Tag Archives: UC College-Conservatory of Music

September 20, 2018 · 11:22 am

GUYS AND DOLLS Runs Oct. 19-27

CCM_Guys and Dolls promoGUYS AND DOLLS
UC College-Conservatory of Music
Oct. 19-27
Corbett Auditorium [University Heights]

Directed & choreographed by Diane Lala
Music directed by Roger Grodsky

Set in Damon Runyon’s mythical New York City, Guys and Dolls is the perfect musical comedy. Nathan Detroit is a gambler trying to find the cash to set up the biggest craps game in town while the authorities breathe down his neck. Meanwhile, his girlfriend and nightclub performer, Adelaide, laments that they’ve been engaged for 14 years. Nathan turns to fellow gambler Sky Masterson for the dough, and Sky ends up chasing straight-laced missionary Sarah Brown as a result. Guys and Dolls takes us from the heart of Times Square to the cafés of Havana, Cuba and even into the sewers of New York City, but eventually everyone ends up right where they belong.

  • Fri, Oct. 19 at 8pm
  • Sat, Oct. 20 at 7pm (50th Anniversary Gala)
  • Sun, Oct. 21 at 1pm & 7pm
  • Fri, Oct. 26 at 8pm
  • Sat, Oct. 27 at 2pm & 8pm

Official page | Facebook event |

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September 4, 2018 · 10:55 am

THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR Runs Oct. 3-7

CCM_The Government Inspector promoTHE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR
UC College Conservatory of Music
Oct. 3-7
Patricia Corbett Theater [University Heights]

Directed by Richard Hess

When the locals in a small Russian hamlet learn that an undercover government inspector is coming for a surprise visit, a case of mistaken identity sends the whole village spiraling into a world of panic and greed. Part farce, part slapstick and wholly entertaining, this timely and spirited adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s classic play exposes the corruption of a provincial town with biting hilarity.

  • In preview Wed, Oct. 3 at 8pm
  • Thu-Fri, Oct. 3-5 at 8pm
  • Sat, Oct. 6 at 2pm & 8pm
  • Sun, Oct. 7 at 2pm

Official page | Facebook event |

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August 29, 2018 · 9:45 am

CCM Announces 2018-2019 Studio Series of Acting, Dance, Musical Theatre and Opera

CCM_logoCINCINNATI, OH — The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music presents 11 exciting productions as part of its 2018-19 Studio Series of Acting, Dance, Musical Theatre and Opera. This annual series of performing and media arts events features CCM’s acclaimed “stars of tomorrow” in a collection of scaled-down stagings set in the Cohen Family Studio Theater and other intimate performance spaces.

The studio series opens in October with Eurydice, a reimagined take on the classic myth of Orpheus through the eyes of its heroine. October also sees the return of the 48-Hour Film Festival, which showcases eight student-created short films produced over the course of a single weekend. In November, CCM’s Musical Theatre program celebrates its 50th anniversary with Stephen Schwartz’s golden hit from the Off-Broadway season of 1971, Godspell. The fall studio series concludes with two world-premieres produced by the Opera Fusion: New Works Lab in partnership with Cincinnati Opera.

The series continues in February 2019 with two opera productions — Johann Strauss’ classic Die Fledermaus and William Bolcom’s Dinner at Eight. CCM’s popular Dance Student Choreographer’s Showcase and TRANSMIGRATION Festival of Student-Created New Works both return in March. CCM presents the Cincinnati premiere of Yeast Nation in April and the series concludes later that month with Association of Controlled Dreamers, which was commissioned during CCM’s 2017 Summer Playwrights Workshop.

The complete 2018-19 Studio Series lineup is listed below. Titles and dates are subject to change.

TICKETS AND PARKING INFORMATION
All Studio Series performances are free and open to the general public, but reservations are required and seating is limited. Reservations can be made the week of each show by visiting the CCM Box Office in UC’s Corbett Center for the Performing Arts or by calling 513-556-4183.

Unless otherwise noted, all Studio Series productions take place in CCM’s intimate and versatile “black box” performance space, the Cohen Family Studio Theater.

Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates. For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.

