Carousel Opens January 26

Coralville - "Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic musical Carousel will be presented as a concert at 2pm and 7:30pm on Saturday, January 26, at the Coralville Center for Performing Arts. The production features baritone Stephen Swanson and soprano Rachel Joselson, accompanied by a thirty-six piece orchestra under the baton of Ed Kottick. Tickets are $20. Student and senior tickets are priced at $14.

Based on a play by Ferenc Molnár, the story revolves around carousel barker Billy Bigelow, whose romance with millworker Julie Jordan comes at the price of both their jobs. He attempts a robbery to provide for Julie and their unborn child; after it goes wrong, he is given a chance to make things right. The show includes the well-known songs 'If I Loved You,' 'June Is Bustin' Out All Over' and 'You'll Never Walk Alone.' Richard Rodgers later wrote that Carousel was his favorite among all his musicals.

According to director Josh Sazon, 'The concert format -- where the show is done sans set and costume -- allows the audience to concentrate on the music and the drama, which is the principal appeal of musical theater. And audiences have responded surprisingly well to this format.'

Music director Ed Kottick remarks: 'It is also wonderful to have the opportunity to work with such wonderful material with performers of a wonderfully high-caliber, ranging from the production's leads to the ensemble to the orchestra.'

Both principal performers and the music director/conductor are faculty members at the School of Music of the University Of Iowa. Stephen Swanson sang in opera houses in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands. He has performed as a soloist with many of the world’s leading conductors including Sir Georg Solti and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos. An extremely versatile performer, he sings works from the Baroque to the avant-garde as well as standard baritone concert repertoire, such as Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and his signature piece, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.

Rachel Joselson has also performed in Europe, performing as a soprano during her years at Hamburg State Opera. Some soprano roles include Gounod’s Mireille, Mimì, Micaela(Carmen), Mélisande, Marjenka (Bartered Bride), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Leonore (Fidelio), Eva (Meistersingers of Nuremberg), and Madame Euterpova (Help! Help! The Globolinks). After returning to the U.S. in the late 1990’s, she has performed with symphony orchestras in Madison, Oshkosh, and Johnson City, Tennessee, and was featured with the Utah Festival Opera in Logan and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra in Salt Lake City for its International Sunday broadcast.

Previous concert productions helmed by the director and music director have included South Pacific (in 2010), and My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music (both in 2011), for the Iowa City Community Theatre."

(source: Josh Sazon's press releae)