Through eight performances from Nov. 8 to Dec. 7, the Metropolitan Opera will present the Philip Glass masterpiece “Akhnaten,” the story of a young Pharaoh and how he left his mark on Egypt then mysteriously disappeared. The opera is directed by Phelim McDermott. One of the most memorable aspects of McDermott’s production is its incorporation of mesmerizing juggling, designed by choreographer and juggling master Sean Gandini, which seems to make Philip Glass’s music appear before your very eyes. One of the 12 jugglers selected by Gandini is Buckfield native Shane Miclon, son of Mike Miclon, Maine variety performer and executive director of Johnson Hall.
On Nov. 2, the show will broadcast across the country and around the world to all theaters that simulcast the Metropolitan Opera performances, including the Leura Hill Eastman Performing Arts Center in Fryeburg, The Strand Theatre in Rockland, the Waterville Opera House, Brunswick 10 and Cinemagic Westbrook.
Miclon, 28, lives in Brooklyn, New York. At the age of 5, he learned to juggle three balls and just a few years later he began performing at his father’s Oddfellow Theater in Buckfield. Miclon then apprenticed with International Jugglers Association Gold medalist Fritz Grobe for six years. He has been a featured solo performer with Cirque Mechanics, Marquise Production’s YOL, ABCirque at The Muse Brooklyn, Greg Kennedy’s Theorem in Philadelphia and Vermont Vaudeville.
He trained from a young age with several of the top coaches in the world and spent two years touring with the award-winning Vermont-based youth circus Circus Smirkus. Along with his brother, Collin, Shane recently completed a seven-month run in The Burlesque Show at the Borgata in Atlantic City, New Jersey. His juggling is a combination of technical proficiency and contemporary movement.
Miclon auditioned in the spring of 2018 along with jugglers from around the country and was selected by Gandini to take part in opera. He is in daily rehearsals in preparation for the run. The opera is three hours long with two intermissions and Miclon is on stage for over two-thirds of the show.
“There is so much precision counting and choreography in the show that I am both physically and mentally exhausted at the end of the rehearsals,” Miclon said. “But I am so thrilled to be part of such an amazing production.”
For tickets, go to https://www.metopera.org/season/2019-20-season/akhnaten.
The Metropolitan Opera will present the Philip Glass masterpiece “Akhnaten.” Submitted photo
The Metropolitan Opera will present the Philip Glass masterpiece “Akhnaten.” Submitted photo
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