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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 8, 2007

Contact: Contact: Mike Emery
713.743.8186 (office)
713.415.6551 (pager)
pemery@uh.edu

A defiant woman literally explodes her breasts and becomes a man in “Les Mamelles de Tiresias.” Meanwhile, a dispute over an inheritance has comic consequences in “Gianni Schicchi.”

These two one-act comic operas kick off the fall season for the University of Houston’s Edythe Bates Old Moores Opera Center as a double feature. Both productions will run back-to-back Oct. 19 – 22 in the Moores Opera House.

“For opera aficionados and neophytes, this is a very entertaining double bill,” said Buck Ross, director of the Moores Opera Center. “Both of these productions are funny, fast-paced and entertaining.”

Francis Poulenc’s “Les Mamelles de Tiresias” (“The Breasts of Tiresias”) is a comedy focused on a woman who renounces her femininity and becomes man, while her husband gives birth to 40,000 French babies. The opera, based on Guillaume Apollinaire’s groundbreaking surrealist play, was first performed in 1947 at Paris’ Opera Comique.

“Imagine Salvador Dali’s fantastic imagery mixed with the whimsical charm of Maurice Chevalier. This opera encapsulates this kind of innovative, comedic wit,” Ross said.

The UH production of “Le Mamelles” will feature projected graphics created by Houston designer Rolf Laub.

Giacomo Puccini’s comedy “Gianni Schicchi” features a title character tasked with aiding a scheming family in their attempts to seize an inheritance. The production debuted in 1918 at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, and has become renowned for the aria “O mio babbino caro.”

Reserved seats are $15 and $10 for students and seniors. To purchase tickets, call 713-743-3313, or visit http://www.music.uh.edu/events/schedule_opera.html.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.