ENCHANTED APRIL, A Lyrical New American Opera

ENCHANTED APRIL, A Lyrical
New American Opera.
A cold, rainy London. A wisteria-covered medieval castle in Italy. Life and love bloom again... beauty endures.

Libretto by Kleban Award-winner Charles Leipart, Music by Richard B. Evans. Based on the exquisite 1922 novel by Elizabeth von Arnim.

A WORK IN PROGRESS.

SYNOPSIS: The four women at the center of ENCHANTED APRIL, each from a different social strata of post-WWI English society, are alike only in their discontent with their lives. One rainy February afternoon in 1922 they find each other - and the castle of their dreams - through a classified ad in a London newspaper:

To Those Who Appreciate Wisteria and Sunshine. Small mediaeval Italian castle on
the shores of the Mediterranean to be Let Furnished for the month of April.
Necessary servants remain. Z, Box 1000, The Times.

Each of these women seeks at least a temporary escape from the individual heartaches they suffer – a fiancé lost to the Great War; a marriage atrophied by the loss of a child; a cold distant husband consumed by ambition; a life left solitary by old age. But under the spell of the intoxicating Italian countryside, the foursome discover much more than they expected — forgotten dreams, unexpected new friendships, and even the renewal of love and the joy for life. Is it possible that the irresistible charms of Italy can transform a wayward husband, rekindle lost marital passions, and open hearts to glorious new futures?

The original novel by Elizabeth von Arnim has previously been the subject of two successful films and a stage play. But the characters who inhabit the world of this brilliant story, their hopes, their individual stories, their interactions, their discoveries, and the immense sensuality of the Italian locale that transforms them, all demand musical expression!

ENCHANTED APRIL, A Lyrical New American Opera, answers that demand with a “post-Modern” musical score and libretto that are intensely personal, gloriously romantic, and a thorough delight for all those who love beautiful singing, soaring melodies, grand music, stunning staging, heartfelt drama, charming humor, happy endings…and wisteria and sunshine!

Librettist CHARLES LEIPART also writes for the stage and musical theatre. Leipart wrote the libretto for the acclaimed "economic vaudeville musical", Thorstein Veblen's THEORY OF THE LEISURE CLASS, with composer Richard B. Evans. His awards include the prestigious Kleban Librettist Award for 2002; finalist for the Fred Ebb Award in Songwriting 2005 & 2006; and winner of the Global Search for New Musicals, Cardiff, Wales, 2005 for his musical Frog Kiss. Leipart's other musicals include Expresso Trasho, The Showgirl of 52nd Street, and The Doctor's Wife. His stage adaptation of Helene Hanff's comic memoir, Underfoot in Show Business, received its world premiere at the Devonshire Park Theatre in Eastbourne, UK, May 2008, directed by award-winning BBC director David Giles. Coming attractions: B'way debut 2009 of Leipart's Lady on a Carousel, an original musical about Marilyn Monroe, produced by Chase Mishkin.

ARIA excerpts included here:

Che Bella Sera, a duet for Lady Caroline and Mr. Briggs.

Onde d’Amore, a trio for the three servant women, Francesca, Constanza and Angela.

Al Tramonto, a duet to be sung in English by Rose and Frederick in Act 2.

Fiamme Mattutine, an aria for Mrs. Fisher.

Below, from a preview of excerpts of ENCHANTED APRIL held June 30, 2008, in San Francisco. Singers include, from left: Angela Cadelago, Rhoslyn Jones, Katharine Tier, Clifton Romig.