Westminster Conservatory Youth Opera Workshop Presents "The Tinker of Tivoli" August 3 - 6

The Westminster Conservatory Youth Opera Workshop will present the world premiere of "The Tinker of Tivoli," a comic youth opera pastiche, in the Yvonne Theater on the Rider University campus in Lawrenceville, N.J. Performances will be Thursday, August 3 and Friday, August 4 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, August 5 and Sunday, August 6 at 3 p.m.

A delightfully comic tale about the dangers of pride and arrogance and the great rewards of love, the production is approximately 80 minutes long and is appropriate for all ages. Written and directed by Westminster Conservatory faculty members Michael Jacobsen and Danielle Sinclair, "The Tinker of Tivoli" features an energetic musical score from the operas of Gioacchino Rossini, such as "The Barber of Seville, La Cenerentola." It is set in the style of a Rossini comic opera and is sung throughout.

As in all Westminster Conservatory Youth Opera Workshop productions, the roles in "The Tinker of Tivoli" will be sung by students between 8 and 16 years old. Workshop students also manage the show’s technical aspects, including building the sets and props, managing costumes, and all aspects of stage management. Youth Opera Workshop productions are truly a family affair - parents of workshop students contribute their time and talents to set building, creating costumes, and staffing the box office.

The Westminster Conservatory Youth Opera Workshop is offered through Westminster Conservatory, the community music school of Westminster Choir College of Rider University, which offers music instruction for all ages and stages of ability at five locations in central New Jersey and Bucks County, Pa.

Tickets are $5 for all seats and are available from the Westminster Conservatory in Princeton or at the door. For tickets or more information, call the Conservatory office at 609-921-7104. Rider University’s Yvonne Theater is located on Rider University’s main campus at 2083 Lawrence Road in Lawrenceville.

This program has been funded, in part, by a grant from Merrill Lynch.