Walton Arts Center
News Release
For More Information Contact:
Natasha Burroughs
479-443-9216 x247
nburroughs@waltonartscenter.org
For Immediate Release
The East Village Opera Company integrates two totally different types of music—rock and opera.
NORTHWEST ARKANSAS, August 7, 2006 - The East Village Opera Company brings the
towering emotion and timeless musicality of opera into the 21st century by rocking the opera and
electrifying the classics to Walton Arts Center Thursday, Nov. 16 at 8pm. Featuring the arias of
composers such as Puccini, Verdi, Mozart, Purcell and others, the concert is a high-energy musical
feast. Ticket prices are $26, $22 and $16, and can be purchased by calling the Walton Arts
Center Box Office at 479-443-5600 or visiting www.waltonartscenter.org.
The powerhouse five-piece band, string quartet, and two outstanding vocalists have performed--at
full length and in the original languages--their Decca/Universal Classics debut with its inventive,
hard-hitting arrangements of the music’s “greatest hits”—including “La donna è mobile” from
Rigoletto, “Habanera” from Carmen, and “Nessun dorma” from Turandot. East Village Opera
Company’s Decca/Universal Classics debut was produced and recorded in April-July, 2005 by
Neil Dorfsman, a three-time Grammy Award winner whose credits include international bestsellers
by Sting, Dire Straits, Paul McCartney, and Bjork.
Embrace what co-founder Peter Kiesewalter calls “the pomposity of rock and the pomposity of
opera” without demeaning or satirizing either form. The East Village Opera Company
successfully mixes classical opera and a full-on rock band into a high adrenaline power rock opera.
The 2006-2007 season is sponsored by Wal-Mart/SAM’S CLUB. The Media Partner for the
East Village Opera Company is CitiScapes Magazine. American Airline/Eagle is the official
airline. Tickets are available through the Walton Arts Center Box Office by calling 479.443.5600
or online at www.waltonartscenter.org.
Walton Arts Center is Arkansas' largest and busiest center for the performing arts and entertainment. Each year more
than 140,000 people from Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma and beyond attend over 350 public events at
Walton Arts Center, including performances, rehearsals, community gatherings, receptions, graduations and more.
Approximately 25,000 students and teachers from 30 school districts participate annually in education programs at
Walton Arts Center, and over 300 volunteers donate more than 15,000 hours of time each year to its operations. In
addition to featuring Broadway shows, dance, music, jazz and serving as the home of the North Arkansas Symphony,
approximately 15 museum-quality exhibitions are mounted yearly in Walton Arts Center's four exhibition spaces,
featuring both emerging artists as well as those of national and international repute. As a non-profit organization,
Walton Arts Center enjoys the generous support of public sector funding, corporate sponsorship and private donors,
allowing audience members to pay on average only 50% of the cost of programs offered. To learn more about Walton
Arts Center, visit www.waltonartscenter.org.
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