Diane Paulus to Direct Il Mondo Della Luna Opera at Hayden Planetarium

Tony Award nominee Diane Paulus, director of the Tony-winning Best Revival Hair, will helm Joseph Haydn’s opera Il mondo della luna, to be staged at the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium. The production, presented by the Gotham Chamber Opera in partnership with the museum and association with American Repertory Theater, will run from January 19 through January 28, 2010.

Il mondo della luna (The World on the Moon) will feature Hanan Alattar, Albina Shagimuratova, Rachel Calloway, Nicholas Coppolo, Matthew Tuell, Timothy Kuhn and Marco Nistico. The 1777 opera is the story of a nobleman who refuses to let his daughters marry their true loves. With the help of a fake astronomer and a sleeping potion, the nobleman’s daughters trick their father into believing he’s been sent to the moon, a place where he discovers people do things a bit differently—and where women are allowed to choose their own husbands.

The Hayden Planetarium will be transformed into an intimate opera house for the event, utilizing the auditorium’s 180-degree dome to present projections of NASA images during the performance.

In addition to her theatrical work on and off Broadway, Paulus, recently appointed artistic director for the American Repertory Theater, has an accomplished opera background, having directed Don Giovanni, Le Nozze Di Figaro, Turn of the Screw, Lost Highway and all three Monteverdi operas, Il Ritorno D’Ulisse in Patria, L’incoronazione di Poppea and Orfeo.

Il mondo della luna will feature a 27-piece orchestra, as well as video production design by Philip Bussmann and costumes by Anka Lupes.