production… even in the complexity of the score, Prestini picks her moments to turn up the deep feeling of the characters through emotion-pushing musical lines" and Opera News claiming "whether this is an opera primarily for children or for adults can be—and probably will be—debated... it can, of course, be both."
Edward Tulane was the first work by a woman to be commissioned by Minnesota Opera as part of the company's New Works Initiative. Said composer Paola Prestini: "I’m immensely grateful that Minnesota Opera chose me for this adventure, and hope that this opera brings new audiences to our stages. The themes found in the DiCamillo novel, woven into a brilliant and unique libretto by Mark Campbell gave me the perfect springboard for an opera about hope and transformation! The opportunity to unleash my imagination into sound worlds for underwater fish, a zany doll shop, and ultimately a cast of characters that guide our leading soul with love and wisdom has been delightful. We all are in need of magic and transformation, and Edward's journey brings it in spades.”
Said author Kate DiCamillo: “This opera, this miraculous opera about a rabbit...all I can say is this: when I saw Minnesota Opera’s production of Edward Tulane, I was charmed, dazzled, enthralled, and deeply moved. I thought: this feels like music and song that has been around for a long, long time, and that will be around for a long, long time. I am grateful, and filled with wonder, to have Edward’s story take on this new life.”
This cast recording features tenor Jack Swanson, soprano Zulimar López-Hernández, tenor Brian Vu, bass Zachary James, mezzo-soprano Elise Quagliata, baritone Jeremiah Sanders, bass Benjamin Sieverding, mezzo-soprano Victoria Vargas, soprano Jasmine Habersham, mezzo-soprano Keely Futterer, soprano Danielle Beckvermit, baritone Nicholas Davis, mezzo-soprano Lisa Marie Rogali, tenor Christian Sanders, and conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya.
Edward Tulane will be available to stream on all platforms June 2nd.
Album Press Preview Stream: click here
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