Rising operatic star Sidney Outlaw is making his debut with the North Carolina Opera in Mozart’s comedy masterpiece Così fan tutte. Outlaw will perform the role of Guglielmo in the stage production, which runs October 3 – 6 at Raleigh’s Fletcher Opera Theater.
After spending his career performing in stage productions in New York City, London, Guinea, Germany, and Isreal, among other places, Outlaw is exited to make his operatic debut in his home state.
“It is a great honor to debut with the North Carolina Opera company as a native of this great state,” said Outlaw, who first performed the role of Guglielmo as a University of North Carolina at Greensboro. “It brings me great pleasure to reprise a more mature version of the role I first performed while in undergraduate school. I am delighted to be back in the Tar Heel State and I am humbled to share my gift with my fellow North Carolinaians.”
Mozart’s entertaining comedy masterpiece Così fan tutte (or, “The School For Lovers”), comments on and pokes fun at the disguises we sometimes wear for love. In 18th century Naples, an old bachelor decides to teach two soldiers a lesson about romantic fickleness, wagering that their fiancées will stray if the young men obey him for just 24 hours. Naïvely taking the bet, the soldiers pretend to go off to war but then sneak back disguised as Albanians and try to woo each other’s women, setting off a dazzling plot full of feigned poisonings, scheming chambermaids, sham weddings, and sudden reversals of fidelity.
Outlaw is not the only cast member of this fully staged production (sung in Italian with English supertitles) with North Carolina connections. The performance is directed by North Carolina School of the Arts alum Michael Shell. Also on stage are Durham native Cecelia Hall as Dorabella and Cary native Hailey Clark as Despina. Other cast members include Elizabeth De Trejo as Fiordiligi, Tyler Nelson as Ferrando, and Jake Gardner as Don Alfonso.
“I am so privileged to work with so many amazing vocal performers,” Outlaw said. “Our direction is stellar and each of the performers is a star in their own right. I could not ask to work with a better cast.”
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Congratulations Sidney……….