Prince of Players

National Medal of Arts Composer Carlisle Floyd joins us for his latest opera, adapted from Jeffrey Hatcher’s stage play, Compleat Female Stage Beauty (1999).

A king’s edict threatens the livelihood and identity of an actor and changes the course of theater in Floyd’s operatic adaptation of a true story. Keith Phares, Kate Royal, and Anthony Dean Griffey lead an all-star cast in the operatics tale of Edward Kynaston, an idol in London’s Restoration-era theater, famous for his flawless portrayal of female roles. In a twist of fates, King Charles II grants women the right to appear onstage while forbidding men from performing as women, leading to Kynaston’s personal journey and transformation. Carlisle Floyd’s newest creation features a highly talented cast of singing actors, lead by director Michael Gieleta, with the Florentine Opera Chorus and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, conducted by William Boggs.