Mark Morris Dance Group: 'Acis and Galatea'

Sets by Adrianne Lobel
Costumes by Isaac Mizrahi
Lighting by Michael Chybowski

Cast to include:
Thomas Cooley, tenor (Acis)
Sherezade Panthaki, soprano (Galatea)
Douglas Williams, baritone (Polyphemus)
Zach Finkelstein, (Damon)

Continuing a "magnificent collaboration" (San Francisco Chronicle) Cal Performances, Mark Morris Dance Group, and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra present their latest joint undertaking, the world premiere of a production featuring Mozart's brilliant arrangement of a Handel score. An epic love story from Ovid's Metamorphoses set along the pastoral banks of the Mediterranean, Acis and Galatea is performed in English by four vocalists and the Mark Morris Dance Group, joined by the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale. Handel finished the opera in 1739 and Mozart later arranged it in the classical style, expanding the instrumental colors of the score and adding his signature clarity of orchestration. A feast for the eyes as well as the ears, the new production features sets and costumes by Adrianne Lobel and Isaac Mizrahi, previous collaborators with Morris on King Arthur and Platée.