Young opera artists perform at new ECA

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  • Monday, March 3, 2008 11:41am

The Seattle Opera Young Artists Program’s production of Peter Brook’s “The Tragedy of Carmen” continues a full slate of pre-season events Nov. 12 at the new Edmonds Center for the Arts. Edmonds native Marcus Shelton is among the featured young artists in this performance.

Brook’s revolutionary adaptation of Bizet’s opera strides onto the stage as a streamlined, 80-minute work that sacrifices none of the original’s passionate intensity. “The Tragedy of Carmen” lures the audience through the very soul of obsession, compelling them to question everything they believe about fate, love and the nature of life. Performed in English and without intermission, “The Tragedy of Carmen” promises to be a fresh and gripping theatrical experience for everyone, as well as a powerful and accessible introduction for those new to the world of opera.

Shelton graduated from Seattle Pacific University in 2000 and started singing with Seattle Opera Chorus in the summer of 2001. The tenor has taken part in many Seattle Opera productions as a chorus member, including Offenbach’s “Contes d’Hoffmann,” Catan’s “Florencia en el Amazonas” and Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut.”

In 2004, Shelton sang the Duke of Mantua in Verde’s “Rigoletto” for Seattle Opera Guild previews and Hoffman in Offenbach’s “Tales of Hoffman” for NOISE (Northwest Opera In Scholls Etc.). He later returned to the Guild to perform Alfred and Eisenstein for previews of Johann Strauss, Jr’s “Fledermaus.” Shelton became a member of the Seattle Opera Young Artists Program earlier this year.

Launched in 1998, the Seattle Opera’s Young Artist Program now is under the artistic direction of Peter Kazaras.

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