Long Leaf Opera Festival will feature double bill

"Acts of Love," a double bill of one-act opera, kicks off week two of the Long Leaf Opera Festival. The world premiere of "Venus and Adonis," by Zachary Wadsworth, adapts the provocative Shakespeare poem for its tragic libretto, while "The Bear," by Sir William Walton, based on the Anton Chekhov play, expresses love as comedy.

"Venus and Adonis" won Long Leaf's first one-act opera competition this year, which drew 40 entries from sex different countries.

"It still hasn't really hit me completely," Wadsworth said. "It still sort of feels like a fairy tale."

His opera is a sophisticated concept, including elements of ballet and Greek chorus, and using the sound of a saxophone to bridge Shakespearean-era sensibilities and the more modern elements. The words in any time period are cleverly suggestive; it is Venus and Adonis, after all.

Andres Edith Moore will perform the role of Venus opposite Timothy Sparks, playing Adonis. Based in the New York City area, Moore hails from Chapel Hill.

"It's going to be great to be back," she said. "I think it's so impressive: The festival exists to promote and be the place for American opera, and it's in my hometown. I'm so proud of that."

She said the notion of playing Venus, the goddess epitomizing love and beauty, is a bit daunting: "You take it as a wonderful compliment at first and then you say, 'Oh, my gosh! How am I going to do this?'"

Moore's Venus is not only beautiful, but wise: "Venus knows that love is always going to be painful, which it is, isn't it? I think the audience is really going to connect."

"People are going to be blown away by this," said Alfred Sturgis, who conducts "Acts of Love." Music director of both the Carolina Ballet and the North Carolina Master Chorale, the seasoned conductor is making his debut with Long Leaf.

"It's wonderful: all these things happening, this hive of activity, one thing after another," he said. "It's very exciting to think of all this creativity and activity going on at once. It's a great thing for the area, bringing great and unusual pieces to light." ...

— Sonia L. Johnson