Boston University’s Fringe Festival has an excellent and long record of producing new or rarely performed significant works in the opera and theater repertoire. Since 2002, William Lumpkin, Director of the Opera Institute, and School of Theatre Director Jim Petosa have presided over 20 rich and diverse productions which “seek to intertwine the dramatic content of an opera with the musical aspect of a score.”

This year’s festival kicks off at the Lane- Comley Studio 210 with Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins, October 2^nd–4^th. Widely considered among Weill’s masterpieces, the opera tells of two immigrant sisters who embark on a seven-year odyssey through seven vice-laden cities, as they try to earn money and build a family home in Louisiana. Berthold Brecht was the ironic librettist.

“Audiences now demand a theatrical opera,” says Lumpkin. “And our students are excited to collaborate. Watching the activity; the interactions between the orchestra who are fans of the singers; and the theater students, whether designers or directors or actors, who in any other instance, would never interact, is something that is really special and unique to us.”

Running October 9^th–11^th, the festival continues with David T. Little’s Vinkensport, or the Finch Opera, which plays off of a Belgian folk competition over who owns the most melodious bird in the town. Music director Allison Voth and stage director E. Loren Meeker set the stage for what seems to be a rather simple competition, but is actually a journey into the minds of the competitors and their struggles with deception, loneliness, and love.

Theatre O and Enda Walsh’s Delirium closes out the festival, October 22^nd–25^th. Hilarious, brutal, and tragic, director Jonathan Solari presents this radical re-interpretation of The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky’s classic and compelling tale of family rivalries. The Karamazovs are a train wreck waiting to happen. A hated father and his sons battle it out over women, money, and God. Behind them lurks a servant, taking note of it all, and, to the side, two beautiful women clinging into impossible loves.

Learn more about the 19^th Annual Fringe Festival here.

The Fringe Festival is a collaboration among the School of Music Opera Institute, the School of Theatre, and Boston University College of Fine Arts.

FRINGE FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

The Seven Deadly Sins

Kurt Weill, Composer | Bertolt Brecht, Libretto

William Lumpkin, Music Director | Jim Petosa, Stage Director

In The Seven Deadly Sins, widely considered among Weill’s masterpieces, two immigrant sisters embark on a seven-­year odyssey
through seven vice-­laden cities, as they try to earn money to build a family home in Louisiana. Sung in English.

Lane- Comley Studio 210

Friday, October 2^nd, 7:30pm
Saturday, October 3^rd, 2pm, 7:30pm
Sunday, October 4^th, 2pm

Vinkensport, or the Finch Opera

David T. Little, Composer | Royce Vavrek, Libretto

Allison Voth, Music Director | E. Loren Meeker, Stage Director

Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera plays off of a Belgian folk competition focused on
who owns the most melodious bird in the town. What seems to be a rather simple
competition actually sets the stage for a journey into the minds of the competitors
and their struggles with deception, loneliness, and love. Sung in English.

Lane- Comley Studio 210

Friday, October 9^th, 7:30pm
Saturday, October 10^th, 2pm, 7:30pm
Sunday, October 11^th, 2pm

Delirium

Created by Theatre O | Enda Walsh, Writer

Jonathan Solari, Director

Hilarious, brutal, and tragic, Delirium is a radical re-­‐interpretation of The Brothers Karamazov,
Dostoevsky’s classic and compelling tale of family rivalries. The Karamazovs are a train wreck waiting
to happen. A hated father and his sons battle it out over women, money, and God. |
Behind them lurks a servant, taking note of it all and, to the side, two beautiful women
clinging onto impossible loves.

Lane- Comley Studio 210

Thursday, October 22^nd, 7:30pm
Friday, October 23^rd, 7:30pm
Saturday, October 24^th, 2pm, 7:30pm
Sunday, October 25^th, 2pm

Tickets now on sale: $7 general admission; $3.50 CFA Membership;
one free ticket with BU ID at the door, day of performance,
subject to availability. Box Office or 617-353-3350.