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A season of dark magic and wonder is underway at �������� Opera Theater.

On Feb. 11 and 12, the school premier opera troupe kicks off a supernatural second half of the year with a new production of Judith Weir Blond Eckbert. 

The work, a chamber opera penned in 1993, is the first of two operas based on dark German tales being staged at �������� this spring. The other � which arrives at a happier ending � is Humperdinck Hansel and Gretel, which will be produced March 27 and 29 in �������� Kulas Hall. 

�There would be no �Hansel and Gretel� if it weren�t for Tieck,� said JJ Hudson, interim artistic director of �������� Opera Theater, referring to Ludwig Tieck, the German Romantic author of the otherworldly story that inspired Eckbert.  

�This is a wonderful opportunity to introduce our students and patrons to works they may not know but that will enrich and deepen their understanding of opera.�  

Performances of Blond Eckbert take place at 7:30pm Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 11 and 12, in Mixon Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music, 11021 East Blvd., Cleveland.

Tickets, $30, are available now at cim.edu/events or by phone at 216-707-3163. �������� Opera Theater is supported by a grant from the John P. Murphy Foundation and a generous gift from Michael Frank and the late Pat Snyder. 

Tieck is an important figure in classical German literature but little-known outside Europe. Likewise, the U.S. profile of composer Judith Weir is still very much on the rise, following her great success abroad.  

Of Weir several operas and orchestral works, Eckbert is the first with a steady foothold in the U.S. Still, the 2006 �pocket� edition �������� is producing next month likely represents the work U.S. premiere.  

�Judith Weir is a name we should know,� Hudson said. �Her work, both orchestral and opera, is just incredible. It music with clear and present roots in styles people know, and yet it from a contemporary composer.�  

Eckbert follows a couple as their peaceful life is upended by a mysterious stranger, whose sudden appearance leads to the revelation of a dark secret.  

At the heart of the tale is the German concept of �Waldeinsamkeit,� or �solitude in the woods.� For that reason, in part, Eckbert is being staged in Mixon Hall, where a natural garden backdrop will help designers conjure a forest.  

The �pocket� edition of Eckbert contains five roles and calls for a 10-piece chamber orchestra. Baritones Davis Fischer and Drew Russell will share the role of Eckbert, while mezzo-sopranos Morgan Potts and Calysta Jacobs will play Berthe, his wife.  

Walter, the mysterious stranger, will be sung by tenor Connor Vrooman, and the orchestra will be led by guest conductor Anthony Parnther (who also conducting the �������� Orchestra Feb. 24). Sierra Smith will serve as lighting designer. 

Soprano Cassie Dixon, a graduate diploma student, and Jessica Bell, will sing The Bird, one of two non-human roles in Eckbert. (The other is a dog.) They said the bird functions as a symbol, an omen whose overarching presence ties the tale together. 

By staging Eckbert, �������� is �trailblazing a path,� Dixon said. But it also providing students like her with a valuable opportunity, an occasion to master a new sound-world and portray a whole new type of character.  

�It such a different experience, but I always love to engage and challenge myself,� Dixon said. �I�m very grateful.