Skylark gets Lost in the Stars

"Lost in the Stars"
Skylark Opera Artistic Director Steve Stucki, baritone Ken Overton and tenor Phumzile Sojola.
MPR Photo/Karl Gehrke

For nearly two decades North Star Opera was known for staging operettas. In its debut under the new moniker, Skylark Opera, the company is mounting Kurt Weill's musical tragedy, "Lost in the Stars."

Based on Alan Paton's novel, "Cry, the Beloved Country," Weill's musical is the story of a South African minister who must choose between the convictions of his faith and his son's life. "Lost in the Stars" opened on Broadway in October 1949. Weill's use of spirituals, blues and jazz in the score often invites comparisons to Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess."

Skylark Opera's production opens on Saturday and stars baritone Ken Overton and South African-born tenor Phumzile Sojola.

The two singers and Skylark Opera Artistic Director Steve Stucki came by Minnesota Public Radio's Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio and performed selections from Weill's musical and discussed its contemporary relevance with host John Birge.

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