On March 26, 2021, Raylynmor Opera will release a new adaptation of Mozart’s comic opera “Bastien and Bastienne.”

The film will feature a new English libretto, with the adaptation being done by RO Artistic Director Ben Robinson, and is set in the social media-obsessed present. Running at just 40 minutes, the film will be available on Raylynmor’s website, Vimeo, and YouTube pages at no cost.

The cast features bass-baritone Ashraf Sewailam as Colas, tenor Edward Graves as Bastien, and soprano Amanda Nelson as Bastienne; they were led by conductor and pianist Joe Turbessi. The work was filmed and recorded remotely, with the cast and crew working from the safety of their homes.

“The goal is to acknowledge the limits of the pandemic and incorporate them into the living artistic fabric of the opera,” says Robinson, adding that “the adaptation plays with the fixation on social media, but tells the original story that Mozart set.”