CCM’s 2018-19 STUDIO SERIES
Acting, Dance, Musical Theatre, Opera

8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11
8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13
• Studio Acting Series •
EURYDICE
Written by Sarah Ruhl
Susan Felder, director
Eurydice reimagines the classic myth of Orpheus through the eyes of its heroine. Dying too young on her wedding day, Eurydice must journey to the underworld, where she reunites with her father and struggles to remember her lost love. With contemporary characters, ingenious plot twists and breathtaking poetry, the play is a fresh look at a timeless love story. CCM and the Cincinnati opera will also present an operatic version of this play in November.
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 8. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Acting Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman and Margaret Straub

7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28
•Studio Acting Series •
5TH ANNUAL CCM 48-HOUR FILM FESTIVAL
Richard E. Hess, producer
Join us for our annual celebration of original student film work. After random team placement, student writers, actors, directors, editors and composers have 48 hours from 7 p.m. on Friday night to 7 p.m. on Sunday night to create original short films. With more than 100 UC student participants, eight short films will be screened.
Location: MainStreet Cinema, UC’s Tangeman University Center
Admission: FREE

8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8
8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9
2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10
• Studio Musical Theatre Series •
GODSPELL
Book by John Michael Tebelak
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Conceived and Originally Directed by John Michael Tebelak
Katie Johannigman, director and choreographer
Stephen Goers, musical director
Based on the gospel according to St. Matthew, Godspell is a perennial audience favorite, telling the well-known parables with comedy, improvisation and theatre games. Featuring the international hit, “Day by Day,” Godspell sports an eclectic blend of songs, ranging in style from pop to vaudeville. By turns hilarious and moving, Godspell is a solid gold hit from the Off-Broadway season of 1971.
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 5. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17
• Opera Fusion: New Works Lab •
A collaboration between CCM Opera and Cincinnati Opera in partnership with LA Opera and the Metropolitan Opera/Lincoln Center Theater’s New Works Program
Co-Artistic Directors Robin Guarino and Marcus Küchle
EURYDICE
Matthew Aucoin, composer
Sarah Ruhl, librettist
Funded by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, CCM Opera and Cincinnati Opera present a public reading of this new, original work that reimagines the classic myth of Orpheus and Eurydice through the eyes of its heroine. CCM Acting presents the original play of Ruhl’s Eurydice in October.
Location: Wilks Studio, Cincinnati Music Hall, 1241 Elm Street
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at 10 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 5. Please contact the Cincinnati Opera box office for tickets at 513-241-2742 or www.cincinnatiopera.org.

7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6
• Opera Fusion: New Works Lab •
A collaboration between CCM Opera and Cincinnati Opera in partnership with Santa Fe Opera/San Francisco Opera’s “Opera for All Voices” Program
Co-Artistic Directors Robin Guarino and Marcus Küchle
POSTVILLE: HOMETOWN TO THE WORLD
Music by Laura Kaminsky
Postville: Hometown to the World is the latest piece by composer Laura Kaminsky and filmmaker Kimberly Reed, known for their partnership on the critically acclaimed opera As One, concerning the journey of a transgender person, which was featured in Cincinnati Opera’s 2018 Summer Festival. Their new work takes place in Postville, Iowa, which bills itself as the “Hometown to the World,” but which is known for a massive 2008 raid by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency at a Kosher meat-packing plant, in which over a tenth of the town’s population was arrested and deported. This new work was created for the “Opera for All Voices” program, which is led by Santa Fe Opera and San Francisco Opera, and includes the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Minnesota Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Sarasota Opera and Seattle Opera. It is Kaminsky and Reed’s second work to participate in Opera Fusion: New Works, following their opera Some Light Emerges, which had a short residency in September 2016.
Location: Wilks Studio, Cincinnati Music Hall, 1241 Elm Street
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at 10 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 5. Please contact the Cincinnati Opera box office for tickets at 513-241-2742 or www.cincinnatiopera.org.

8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8
8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9
2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10
• CCM Opera d’arte– Undergraduate Opera Series •
DIE FLEDERMAUS
Music and libretto by Johann Strauss
Kenneth Shaw, director
Amy Johnson, co-producer
Brett Scott, music director and conductor
Matthew Worth, assistant stage director
Updated to free and frivolous 1920s Vienna, this most popular operetta returns to CCM with its captivating melodies and a few wry surprises!
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 4. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22
8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23
2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24
• Studio Opera Series •
DINNER AT EIGHT
Music by William Bolcom
Libretto by Mark Campbell
TBA, conductor
Audrey Chait, director Dinner at Eight is a comic opera by composer William Bolcom and librettist Mark Campbell, based on the play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber. It is a Depression-era comedy of manners in which the wife of a once-affluent shipping magnate plans a society dinner for an assortment of wealthy or well-born acquaintances. Eventually, the guests’ tangled and intimate connections to one another are revealed. The original play opened in 1932 on Broadway at the Music Box Theater, and inspired a star-studded film adaptation the following year.
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 18. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Opera Department Sponsor: Mr. & Mrs. Edward S. Rosenthal
Opera Production Sponsor: Genevieve Smith

