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Shapiro’s new version of Frankenstein—NOW with Libretto—One Fright Night Only.
Saturday, October 28 at 8PM at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center

Atlanta’s Best Halloween Event!

ATLANTA— A special one-night-onlyshowing of the 1931 James Whale directed classic film Frankenstein starring Boris Karloff and Colin Clive will play at The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center on Saturday, October 28, 2023 at 8pm. This horror film masterpiece was originally released without a musical score, which inspired composer Michael Shapiroto fill in the void by creating an original new soundtrack. As the classic film plays on the big screen, he’ll conduct his critically-acclaimed and atmospheric score, performed live by The AtlantaOpera Orchestra and singers to further embellish the piece — making this the ultimate audience experience for a truly iconic film.

Audience members are invited to come in costume for a “best” and/or “worst” dressed contest. And a post-performance party will rock the house with a DJ, dancing, and cash bar in two lobby levels at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center.

The black-and-white film featured a career-making performance by Boris Karloff and is credited with saving Universal Pictures from bankruptcy during the early days of the Depression. Originally lacking a through-composed soundtrack, Shapiro created the first of his three orchestral versions in 2002. Inspired by the opening of the film in which a priest intones a prayer over a burial, he chose the text of the Latin Requiem Mass as the libretto for the operatic version of Frankenstein -The Movie Score, which has received over 60 performances worldwide and gone on to be the most performed work of its kind internationally.

 

Four of the five singers are young artists selected to be part of The Atlanta Opera Studio Artist program. Winning the positions in this coveted emerging professional program over hundreds of other applicants are Amanda Sheriff (soprano), Aubrey Odle (mezzo-soprano), Kameron Lopreore (tenor), Jason Zacher (bass-baritone). Joining these four in the performance of Frankenstein is Andrew Gilstrap (bass-baritone), a familiar performer and popular with the Atlanta audience.

 

For Atlanta Opera tickets and information, please visit www.AtlantaOpera.org;

or call Atlanta Opera Box Office at (404) 881-8885.  

 

About the Composer

Michael Shapiro guest conducts internationally. He has written over 100 works for orchestral, theatrical, film, chamber, choral, and vocal forces. His music has been performed by many of the world’s great orchestras and performers in North America and Europe, and much of his music is recorded and available on major platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.  His music is regularly broadcast throughout the world, including SiriusXM, National Public Radio, BBC, CBC, ABC-Australia, Polskie Radio, and over 50 commercial radio stations in North America. His score for the classic film Frankenstein is his most popular work and has been performed over 60 times internationally. For more information, please visit www.MichaelShapiro.com

 

About the Work

After premiering in 2002 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Jacob Burns Film Center in Westchester, New York, Michael Shapiro’s Frankenstein-The Movie Score has received over sixty (60) performances worldwide including opening the Bergen, Norway International Festival, Italian premiere by the Milan Symphony Orchestra, German premiere at the Opera Trier, Russian premiere at the Mariinsky Lendok Film Annex in St. Petersburg, USA premiere of the full orchestra version by the Virginia Symphony, Washington, D.C. premiere of the wind ensemble version by the United States Navy Band at the AFI Institute Theater, Canadian premiere by the Royal Canadian Air Force Band in Winnipeg, wind ensemble premiere by the Dallas Winds at the Meyerson Symphony Center, and the recording of the overture in the U.K. by the famed City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

 

About The Atlanta Opera
The Atlanta Opera’s mission is to break boundaries of opera to create exceptional experiences for audiences everywhere. Founded in 1979, the company works with world-renowned singers, conductors, directors, and designers who seek to enhance the art form. Under the leadership of internationally recognized stage director and Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun, The Atlanta Opera expanded from three to four mainstage productions at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre and launched the acclaimed “Discoveries” event series and the innovative 96-Hour Opera Project. In recent years, the company has been named among the “Best of 2015” by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has been nominated for a 2016 International Opera Award, and won ArtsATL’s 2019 Luminary Award for Community Engagement in recognition of its successful Veterans Program in partnership with the Home Depot Foundation. In addition, The Atlanta Opera was featured in a 2018 Harvard Business School case study about successful organizational growth, and Zvulun presented a TEDx Talk at Emory University titled “The Ambidextrous Opera Company, or Opera in the Age of iPhones.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, The Atlanta Opera was one of the only companies in the world to create a full, alternative season, consisting of no less than 40 live performances in two different outdoor venues, including a revolutionary custom-designed circus tent. The fundraising goal was tripled, and four new productions were created, each of which employed 150 cast and crew members and staff. The critically acclaimed productions and concerts were streamed in HD in the newly created streaming platform “Atlanta Opera Film Studio,” allowing The Atlanta Opera to reach a global audience. National media coverage of the “pandemic season” included features in the Wall Street Journal and PBS NewsHour. 

For more information, visit atlantaopera.org.