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UH Moores Opera Center to perform modernized 'La Vie Parisienne'

Imagine a stylish Paris club pulsating with lights, effects and the French nightlife scene and you probably won't be too far off from the final scene of Jacques Offenbach's 1866 opera "La Vie Parisienne," as performed by the UH Moores Opera Center. The opera wraps up its scheduled run Oct. 25 at 7:30 p.m. and will be sung in English with English surtitles, serving as a kick-off for the Moores Opera Center's fall season.

When Jacques Offenbach's "La Vie Parisienne" premiered in 1866, Paris was known for its merry social scene and romantic ambience. Not much has changed since then. The operetta follows the exploits of tourists caught up in an elaborate hoax in the "city of love." Regardless of any trickery, passions flow — as does wine — and everyone experiences a slice of Parisian life.

"This opera works very well in a contemporary setting," said Buck Ross, director of the Moores Opera Center. "The opera was originally focused on tourists coming to Paris for the Exposition Universelle in the 1860s. Paris was a big tourist town then as it is now. The opera focuses on the trouble that these tourists get into once they're there. It's also about the most chic and fashionable people in town and how they're dealing with their own lives."

The fast-paced Paris vibe will be enhanced by a billboard that rotates constantly with vibrant scene backgrounds.

Light in tone with energetic numbers, "La Vie Parisienne" remains one of Offenbach's most popular operettas. It  made its debut in 1866 at Paris' Palais Royal. In 1876, New York's Booth Theatre hosted the American premiere.

This will be the first time the Moores Opera Center has performed "La Vie Parisienne."

Tickets are $15 and $10 for students and seniors. For additional details on tickets, call the Moores box office at 713-743-3313 or visit www.music.uh.edu/opera/boxoffice.asp

For more information about the Moores Opera Center fall season, visit http://www.music.uh.edu/opera/currentseason.asp

See the official UH press release about the performance, written by Mike Emery.