8 p.m. Thursday, March 7
8 p.m. Friday, March 8
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, March 9
• Studio Dance Series •
DANCE STUDENT CHOREOGRAPHERS SHOWCASE
Judith Mikita, director
Come experience the next generation of emerging choreographers as CCM dance majors take the stage with exciting and diverse new works.
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, March 4. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

7 p.m. Wednesday, March 13
7 p.m. Thursday, March 14
7 p.m. Friday, March 15
• Studio Acting Series •
TRANSMIGRATION 2019
A Festival of Student-Created New Works
Richard E. Hess and Brant Russell, producers
TRANSMIGRATION, so named for “the movement from one place to another” or “the transition from one state of being to another,” is a festival of new works created by the students in CCM Acting. Six teams of actors craft and perform five original 30-minute shows. Performed simultaneously in different locations throughout CCM Village, TRANSMIGRATION will allow the audience to sample four different new works of their choosing in one spectacular evening. “Thanks to the [Acting] program at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music, theatre fans were offer a jolt of onstage vitality,” observed CityBeat’s Rick Pender.
Location: CCM Village
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, March 11. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

8 p.m. Thursday, April 4
8 p.m. Friday, April 5
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 6
• Studio Musical Theatre Series •
YEAST NATION
Book and lyrics by Greg Kotis
Music and lyrics by Mark Hollmann
Vince DeGeorge, director and choreographer
Henry Lewers, musical director
In the year 3,000,458,000 B.C., the salt-eating yeasts are the only living creatures on earth, and they’re up against a food shortage, a strange new emotion called “love” and the oppression of a tyrannical king. When the king’s dreamer of a son ventures out of the known yeastiverse, the yeasts’ story – and ours – is changed forever. An area premiere from the creators of Urinetown and The Sting.
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, April 1. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

8 p.m. Thursday, April 25
8 p.m. Friday, April 26
2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 27
• Studio Acting Series •
ASSOCIATION OF CONTROLLED DREAMERS
Written by MJ Kaufman
Brant Russell, director
A young, charismatic senator pursues policies that could have long-lasting repercussions for public education. A group of college students tries every technique available to them to change his mind, from occupying his lawn to collective lucid dreaming. What is the nature of activism? How do we hold legislators accountable? And what is the young senator’s mysterious twin up to?
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, April 22. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Acting Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman and Margaret Straub

A preeminent institution for the performing and media arts, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is the largest single source of performing arts presentations in the state of Ohio. All event dates and programs are subject to change. For a complete calendar of events, please visit us online at http://ccm.uc.edu.

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August 27, 2018 · 12:59 pm

Broadway Alumni Present Cabaret to Mark CCM Musical Theatre’s 50th Anniversary

CCM_50th Anniversary Cabaret promo

Join CCM Musical Theatre alumni from the past five decades and current students in a cabaret of songs from Broadway, Off-Broadway and the Great American Songbook
on Sept. 16, 2018.

CINCINNATI, OH — The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music celebrates the 50th anniversary of its legendary Musical Theatre program with a Birthday Cabaret at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018 in Patricia Corbett Theater. Featuring the program’s first graduate Pamela Myers, our newest stars of tomorrow and star performers from Broadway and beyond, the Birthday Cabaret promises to be a tuneful and invigorating tribute to 50 years of CCM Musical Theatre excellence.

Devised and directed by CCM Musical Theatre Chair Aubrey Berg and musical theatre alumnus Scott Coulter (BFA, 1993), with musical direction by Julie Spangler, the Birthday Cabaret offers Cincinnati audiences an unforgettable performance that showcases nearly a dozen alumni who represent five decades of CCM Musical Theatre. The program includes songs from Broadway, Off-Broadway and the Great American Songbook.

Alumni guest artists include Tony Award winners and nominees, stars who have appeared on Broadway and in regional theatres, and artists who have performed with renowned orchestras in concert halls throughout the country — all of whom studied at CCM before launching careers on the world’s stage. A full list of alumni guest artists can be found below.

