Just as the summer fades away and the temperature begins its steady drop toward autumn-like degrees, Red Hook's waterfront is heating up with the deceit and drama of an impassioned tale of love and betrayal.

From September 7 to 16, the Red Hook waterfront will transform its resident Mary A. Whalen, a 172-foot-long coastal tanker built in 1938, into the backdrop for Giacomo Puccini's “Il Tabarro,” as performed by the Vertical Player Repertory.

“The opera is about people who live on work on the waterfront. Because our theater is near the Gowanus Canal, that is where we originally imagined the opera set, transposed from a turn-of-the-century French setting to a mid-20th century setting on the tough Brooklyn waterfront,” said Judith Barnes, one of the founders of the Repertory.

Such an update in scenery was not done alone, however.

The Vertical Player Repertory teamed up with Portside New York, a non-profit waterfront-based group, and American Stevedoring Inc., the operator of the Red Hook container port, to secure the site of their production.

“American Stevedoring is an extraordinary organization,” said Carolina Salguero, the director of Portside New York. “They have been so generous in offering the site as performance space. And having the space has definitely made this production what it is.”

Portside, which acquired ownership of the historic tanker just last year, offered the retired tanker so as to update the opera while still maintaining much of its historical accuracy. In addition, actual stevedores will share the Whalen stage with the opera singers.

“I think this is going to be a really special event. For one, this is a very good opera company. Then, it's just a convergence of things. The tanker, the breathtaking view of Manhattan, the opera itself — all of it combined makes for a very special evening. And it's something that's never really happened before, which makes it all the more unique,” Salguero said.

Portside New York, which is headquartered aboard the Whalen, is an active group on the waterfront that works to foster a relationship between land dwellers and the marine industry.

With its newly acquired possession, the Whalen, it plans to bring a variety of programs to the public intended to educate and interest people in the waterfront.

“Most people have never been on a tanker or been at a port before,” Salguero said. “And, when you throw an opera into the mix, it's even more of a memorable experience.”

With Governor's Island and lower Manhattan as a backdrop, audience members can't help but have an enjoyable time while watching this captivating story unfold.

“The setting is extraordinary and it is a location that is not always accessible to the public,” Barnes said. “And the concept is a very natural, organic one; the act of setting this waterfront opera on the actual waterfront lends a dimension of immediacy and reality to this very subtle and detailed opera.”

The opera itself, which was first performed in 1918 in New York City's Metropolitan Opera, recounts the tale of tumultuous marriage of a working class ship captain and his unhappy wife. As the couple roughs the rocky waters of unhappiness and betrayal, deception and anger lead to murder and regret, leaving all characters in a state of emotional distress.

The Vertical Player Repertory has also recruited the assistance of the Red Hook Initiative, a community based organization that works to improve the lives of its youth.