(PRINCETON, NJ) -- Westminster Opera Theatre will present Cendrillon (Cinderella) by Jules Massenet on Friday, November 22 and Saturday, November 23 at 7:30pm in the Robert L. Annis Playhouse on the campus of Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, N.J. The opera will be sung in French with English supertitles and dialogue, accompanied by chamber orchestra. Susan Ashbaker is music director for the production, Ted Taylor is conductor and James Kenon Mitchell is stage director.
“The story of Cinderella, known in countless variations throughout the world, tells of the triumph of goodness and kindness over greed and vanity. It is a story of transformations: pumpkins turn to carriages, rags turn to riches- but it is also a story of potential and of courage,” Susan Ashbaker says about Cendrillon. “Although the libretto for Massenet’s version, penned by Henri Cain, is heavily influenced by the version of the story by Charles Perrault, the additions to the story give greater focus to the transformation of Cinderella herself. All fairy tales have a moral- this is a story about more than shoes. It dares us to ask: What could I do with a little bit of courage?”
Susan Shiplett Ashbaker is associate professor/director of Westminster Opera Theatre, artistic director for Tri-Cities Opera and artistic advisor/master class presenter/master vocal coach for the CoOPERAtive Program at Westminster. She has more than 30 years of experience in the performing arts and she is active in the opera and vocal world as an artistic advisor/consultant, master class presenter, lecturer and an opera/vocal coach. Her experience on both sides of the opera industry gives her a rare and comprehensive approach to the key elements of career advancement for singers as well as a unique vantage point in the administration of opera companies, arts organizations and institutions of higher learning. Ms. Ashbaker served as general and artistic director for Tri-Cities Opera for four years and “transformed the company in every way imaginable,” according to the TCO Board Chair. Her additional affiliations include 16 years with Opera Company of Philadelphia as director of artistic and music administration and serving on the faculty at The Curtis Institute of Music and The Academy of Vocal Arts. Ms. Ashbaker continues to adjudicate for The Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions.
Ted Taylor is equally at home in the pit conducting a repertoire of over 50 operas and musicals, on the stage accompanying some of the world's pre-eminent vocalists or appearing in the country’s top cabaret venues. Maestro Taylor enjoys a varied international career. As pianist he has appeared with such luminaries as Kathleen Battle, Sylvia McNair, Ben Heppner and Christine Schäfer. Maestro Taylor has served on the conducting staffs of the Metropolitan Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago and has led performances for many American opera companies, including Cincinnati Opera, Atlanta Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, and New York City Opera, where he debuted conducting La Traviata. Appearances by Mr. Taylor as a pianist include the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Festival, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia. A native of Texas and a graduate of Indiana University, Maestro Taylor is currently in his 13th year on the faculty of Yale University and his 22nd at Mannes School of Music in New York City, where he maintains an active studio as coach and teacher.
James Kenon Mitchell is currently in his fifth year as director of Opera Theatre at West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV. Mr. Mitchell has directed Faust for Opera Modo, Madama Butterfly for Opera Forza, La Traviata and The Magic Flute for the CoOPERAtive Program and La Voix Humaine, Iolanta, Brettl-Lieder, L’heure Espagnole, La Tragedie de Carmen, and Three Decembers at Tri-Cities Opera in Bingamton, NY. He has been a dramatic coach for Westminster’s CoOPERAtive program since 2017. Mr. Mitchell holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Theory from the Eastman School of Music and a Master of Music in Collaborative Piano and Opera Coaching from Westminster Choir College.
Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for students and seniors and are available by phone at 609-921-2663 or online at www.rider.edu/arts. Westminster Choir College of Rider University is located at 101 Walnut Lane in Princeton.
Westminster Opera Theatre has been praised for its innovative productions of a wide range of operas. Participants in the program have gone on to perform in opera houses around the world.
PHOTO: Susan Shiplett Ashbaker is the music director for Westminster Opera Theatre’s production of Cendrillon (Cinderella) by Jules Massenet.