CCM’s newest stars of tomorrow, the Musical Theatre class of 2019, will also perform a new song, which was written by composer and lyricist Andre Catrini (BFA Musical Theatre, 2011) to mark the program’s golden anniversary.

CCM conferred the United States’ first BFA in Musical Theatre to Pamela Myers in 1969. The first program of its kind in the country, CCM Musical Theatre was used by the National Association of Schools of Theatre in formulating the guidelines for the accreditation of Musical Theatre programs nationwide. Fifty years later, graduates continue to work on Broadway and throughout the nation in such productions as Anastasia, Hamilton, Waitress, The Book of Mormon, Pippin, Wicked, Jersey Boys, Les Miserables, Kinky Boots, Big Fish, Newsies and The Lion King.

During the 2017-18 season, CCM again took the No. 2 spot in Playbill Magazine’s list of “10 Most Represented Colleges on Broadway,” coming behind only New York University. CCM Musical Theatre is widely recognized for its “triple-threat” approach to training.  Graduates represent CCM in national and international touring productions, in dinner theatres and theme parks, on cruise ships, on television, in talent agencies, and as producers and creative artists in every facet of the entertainment industry.

Tickets for CCM Musical Theatre’s Birthday Cabaret are on sale now! Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online through our e-Box Office. Complete event information is below.

BIRTHDAY CABARET GUEST ARTISTS

Pamela Myers (BFA, 1969) made her Broadway debut as Marta in the original cast of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Company, introducing the show-stopping number “Another Hundred People.” She was nominated at the 1971 Tony awards for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. Myers has appeared with Marvin Hamlisch and Jerry Herman on In Performance At The White House on PBS and guest starred on numerous TV shows. Myers has also guest starred with the Boston Pops, the Cincinnati Pops, and the Carnegie Hall Tribute to Judy Garland.

Faith Prince (BFA, 1979) established herself as a Broadway star with her portrayal of Miss Adelaide in the much-acclaimed 1992 revival of Guys and Dolls, for which she won both the Tony and Drama Desk Awards as Best Actress in a Musical. In 2001, she was again nominated for Tony and Drama Desk Awards for her portrayal of Ella Peterson in the 2001 revival of Bells Are Ringing. She was also featured in the 2008 Broadway musical A Catered Affair, for which she received Tony and Drama Desk nominations.

Jan Horvath (BFA, 1980) was in the original Broadway company of Hal Prince’s The Phantom of the Opera. Broadway credits include The Threepenny Opera, Sweet Charity, Oliver! andStardust. Internationally, she starred as Queen Isabella in the world premiere of Encounter 500 at La Sistina in Italy, and was featured in Bernstein’s Mass at the Vatican as part of the Jubilee Celebration. She made her Carnegie Hall debut singing in Bernstein’s Mass in 2002 and also appeared there with the New York Pops in “The Three Broadway Divas” concert.

Jessica Hendy (BFA, 1993) made her Broadway debut in the original cast of Cats in 1999. She has also performed in Aida and Amour on Broadway and in the national tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Regional credits include Next to Normal, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, Miss Saigon and The Gift of the Magi, among others. Hendy has also appeared as a guest soloist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, Modesto Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony and Kentucky Symphony Orchestra.

Scott Coulter (BFA, 1993), one of New York’s most honored vocalists, has received five Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC) Awards, five Bistro Awards and two Nightlight Awards for Outstanding Vocalist. He spent a record-setting eight months Feinstein’s at The Regency performing the revue 11 O’clock Numbers at 11 O’clock, which he also co-created, directed and musically arranged. Scott was director and star of A Christmas Carol: The Symphonic Concert in its world premiere with the Baltimore Symphony and reprised his performance in the Emmy-nominated PBS production.

Lisa Howard (BFA, 1997) has starred on Broadway in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, 9 to 5, the Tony Award-winning revival of South Pacific and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, for which she won a Drama Desk Award. She has performed in Spot-On Entertainment Co.’s “Broadway Today,” the Kaufman Center’s Broadway Close-up Series “Stephen Schwartz: Magic to Do” and William Finn’s “More Infinite Joy” and “Even More Infinite Joy” at Merkin Hall. She has sung with the Cincinnati Symphony and with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops.

