"Hamlet"

"Hamlet": A Visionary Cold War Reimagining of Thomas' 1868 Opera

From the moment you enter Bass Hall, you'll be catapulted into a haunting world where issues of morality and madness, vengeance and violence play out against stark imagery of Soviet-era society. Director Thaddeus Strassberger has brilliantly transported Ambroise Thomas' original 1868 opera "Hamlet" from Elsinore to a totalitarian regime reminiscent of Cold War-era Russia. Yet the core of Shakespeare's tragedy -- in which Hamlet, the melancholy prince of Denmark, struggles to avenge his father's murder while his betrothed, Ophelia, fights to maintain her sanity -- remains as psychologically rich and deeply poetic as ever in this mesmerizing Fort Worth Opera production that features jaw-dropping set design and Thomas' emotive score performed live by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. "Hamlet" stars baritone Wes Mason ("Before Night Falls") in the title role, with Kim Joesphson ("Falstaff") portraying the lecherous Claudius and Talise Trevigne taking on the challenging role of Ophelia in her FWOpera debut.