Czech composer Leoš Janá
č
ek predated Hollywood by several decades when he composed an opera in 1921 based on a serialized novella that appeared as a daily comic strip in a local newspaper. The Adventures of the Vixen Sharp-Ears by Rudolf T
ě
snohlídek and Stanislav Lolek follows the story of a female fox who is captured by a forester, but manages to escape, find a mate and raise a family.
Janá
č
ek was also way ahead of The Lion King when he began The Cunning Little Vixen, creating a libretto that has the circle of life as its underlying theme. The brilliant score depicts the animal world and humanity with warm lyricism, gentle humor and an unflinching acceptance of nature’s cycle.
Vince DeGeorge was a musical theater major at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music 25 years ago, starring in The Pirates of Penzance at the same time The Cunning Little Vixen played in the Corbett Auditorium. Since 2013, DeGeorge has been on the CCM faculty teaching movement to non-dancing actors and singers at the school. This weekend, he’s coming full circle, directing a staging of Janá
č
ek’s animal opera at the same auditorium where it played when he was a student more than two decades ago. Read more about the opera here.CCM presents The Cunning Little Vixen Friday-Sunday at Corbett Auditorium in CCM Village. Tickets/more info: ccm.uc.edu.