Kristy Cates (BFA, 1999) made her Broadway debut in the original cast of Wicked, which won three Tony Awards, six Drama Desk Awards and the original cast album received a Grammy Award. Cates is perhaps best known for her role as Elphaba in Chicago’s production of Wicked. She also appeared in Princess Ida and in the Off-Broadway production of Boobs! The Musical. In 2016 she portrayed Ms. Basset in Broadway’s Finding Neverland. She most recently played the role of Grandma Josephine in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Liz Pearce (BFA, 2000) is an actor, singer and dancer who currently lives in New York City. She has performed on Broadway, at Radio City Music Hall, in London’s West End, in National and International tours and at countless regional theatres across the country. Her Broadway credits include roles in the original casts of Billy Elliot and Metropolis. She has also appeared in national tours of Little Shop of Horrors, Seussical, Chicago, Scooby Doo in Stage Fright and Jesus Christ Superstar.

Ashley Brown (BFA, 2004) originated the title role in Broadway’s Mary Poppins for which she received Outer Critics, Drama League and Drama Desk nominations for Best Actress. Brown starred as Mary Poppins in the musical’s national tour, where she received a 2010 Garland award for “Best Performance in a Musical.” Other Broadway credits include Belle in The Beauty and The Beast. She previously played Magnolia in Francesca Zembello’s Showboat at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and recently returned to star in the role of Laurey in Oklahoma.

Katie Johannigman (BFA, 2012) began her career when she was only in the eighth grade by joining the national tour of Oliver!. Her other professional credits include Thoroughly Modern Millie, Pirates!, The Light in the Piazza, Anything Goes, Mary Poppins, Company, Cats andChicago. Her work as a choreographer has appeared at the Connecticut Repertory Theatre, The Human Race Theatre and the Broadway Method Academy, where she served as Artistic Director. She is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Musical theatre at CCM.

Raven Thomas (BFA, 2016) started her professional career in the performing arts shortly after graduating from CCM by joining the national tour of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, which won 11 Tony Awards in 2016. Cincinnati audiences may recognize her from CCM’s 2015 Mainstage production of Carousel, where she played the role of Mrs. Mullin. Thomas also played the role of Pilar in CCM’s 2014 Mainstage production of Legally Blonde.

PERFORMANCE TIME
6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018

Please note: Please note that the start time for CCM Musical Theatre’s 50th Anniversary Birthday Cabaret has changed due to a scheduling conflict with an FC Cincinnati game occurring in UC’s Nippert Stadium.

LOCATION
Patricia Corbett Theater, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

PURCHASING TICKETS
Tickets for CCM Musical Theatre’s Birthday Cabaret are $20 general, $15 non-UC students, and FREE for UC students with a valid ID. Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online through our e-Box Office! Visit ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice for CCM Box Office hours and location.

PARKING AND DIRECTIONS
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates. For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available offcampus at the U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots. For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.

Musical Theatre Birthday Cabaret Sponsors: J. Brett Offenberger & Douglas E. Duckett and Cincinnati Dreams Come True Inc.

A preeminent institution for the performing and media arts, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is the largest single source of performing arts presentations in the state of Ohio. All event dates and programs are subject to change. For a complete calendar of events, please visit us online at http://ccm.uc.edu.

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August 17, 2018 · 11:10 am

Cincinnati Opera and CCM’s OPERA FUSION: NEW WORKS Announces Fall 2018 Residencies

co_logoCCM_logo

EURYDICE
Music by Matthew Aucoin
Libretto by Sarah Ruhl
November 8-17, 2018
Free public performance of excerpts on Saturday, November 17

 POSTVILLE: HOMETOWN TO THE WORLD
Music by Laura Kaminsky
Libretto by Kimberly Reed
December 2-6, 2018

Free public performance of excerpts on Thursday, December 6 

Funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the workshops will use the combined resources of Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music 

CINCINNATI, OH—Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) are pleased to announce that their groundbreaking joint program, Opera Fusion: New Works, will host two new operas in November and December of 2018.

In collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera/Lincoln Center Theater’s New Works Program and LA Opera, the new opera Eurydice, by composer Matthew Aucoin and playwright Sarah Ruhl, will receive a 10-day workshop in Cincinnati from November 8 to 17, 2018. The residency will culminate in a public performance in Cincinnati on November 17 in Music Hall’s Wilks Studio, followed by a public presentation in New York City at the Century Association on November 19.

