Professor Aaron Carpene to Conduct Bhutan's First Ever Opera

Professor Aaron Carpene (right)

John Cabot University music professor Aaron Carpene has just returned from the University of Texas, El Paso, where he enjoyed great success promoting the Opera Bhutan project, of which he is creator, leader and musical director. During his stay, Professor Carpene worked with students to produce a sneak preview performance of a new production of one of Handel’s most famous works.

Opera Bhutan: Handel’s Acis and Galatea takes the composer’s work and incorporates cultural elements of song, ritual dance, instrumentation and the visual arts from the Kingdom of Bhutan. The project will see Professor Carpene conduct the very first historical performance of an opera in the Kingdom of Bhutan in Fall 2013.

Opera is almost unknown within the small, isolated country that has been little affected by Western culture. This production brings together artists from the U.S., Europe, Australia and the Eastern Himalayas to create, for the very first time, an operatic experience reflecting and celebrating Bhutan’s cultural traditions.

The production is a cooperative project between The University of Texas at El Paso and El Paso Opera, the Royal Government of Bhutan, Rome-based opera professionals, and other important international collaborators.