Boston Lyric Opera celebrates 50th anniversary with production of "William Tell"

Boston Lyric Opera is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a performance of "William Tell," a piece that hasn't been staged in the city for 150 years. 

"The possibilities are endless," performer Brianna J. Robinson told WBZ-TV. "There are so many different things you can see and just in this one show, you'll see so many things. Family, love, despair, oppression." 

The company knows this is one of the most ambitious operas to perform. With more than 50 in the cast, 50 in the crew and 55 in the orchestra, this is a massive production. 

"Anyone we talk to that we say, 'We're doing William Tell,' they're like, 'You are?'" Boston Lyric Opera Artistic Director and performer Nina Yoshida Nelsen said. 

Company members told WBZ-TV that helping the audience relate to a piece of art written nearly two centuries ago isn't as hard as some might expect. 

"Opera permeates our culture in so many ways and it's not maybe as visible as people think, but the overture to 'William Tell' is certainly one of the most famous musical moments from our art form," Bradley Vernatter, CEO and general director, told WBZ-TV.

"It's about community coming together to fight against authoritarianism, against tyranny, and how community can band together to make where we live a better place," Yoshida Nelsen said. 

Vernatter added that you won't find any microphones in this production. 

"Opera is produced in an unamplified performance environment. So our orchestra, our singers, nobody is miked. This is live, real music making," he said. 

"It's a different way of singing. It's physics, and it, you know, takes a lot of training, a lot of stamina, not only in your voice, but in your body as well," Yoshida Nelsen said. 

Though the original production is in French, you don't have to speak the language to understand what's going on. Projected subtitles during the performance will help the audience follow the story. 

And there's no dress code. 

"Wear sweatpants, wear jeans, dress up, bring a date," Yoshida Nelsen said. "You know I think that that's something that's really exciting about us as a company, is that we're here for everybody and we want everybody to experience opera." 

You can see Boston Lyric Opera's production of "William Tell" through Sunday, Oct. 4 at the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston.