Boston University College of Fine Arts presents Angels in America
BU stages opera by Peter Eötvös set during the early stages of the AIDS pandemic in New York City; Based on the award-winning play by Tony Kushner — February 19–22 at Boston University Theatre
Boston, MA – Boston University College of Fine Arts is pleased to present Peter Eötvös’ Angels in America — February 19–22 at Boston University Theatre.
Based on the play by the award-winning play by Tony Kushner, Angels in America tells the story of everyday human experience: relationships, love, loss, cowardice, and courage, set during the early stages of the AIDS pandemic in 1980s New York City. While the dramatic version lasts seven hours, the opera has been re-structured by librettist Mari Mezei, and lasts two and a half hours.
Prior Walter has contracted AIDS, and knows he will die from the virus. As he fights for life, he imagines an angel who orders him to save the world by serving as a prophet. Yet in his vision, he refuses the angel’s instructions and ascends to heaven, stating:
“I’ve lived through such terrible times, and there are people who live through much worse, but… You see them living anyway. When they’re more spirit than body, more sores than skin, when flies lay eggs in the corners of the eyes of their children, they live. If I can find hope anywhere, that’s it, that’s the best I can do. I want more life.”
The two-part play by Kushner (Millennium Approaches and Perestroika) is often one of the most important dramas of the 20th century. Kushner describes the American neurosis at the turn of a new Millennium as a “dark nightmare set within dramatic hallucinations.”
Both parts of the play were performed worldwide in the 1990s, and have been adapted for film. Many of the main characters are taken from real life including Ethel Rosenberg, who has been sent to the electric chair by Roy Cohn, a criminal lawyer and McCarthy collaborator. Rosenberg’s spirit appears in Kushner’s play, and in the opera as well, to watch the painful death of Cohn as he suffers from AIDS.
“Hallucination and reality merge perfectly in Angels in America,” writes Composer Peter Eötvös in the program notes. “It is precisely this characteristic of Kushner’s play which has inspired me most to work on this piece. In my opera version, I do not focus so much on the political aspect of the piece, but instead emphasize the passionate relationships and the dramatic suspense created by the strong writing, as well as the shapeless condition of the hallucinations.”
Boston University College of Fine Arts is pleased to mount this emotionally charged and challenging production, which promotes reflection and intellectual dialogue centered around public health, history, and artistic expression.
Angels in America
Peter Eötvös, composer
Mari Mezei, librettist
William Lumpkin, Conductor
Jim Petosa, Stage Director
Dates: Thursday, February 19 – Sunday, February 22, 2015
Thursday, February 19th, 7:30pm
Friday, February 20th, 7:30pm
Saturday, February 21st, 7:30pm
Sunday, February 22nd, 2pm
Venue: Boston University Theatre (264 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA)
Box Office: 617.933.8600 or bostontheatrescene.com
($20 general public; $15 BU Alumni, WGBH and WBUR members, Huntington Theatre subscribers, and senior citizens; $10 CFA Membership; $5 students with ID; two free tickets with BU ID at the door, day of performance, subject to availability.)