FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Evelyn Goldin (609) 720-7253
Monroe Village Will Host Unique Opera Program; Residents Benefit As Senior Community Provides Rehearsal Space and Living Accommodations
After rehearsing at Monroe Village, opera project will perform in New York and ultimately stage performances in Congo, Africa
MONROE TOWNSHIP — July 30, 2013 — While access to learning, arts and culture are a part of everyday life at Monroe Village, residents of this senior community will enjoy a uniquely immersive experience in early August.
OPERAnauts, a Princeton opera company, will hold a rehearsal and a performance at Monroe Village, as well as a costume presentation. Additionally, two performers from the company will live at Monroe Village for nearly a week. The company will prepare and perform “La Petite Carmen,” a one-hour version of the classic opera, Carmen.
“We are always looking for creative ways to connect seniors and the arts,” said Joseph T. Claffey, Senior Vice President of the Springpoint Senior Living Foundation, which helped bring the opera and Monroe Village together. “This collaboration is wonderful for our residents and it’s great that we can support the OPERAnauts as well,” Mr. Claffey said.
In their time at Monroe, the OPERAnauts will be preparing for an August 11 performance at Le Poisson Rouge in New York. Ultimately, the company will bring “La Petite Carmen” to the nation of Congo, where OPERAnauts founder Joy Bechtler spent most of her childhood. For more information about OPERAnauts, please visit their website, www.operanauts.net.
Two of the OPERAnauts events at Monroe Village are open to the public but an RSVP is required. Please call 609-720-7304.
Costume Presentation, August 7, 1:30 pm. Hear from the La Petite Carmen costumer designer about how the costumes were designed and created, and see sample costumes.
Open Rehearsal, August 8, 11:30 am. Listen and enjoy the music while OPERAnauts artists rehearse in preparation for their performance of La Petite Carmen.
Monroe Village, a full-service retirement community, is affiliated with Princeton-based Springpoint Senior Living, New Jersey’s leading not-for-profit senior housing provider. To learn more, please visit www.monroevillageonline.org.
The Springpoint Senior Living Foundation Accessible Arts initiative works with arts and culture partners to make expansive repertoire of arts and cultural disciplines are more readily available and accessible for older adults. To learn more about this program and upcoming events visitwww.springpointenrichment.org.