Saturday, December 9, and Sunday, December 10, 7:30 p.m.
Augustana College's Brunner Theatre Center, 3750 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island IL
An operatic legend will celebrated on-stage when Shelley Cooper, Augustana College's new Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts, brings her one-woman show La Divina: The Last Interview of Maria Callas to the Brunner Theatre Center for a two-night tribute to the iconic figure that legendary composer Leonard Bernstein called “the Bible of opera.”
Written and performed by Cooper, La Divina is inspired by the life and work of 20th Century opera singer Callas (1923-77), lauded for her bel canto technique, wide-ranging voice, and dramatic interpretations. With Callas also a notorious public figure known for her temperamental behavior and scandals that included a love affair with tycoon Aristotle Onassis, this hour-long presentation features tales from the diva's life interspersed with Cooper's renditions of some of Callas' most famous arias, and had its world premiere at the Orlando Repertory Theatre Black Box Space in 2010. The show was later performed at the International Performing Arts Institute in Bavaria, Germany, as well as in Thailand's Bangkok Theatre Festival.
A vocal coach, director, choreographer, and actor specializing in musical theatre, Cooper has taught at institutions including LaGrange College, the University of Central Florida, and Bangkok's Mahidol University, and had led master classes countries including Austria and Brazil. Cooper has also performed and directed for such companies as the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, and the Venetian Macao. Her performances in La Divina, meanwhile, have been praised nationally and internationally, with UCF's Artistic Director of Theatre Earl Weaver stating that Cooper “so completely embodied the life and work of Callas that, for most of the performance, it was hard to tell it was Shelley performing and not the real Maria Callas.”
La Divina: The Last Interview of Maria Callas will be staged at 7:30 p.m. on December 9 and 10, tickets are $5, and more information and reservations are available by calling (309)794-7306 or visiting Augustana.edu.
