Regieoper to be the most radically shocking to date. The inspiration for Mozart's opera was the overwhelming fascination of Europeans by all things Turkish. Orientalist elements abound in this story of a hero trying to rescue two girls from the clutches of an evil Pasha who has installed them in his harem, Seraglio. Instead of a genteel harem, Bieto has set this Abduction in a modern, garish bordello where men and women engage in extreme acts of sex and brutality. The sets consist mainly of whorehouse accoutrements, the lighting is colored and garish, and the costumes for the most part are
Davis Cunningham Prince Anatole in "War and Peace", Pelléas in "Pelléas et Mélisande", and Belmonte in "The Abduction from the Seraglio". In 1960 he portrayed Mario Cavaradossi in "Tosca" for an ABC television production. On Dec 27, 1954 he portrayed Michele in the world premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti's "The Saint of Bleecker Street" on Broadway. In 1954, Cunningham joined the roster of principal tenors at the New York City Opera, where he first appeared in the title role of "The Tales of Hoffmann" in 1954. His other roles with the company included Rodolfo in "La bohème" (1954), Prince Ramiro in "La