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The piece, with libretto by Arnold Weinstein, is based closely on the famous Arthur Miller play. It premiered in 1999.
Michael Unger directs the production, which boasts the talents of Glenn Seven Allen, Judith Barnes, Will Browning, Branch Fields, Valentina Fleer, Sam Smith, Justin Ryan, Kevin Courtemanche, Noah Lethbridge, Richard Mann and Donald Grove. Peter Szep conducts.
The first act of View was previewed on Oct. 3 at the Brooklyn Museum's Target First Saturday. The production features a newly adapted version of the score for two pianos, developed in collaboration with the Pulitzer Prize winning composer William Bolcom, who will attend the premiere of his work.
In Mr. Bolcom's own words, "It's important for the life of the work that it be performed in a small production, and that's what Vertical Player Repertory is bravely doing. I'm curious myself to see how it works in an intimate venue."
Vertical Player Repertory looks forward to a new production of View in fall 2010, when Judith Barnes plans to bring the opera back to its birthplace on the Red Hook docks in an outdoor production with orchestra.
A View From the Bridge will be performed Thursday Oct. 22 at 8 PM, Saturday Oct. 24 at 3 PM, Sunday Oct. 25 at 4 PM, Thursday Oct. 29 at 8 PM, Friday Oct. 30 at 8 pm and Sunday Nov. 1 at 4 PM.
Tickets are priced at $35. The Nov. 1 gala benefit performance, priced at $50, includes a champagne reception with the composer.
Vertical Player Repertory Theatre is located at 219 Court Street in the Cobble Hill area of Brooklyn.
Visit vpropera.org.
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Vertical Player Repertory (VPR) presents fully staged opera in extraordinary venues. A risk-taking indie company with an emphasis on theatrical integrity, VPR has earned a reputation as a vital alternative presence on the operatic scene.
Founded in 1998 by Judith Barnes, VPR began life in a storefront in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. Making a successful transition from its intimate black box origins to the wide-open space of the Brooklyn Waterfront, VPR recently created two site-specific productions outdoors at the Red Hook Container Port, sponsored by American Stevedoring Inc. Il Tabarro, performed aboard an oil tanker, and Les Contes d'Hoffmann, performed atop tons of raw lumber in an amphitheater made of huge shipping containers, won wide acclaim and drew crowds from far and wide.
