"That it should come to this," Wes Mason plays Hamlet

Wes Mason as Hamlet

Barihunk Wes Mason is back at the Fort Worth Opera festival where he had his breakthrough performance as the gay Cuban activist Reinaldo Arenas in the 2010 world premiere production of Jorge Martín's Before Night Falls.

This time he's taking on the iconic role of Hamlet in Ambroise Thomas' opera in director Thaddeus Strassberger’s staging, which places the action in a pre-WWII Eastern European dictatorship. The production, which is a regional premiere, was originally conceived for the Washington National Opera and Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

He's joined in the opera by Talise Trevigne as Ophelia, Robynne Redmon as Gertrude, Kim Josephson as Claudius, Kevin Newell as Laertes, Stephen Clark as the Ghost, Dane Suarez as Marcellus, Nate Mattingly as Horatio, Wesley Gentle as Polonius and Matt Moeller and Brian Wallin as the gravediggers. 

There is one more performance on Sunday, May 10th at Bass Performance Hall and tickets are available online. On Friday, May 8th, Wes Mason will also sing excerpts from composer Clint Borzoni and librettist John De Los Santos'When Adonis Calls, which is part of the Festival's Frontiers series, a presentation of new operas that are under development.