Morris directs the readings that are based on Stoppard's Tony-winning 1967 play. Scenes will be presented Nov. 20 and 21 at 4 PM at the Mark Morris Dance Center.
The cast features Keith Phares, Matthew Burns, Matt Morgan and Lucy Shaufer. Steven Osgood serves as musical director with Kelly Horsted on piano. America Opera Projects and Morris Dance Group present the readings.
Herschel Garfein (Elmer Gantry) composed the opera, which according to press notes, "retells the story of Hamlet from the point-of-view of two minor characters in the Shakespeare play. Allowed only a highly restricted view of the tumultuous events of Hamlet unfolding around them, and deceived by nearly everyone, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern play games to pass the time and tirelessly devise strategies to make sense of their place in the grander scheme."
A previous reading was presented in January 2008 at the Mark Morris Dance Center. Garfein and Morris previously collaborated on the dance triptych Mythologies.
Tickets, priced $20, go on sale Oct. 1. Visit OperaProjects. The Mark Morris Dance Group is located at 3 Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn.