The Old Man and the Sea

Get ready to be swept away by The Old Man and the Sea, a captivating new opera from Paola Prestini, Royce Vavrek, and Karmina Šilec. This original production from acclaimed contemporary opera company Beth Morrison Projects reimagines Hemingway’s iconic story from a fresh perspective, diving into questions of aging, legacy, and our society’s relationship with the mighty ocean. The opera spotlights longtime collaborators and muses of Prestini, including Creative Futures Artist-in-Residence Helga Davis as the narrator and Jeffrey Zeigler as the featured cellist. Opera star Nathan Gunn takes the title role. The cast, which includes a choir, brings new life to the novel’s enduring characters: Santiago, Manolin, and Santiago’s wife, recast here as the Virgen del Cobre, a goddess in Santería, the Afro-Carribbean faith. Themes of baseball, ecology, religion, and economy run throughout, painting a vivid picture of the clash between progress and tradition. Don’t miss this contemporary take on a timeless tale.