The DePaul Opera Theater (DOT) will stage the American premiere of composer Philip Glass' science fiction opera "The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five," with libretto by British novelist Doris Lessing, at DePaul University's Merle Reskin Theater in Chicago June 7, 9 and 10, 2001.

     Glass, 63, is expected to attend the opening night performance of the opera, which begins at 7:30 p.m. June 7, 2001, at the theater, 60 E. Balbo Drive. Lessing, 80, also has been invited and may attend.

     Presented for the first time in its original English-language version, with new music written for the American premiere, the production will star eight highly talented voice students from DePaul's School of Music and feature a professional orchestra, conducted by Robert Kaminskas, and a chorus of 40. The production's sets will be created by Lyric Opera artist Scott Marr, with lights by Joseph Jefferson award-winning designer Chris Solger-Binder.

     The plot of the opera focuses on a planet where peace-loving queen Al Ith of harmonious Zone Three has been ordered by godlike figures called the Providers to marry the warrior king Ben Ata of hostile Zone Four. The mismatched pair find love but must face separation caused by the dictates of the Providers, who later require Ben Ata to marry Vashti, the queen of savage Zone Five.

      "This opera uses a powerful and riveting love story to explain how a race of people, from another world, have lost their way," said DOT director Harry Silverstein, who has worked for two years to bring the opera to DePaul and Chicago.

      "The life of this planet has come to disorder as each zone separates itself from the others, isolating the people from important parts of their own personalities," he said. "The vision and love of the Providers intervenes to bring the disparate aspects of this race back together. Through the lives of a few people who are profoundly changed, the planet finds hope."

       Silverstein has been looking for the opportunity to produce the opera ever since he directed the 1988 European premiere of "The Making of the Representative for the Planet Eight," the first opera collaboration between Lessing and Glass. "The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five" is a sequel to "The Representative" and both operas are based on novels that are part of Lessing's science fiction series, "Canopus in Argos: Archives." A German translation of the "The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five" opera was first performed in Heidelberg, Germany in 1997.

       Best known for his work directing contemporary operas, Silverstein also has worked with Glass on productions of "Satyagraha," "Akhnaten," and "The Fall of the House of Usher."

     Led by Silverstein for 12 years, The DePaul Opera Theatre is a highly successful training organization for talented DePaul music students who seek careers on the stages of the world's opera houses and theaters. Each year DOT presents two full-length and fully orchestrated operas in English.

       Internationally-renowned soprano Catherine Malfitano and mezzo-soprano Suzanne Mentzer are among the distinguished faculty who teach in DePaul's voice program. Among the program's alumni is Lori Ann Fuller, a 1999 graduate of the music school who has been cast in the leading role of Rose Maurrant, the ingenue in "Street Scene," with Malfitano, in the Lyric Opera of Chicago's fall 2001 production of the Kurt Weill opera. DOT graduates also will perform this year at the New York Metropolitan Opera, Zurich Opera, Berlin State Opera and other American and international venues.

       "The professional success of our graduates, new faculty members with world-class opera credentials and now a U.S. premiere of a Philip Glass opera by the DePaul Opera Theatre all show the growing reputation of DePaul's School of Music," said Donald Casey, dean of the school.