October 31, 2003
VITERBO WELCOMES THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES CHILDREN’S OPERA NOV. 16
LA CROSSE, Wis.—The Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration on Tour will present the classic children’s opera, The Emperor’s New Clothes, Sunday, Nov. 16, at Viterbo University’s Main Theatre.
Narrated by a gypsy who aids in trickery, The Emperor’s New Clothes is set in a kingdom ruled by an emperor known for his vanity and high fashion tastes. This opera is a comic examination of what paths are taken when the need for perfection surpasses the happiness of an emperor’s daughter.
Longing to wed a tailor’s apprentice and fearing an arranged marriage, Reyalto, the emperor’s daughter, tries to win her father’s affection for the apprentice by having his master design a gorgeous robe for the emperor to wear. While taking the robe to him, he trips and gets it muddy, causing the emperor to throw him in jail for the insult. Reyalto and the gypsy decide to trick the emperor into hiring them as tailors and promise to make him a costume that will show to him which subjects in his kingdom are truly loyal. Join in this mischievous tale that will show us who will be brave enough to admit, "the emperor has no clothes!"
The Emperor’s New Clothes is part of the Ronald McDonald Arts for Young America Series and is sponsored by Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Wisconsin, Inc. It is also supported, in part, by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin.
Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for children under twelve. Show time is at 3 p.m. For more information, contact the Viterbo University Box Office at 796-3100.