Opera Lafayette 19/20 NYC Season Brochure

Le Maréchal ferrant (1761)
(The Blacksmith)
FRANÇOIS ANDRÉ DANICAN PHILIDOR, composer
English translation by NICK OLCOTT
Adaptation by NICK OLCOTT and RYAN BROWN
from the French libretto by FRANÇOIS-ANTOINE QUÉTANT
May 14 + , 2020, 7:00 P.M.
El Museo del Barrio, New York
Arias will be sung in French, but text and American songs will be performed in English.
Opera Lafayette presents the modern premiere of Philidor’s Le Maréchal ferrant (The Blacksmith) (1761), bridging city
and country and celebrating rural themes and audience participation. The company will rehearse and present the debut
performance in the Mancos Opera House in southwestern Colorado before bringing the performances to Washington,
DC and New York.
For the first time Opera Lafayette translates an 18th-century French opéra-comique to be sung and spoken in English,
recapturing the humor and immediacy of the original by adapting the story to the late 19th-century American West
and integrating American folk songs into the plot where French folk songs were originally sung. The folk songs include
familiar tunes like “Buffalo Gals” which invite audience participation as well as ones with insightful social commentary
like “When I was Single” and “Darlin’ Corey”. Prepare to sing along with our cast!
Single Tickets: $25 - $120
Purchase: OperaLafayette.org | 212.634.9388, ext. 1
Philidor’s Le Maréchal ferrant (The Blacksmith) is supported in part by Opera America.
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Le Maréchal ferrant (The Blacksmith) will be a part of Opera Lafayette’s annual NY Benefit. To learn more about attending the 25th Anniversary
Performance and Candlelight Awards Dinner, contact Katherine Offutt, Development and Special Events Associate, 212.634.9388, ext. 606 or
KatherineOffutt@OperaLafayette.org.