BARN OPERA presents Straus’ Comedy Ariadne auf Naxos

BARN OPERA is thrilled to return to live performance with Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos. Known for innovative takes on masterworks, this BARN OPERA production will be no exception. Artistic director (Joshua Collier) has a new concept that takes the already comedic opera and turns it on its head, providing a night of operatic self-deprecation and airing the perennial rivalry between the Operatic and the Musical theatre mediums. While the first act will be sung in colloquial English, the second act will be in the original German—the first time a German opera will be sung in its original language at BARN OPERA. 

The production centers around “The Richest Man in Vermont,” who, for a dinner party, rents out the most spectacular event space in the region—the BARN OPERA House—for which he has commissioned a new opera seria from one of the most famous up-and-coming composers to be premiered. His wife, however, hates the opera and much prefers a Broadway review for the evening’s entertainment.

The first act sees both groups equally disdainful toward the other, arguing about which performance would happen first. There are petty insults and witty barbs, but then the assistant for the “Richest Man in Vermont” announces that rather than two individual shows, they would combine the shows to create one show, all to be complete by 10 p.m. With only half an hour to organize and many competing interests—sparks fly, and hijinks ensue.