In the silver age of television, Lorne Greene was everywhere. His silver hair and commanding voice gave him a gravitas that served him well as the fatherly Adama on the original Battlestar Galactica, as a pitchman in dozens of Alpo commercials and, of course, as the wise Ben Cartwright in long-running Western Bonanza. Tonight the Webster Film Series presents Bonanza: Opera Episodes, a double feature of Bonanza episodes that unite two of St. Louis' great passions -- Lorne Greene and opera. In "The Spotlight," Ben Cartwright is made entertainment-committee chairman of the Virginia City anniversary celebration and coaxes a long-retired opera diva to make a comeback. "Enter Thomas Bowers" features a made-for-TV account of the life of the pioneering African American concert artist and his (fictional) encounter with the Cartwright family. Admission is free, and the show begins at 7:30 p.m. in Webster University's Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood Avenue; 314-968-7487 or www.webster.edu/filmseries).
Mon., May 26, 7:30 p.m., 2014
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