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By Jill Yesko, University Relations
Contact (336) 334-3890
Posted:11-2-07
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The improbable relationship between circus promoter P.T. Barnum and opera singer Jenny Lind, known as the “Swedish Nightingale,” is celebrated in “Barnum’s Bird,” a choral opera to be performed by the UNCG Opera Theatre.
Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 16, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 18, at the Odeon Theatre in the Greensboro Coliseum Complex.
Composed by Grammy award winner Libby Larson, whose 200 works span nearly every musical genre, “Barnum’s Bird” is based on Jenny Lind’s 1850 tour of America organized by master showman P.T. Barnum. A savvy businesswoman and philanthropist, Lind was paid the equivalent of $1 million for the tour but donated most of her earnings to charity.
Larsen was inspired to write “Barnum's Bird” after reading a letter from Lind to abolitionist author Harriet Beecher Stowe. “Her [Lind’s] reputation during her American tour rivaled that of Elvis Presley or the Beatles,” wrote Larsen. “I was consumed with the idea to learn as much about Jenny Lind as possible.”
“Barnum’s Bird” features elements of minstrel tunes and other forms of popular music from the mid-1800s.
In 2009, the world premier of Larsen’s operatic adaptation of William Inge’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Picnic” will take place at Aycock Auditorium. “Picnic” is the first major opera to be commissioned in the university’s history.
Tickets are $15 general public, $12 seniors and $6 for all students. Tickets are available through the UNCG Box Office, (336) 334-4849 or http://boxoffice.uncg.edu.
University Relations
Location: 500 Forest Street
Mailing Address: PO Box 26170, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
Telephone:336.334.3783
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