La Serva Padrona: Production Research and Design

When setting out to select an opera to research and design, I knew that I was looking for a balance of accessibility, dramatic and musical integrity, and logistical feasibility. As my research process continued, I discovered my growing interest in designing an outreach-oriented, traveling production. These factors eventually led me to choose La Serva Padrona as the basis for this project. La Serva Padrona not only fulfills my qualitative and logistical criteria, but has also long been an important part of the operatic repertoire. La Serva Padrona is a relatively short production, and features a small cast, comedic plot, and recognizable stock characters. The music is appealing to new and returning audience members alike, and a wealth of diverse productions are available to young directors for study. La Serva Padrona also exists in an English translation as The Maid Turned Mistress. I am passionate about designing operas that invite new audience members into the full experience of opera, and believe that this approach is often best served by the use of English text. This is especially true in outreach-oriented productions. La Serva Padrona’s unique combination of attributes make it an excellent choice for this research and design project