A One-Night Only Live Opera Performance at Bay Street Theater

Divaria Productions, which was founded in 2011 by a brilliant brother and sister artistic team, Ashley and Andrew Bell, will be back at Bay Street Theater on September 14 at 8pm with an exciting one-night only live opera presentation of "Othello: The Opera and Play Enmeshed" on Saturday, September 14 at 8 pm.

In 2018, this incredibly talented theatrical production company thrilled Bay Street’s audiences with their stunning historical music drama, “Don Giovanni in New York,” bringing to the East End of Long Island the kind of groundbreaking theatre that you’d usually expect to find only in major cities like New York, London, or Vienna.

Their current production is an exploration of the timeless classic "Othello"though theater, opera, and dance. The project will feature selections from Verdi’s opera in Italian, and parts of Shakespeare’s text, which Verdi’s penultimate opera was based on. Although "Othello" was crafted 400 years ago, with its themes of jealousy, betrayal, and exclusion, it is still extraordinarily relevant today.

In the words of co-director Andrew Bell, “We’ve grounded our staging of Othello in World War II, a period where heroes abound, and unexpected villains lurk on every corner. It’s an uncertain time period where one’s ethnicity divides and one’s loyalty is always being put to the test. Religion historically was more of a driving force in skirmishes of yesteryear, but it is in the dark days of World War II, where one’s identity is under assault and determines one’s fate. Othello exhibits a steadfast allegiance to his army, one he’s demonstrated through great feats on the battlefield, but his identity and background regrettably make him a target. He clings to the fellow soldiers who’ve won his trust amidst the unease and it is with that very choice that his fate is sealed.”

An amazing team of actors will perform the opera including Leland Gantt as Othello, Rivka Borek as Desdemona, and Michal Gizinski as Iago. The singing cast includes: tenor Limmie Pulliam, one of the finest Othellos currently gracing opera’s stages, the massively talented soprano Ashley Galvani Bell as Desdémona, and Metropolitan Opera’s Kidon Choi as Iago.

The production team is headed by co-directors Antón Armendariz and Andrew Bell. The musical director/pianist Nicolò Sbuelz will be accompanied by a string quartet, and the choreographer is by Francis Roach of Luigi Jazz Centre.

Tickets range from $25 to $50 and can be purchased at the Bay Street Office at 631-725-9500 or online at baystreet.org. The Box Office is open daily 11 am – showtime. Beginning September 3, it will be open 11 am – 5 pm Tuesday – Saturday.

Cindi Sansone-Braff is an award-winning playwright, and the author of two spiritual self-help books, "Grant Me a Higher Love," and "Why Good People Can't Leave Bad Relationships." Her full-length romantic comedy, "Angel's Mice and Men," just had its world premiere at the Hudson Guild Theater as part of the NY Summerfest 2019 Theater Festival.