William B. Fosser's Puppet Production, "Opera in Focus" is an internationally known, award-winning puppet troupe which performs famous Operas and musicals with some of the world's most sophisticated puppets. Opera in Focus is the brainchild of innovative Master Puppeteer & set-designer Bill Fosser. A puppeteer (and eventual Artistic Director) of the legendary Kungsholm Miniature Opera in Chicago, Fosser began designing the puppets that would eventually be used in his Opera in Focus productions in the late 1930s, although, due to the great cost involved in building each puppet, he didn't actually begin building them until 1956. After constructing an elaborate stage for his startlingly lifelike & uniquely articulated puppets, Fosser presented the first Opera in Focus performances -- by invitation only -- in 1958 in a rented store on the North side of Chicago where they were received with great enthusiasm.
In order to support his dream of opening a permanent theater for his puppet opera , Fosser made a living as a set designer & art director in the motion picture industry, working on such films as Ordinary People, Home Alone, Backdraft, Weird Science, Music Box, Damien: Omen II, The Breakfast Club, A League of their Own, and Groundhog Day. He also worked as a set designer for live theatrical productions, designing scenery for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, as well as the Candlelight, Ivanhoe, and Drury Lane theaters. He spent his free time, however, further developing & perfecting his puppets & the presentation of his highly elaborate operatic productions in miniature. Due to the hectic nature of his career in the film industry, performances of Opera in Focus were infrequent, except in 1962-1963 & 1978-79, when Opera in Focus enjoyed residencies both in Detroit and at the now-defunct Magic Pan restaurant in Chicago.
Finally, in 1993, the Rolling Meadows Chamber of Commerce offered Fosser a permanent home in their new park district building at 3000 Central Road in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, where Opera in Focus has been performed weekly ever since.
In 2005, William B. Fosser received the prestigious "President's Award" from The Puppeteers of America organization. Opera in Focus has received a number of awards, including the prestigious Dorothy Mullen Award from the National Parks and Recreation Association for Fine Arts Programming.
Opera in Focus is supported, in part, by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.
***** NOW PLAYING AT THE PUPPET OPERA *****
***** NOW PLAYING AT THE PUPPET OPERA *****
MAY 27TH THRU JUNE 21ST
AN "OPERATIC POTPOURRI" FEATURING:
CARMEN
BIZET
"The Habenera" and "The Toreadore Song"
GIANNI SCHICCI
PUCCINI
"O mio babbino caro"
THE BARBER OF SEVILLE
ROSSINI
"Largo Al Factotum"
THE LAND OF SMILES (Das Land des Lächelns)
LEHAR
ACT II, "You are my heart's delight" ("Dein ist mein ganzes Herz")
RIGOLETTO
VERDI
ACT II, "Quel Vecchio Maledivami", Duet, & "Caro Nome"
For ticket reservations please call our box office at 1-847-818-3220.
For more information & email inquiries please visit our website at WWW.OPERAINFOCUS.COM
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