STATE COLLEGE — The Penn State School of Music, School of Theatre and Penn State Opera Theatre present “Trouble in Tahiti,” an opera in seven scenes, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, through Saturday, Oct. 29, and 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 30, in the Downtown Theatre Center, 146 S. Allen St.
The opera is preceded by an Operatif in the lobby of the Downtown Theatre Center. The production staff and cast include both School of Music and School of Theatre faculty and students. Ted Christopher serves as stage director and Loclan Mackenzie-Spencer is music director and pit ensemble conductor.
Leonard Bernstein was on his honeymoon in 1951 when he began composing “Trouble in Tahiti,” a candid portrait of the dissolving marriage of a young suburban couple named Sam and Dinah. Written between his biggest Broadway successes — “On the Town” in 1944 and “West Side Story” in 1957 — “Trouble in Tahiti” draws upon popular song styles of the 1950s to deliver an uncompromising critique of post-war American materialism.
Beneath the couple’s marital discord is a profound longing for love and intimacy. Their spiritual emptiness, in contrast to their veneer of happy consumerism, creates the heart of the drama and is emphasized by sudden stylistic shifts in the music. The two main characters are supplemented by a ‘Greek Chorus’ in the form of a jazz trio which provides stark contrast to the troubles of the protagonists.
“Trouble in Tahiti” is the darkest among Bernstein’s ‘musicals,’ and the only one for which he wrote the words as well as the music. The opera received its first performance on June 12, 1952, at Bernstein’s Festival of the Creative Arts on the campus of Brandeis University.
Tickets are $25 for the general public and $15 for students. Seating is reserved. Tickets are available at any Arts Ticket Center location, by phone at (814) 863-0255 or (800) ARTS-TIX or online at Penn State Arts Ticket Center.
