GETTING GILDED AT PHELPS MANSION

Lavish parties, salons full of debutantes and heirs, and the highest forms of fashion: these are the images we conjure up when thinking about America’s Gilded Age. A time when business tycoons and the wealthy built extravagant mansions and fought, socially, to be better known and more adept at playing off of the intricacies and intrigue within their high society. A time when the rich displayed their riches by throwing the most outrageous parties possible, a large part of which was the entertainment.

The pinnacle of entertainment in the Age, which last approximately from the Civil War to 1915, was opera. High society cooed and moved to the throes of whatever opera was in vogue, and the singers were the equivalent of today’s movie stars. For the rich, the ultimate show of class was to have these divas perform at their salon. In Binghamton, we are lucky enough to be home to one of the preeminent period performing groups of this style of music: Theatre Street Productions. Coming to the Phelps Manor on December 20th at 3pm, the group will perform standards from the repertoire of the Gilded Age in period character.

Andrea Gregori, the head of the Theatre Street Productions, is catching her share of the culture of New York City, and checking out the exhibit at the National Opera Center, ‘Divas of the Gilded Age,’ which Theatre Street will be performing at in February. We’re talking about life and culture during the time period, when the super wealthy would retreat from the world of business and city life and spend summers in the Berkshires or Newport. Here in Binghamton, there was also a culture of rest and relaxation that can be seen in the riverside manors that dot our town.

“The Phelps Mansion was built for Sherman Phelps in the late 1800s, the height of the Gilded Age. During America’s Industrial Revolution there was a huge gap between the haves and the have-nots, and opera singers were the superstars of their age.” Andrea has a passion for the music and culture of the era. There are three different opera singers taking part in this show, which toured England in August as part of the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, and the repertoire will be largely similar to that performance in ‘Living History.’

What this means, is that the three singers- Andrea herself, tenor Steve Nanni, and mezzo-soprano Kasey Stewart, as well as accompanist Pej Reitz- will be acting as famous figures from the Gilded Age, from around the turn of the century. Andrea will be performing as Geraldine Farrar, who premiered Madame Butterfly at the Metropolitan Opera and had a seven-year love affair with famed conductor Arturo Toscanini. Steve Nanni will portray John McCormack, who found fame recording Irish folk songs. Kasey Stewart acts as Louise Homer, who sang alongside Geraldine Farrar at the Met. Pej Reitz will be embodying Amy Beech, the first female American composer who found fame and success in the world of art music.

If you are unfamiliar (or uncomfortable) with opera music, don’t worry. Half of the program will be made up of standard opera pieces, but half will be filled with the fun, delightful, and accessible music of Gilbert and Sullivan. Don’t be afraid to come out in period dress either; audience members are invited to join the performers in their portrayal of history.

You’re not doing anything on Sunday afternoons. Enjoy an afternoon with Theatre Street Productions, and experience what it was like to be one of the moneybags during the Gilded Age.

The performance will take place on Sunday, December 20th, at 3pm at the Phelps Manor, located at 191 Court St. Tickets are $20 for adults and $18 for seniors and students. Tickets can be reserved by calling (607) 722-4873, and more information can be found at theatrestreetproductions.com.