ENCOMPASS MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
2009

I TRE COMPAGNI

(The Three Companions)

The Three Companions

An Opera in Two Acts based on “The Pardoner’s Tale”
From Chaucer’s THE CANTERBURY TALES

Greed Is The Root Of All Evil
A Tale Of Lost Friendships
Set In Spain Against A Backdrop At The End Of
The War Between The Moors & Christians

Music and Libretto by Composer Louis Gioia
(Sung in Italian with Supertitles)

WORLD PREMIERE

featuring:
Ulla Westlund, soprano
Noah Stewart, tenor
Raemond Martin, bass-baritone

Director: Nancy Rhodes
Music Director/Conductor: Glen Cortese
Assistant Musical Director: Mara Waldman

Set Design: Damon Pelletier
Costume Design: A. Christina Giannini
Lighting Design: Izzy Einsidler
Choreographer: Justin Sherwood

Critical praise for Louis Gioia’s I Tre Compagni:

"I am happy to report that I Tre Compagni is a wonderful opera filled with melody. The composer, Louis Gioia, gave us all great joy in this beautifully crafted and colorful melodic masterpiece.

"Noah Stewart was superb as Tonio . . . possesses a brilliant tenor voice. Ulla Westlund . . . a vibrant soprano excelling in both lyric and dramatic passages. Shannon De Vine . . . robust baritone . . . boasts a thrilling B flat. Raemond Martin . . .dark beautiful bass-baritone.

"The striking sets, consisting of statues, gods, pillars and celestial and pastoral heights and the Act Two gloom of the cemetery, were by Damon Pelletier. The vibrant eye-catching colorful costumes were by A. Christina Giannini.

"Kudos to artistic director Nancy Rhodes, conductor-orchestrator Glen Cortese and the excellent 35-piece orchestra, and to Mara Waldman, associate conductor music and chorus director. Ed Herman’s wonderful sculptures added much to the visual aspect of the performance where his Bacchus reigned with the revelers."

By Nino Pantano, Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Production photos from I Tre Compagni