Comic Opera The Charlatan presented by City of Rockville at F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre

A prince, a scheming uncle and a magician fuel the zany plot of John Philip Sousa's rarely performed comic opera The Charlatan, presented here in a semi-staged concert production with live orchestra by the Victorian Lyric Opera Company. Known for his famous marches, Sousa could also write marvelous waltzes and ballads and The Charlatan, with its pastoral setting in a small Russian village, is full of them. As the crafty magician Demidoff works to pair his own daughter with the dashing prince, a series of twists and turns unfolds along with plenty of witty banter, fabulously sung by the Victorian's talented vocalists.