From December 2-6, 2018, composer Laura Kaminsky and filmmaker Kimberly Reed will bring their latest work, Postville: Hometown to the World, to the program. Taking place in Postville, Iowa, this piece investigates the intersection of immigration, race, religion, ethnicity, and culture in America’s heartland. Selections from this opera will be performed publicly at the conclusion of the workshop on December 6, 2018, also in the Wilks Studio at Music Hall.

Postville: Hometown to the World is part of “Opera For All Voices,” an initiative which was established with the goal of creating works that attract audiences of all ages who may not have had prior exposure to opera. The initiative is led by Santa Fe Opera and San Francisco Opera, but the full consortium currently includes seven companies—Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Minnesota Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Sarasota Opera, and Seattle Opera. The consortium is working together to create new works, flexible in both scope and scale, which can be performed in a variety of venues off the main stage. The operas focus on storytelling in imaginative and compelling new ways, designed with modern attention spans in mind and the objective to break down pre-conceived notions about opera.

Tickets: Admission to each Cincinnati presentation is free, but reservations are required. Tickets will become available from the Cincinnati Opera box office on Monday, November 5 at 10 a.m. Call (513) 241-2742 to reserve.

EURYDICE
Music by Matthew Aucoin
Libretto by Sarah Ruhl
Workshop: November 8-17, 2018

Public performance: Saturday, November 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Music Hall’s Wilks Studio, 1241 Elm Street, Cincinnati

Eurydice, by composer Matthew Aucoin and playwright Sarah Ruhl, retells the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus from the perspective of his wife Eurydice, who is trapped in the underworld and awaits her rescue. The libretto is based on Ruhl’s play by the same name and uses contemporary English to portray the quirky and confused young lovers. The opera was co-commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera/Lincoln Center Theater’s New Works Program and LA Opera. At the completion of the workshop, excerpts from Eurydice will be publicly performed in Cincinnati on November 17 in Music Hall’s Wilks Studio at 7:30 p.m. A public performance in New York City at the Century Association will follow on November 19.

The Met/LCT New Works Program develops new opera and music theater works, providing support during the creative process leading to a workshop production produced by The Met/LCT. The Met/LCTNew Works program is funded by a generous gift to the Met from the Francis Goelet Charitable Trusts, and Lincoln Center Theater’s participation in the Met/LCT New Works Program is made possible by a major grant from the Ford Foundation.

POSTVILLE: HOMETOWN TO THE WORLD
Music by Laura Kaminsky
Libretto by Kimberly Reed
Workshop: December 2-6, 2018

Public performance: Thursday, December 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Music Hall’s Wilks Studio, 1241 Elm Street, Cincinnati

Postville: Hometown to the World is the latest piece by composer Laura Kaminsky and filmmaker Kimberly Reed, known for their partnership on the critically acclaimed opera As One, concerning the journey of a transgender person, which was featured in Cincinnati Opera’s 2018 Summer Festival. Their new work takes place in Postville, Iowa, which bills itself as the “Hometown to the World,” but which is known for a massive 2008 raid by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency at a Kosher meat-packing plant, in which over a tenth of the town’s population was arrested and deported. This new work was created for the “Opera for All Voices” program, which is led by Santa Fe Opera and San Francisco Opera, and includes the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Minnesota Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Sarasota Opera, and Seattle Opera. It is Kaminsky and Reed’s second work to participate in Opera Fusion: New Works, following their opera Some Light Emerges, which had a residency in September 2016.

About Opera Fusion: New Works
Opera Fusion: New Works (OF:NW) is a partnership between Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) dedicated to fostering the development of new American operas. This collaboration is jointly led by Marcus Küchle, Director of Artistic Operations & New Works Development at Cincinnati Opera, and Robin Guarino, the J. Ralph Corbett Distinguished Chair in Opera at CCM. OF:NW offers composers or composer/librettist teams the opportunity to workshop an opera during a residency in Cincinnati. Residencies utilize the facilities, personnel, and talent of both Cincinnati Opera and CCM. The workshops are cast with a combination of CCM students and professional artists, and each workshop concludes with a free public presentation of excerpts followed by an audience Q&A session, all of which is streamed online. Since its founding in 2011, OF:NW has developed ten new American operas, including Gregory Spears and Greg Pierce’s Fellow Travelers, Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally’s Great Scott, Ricky Ian Gordon and Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel, and Rufus Wainwright and Daniel MacIvor’s Hadrian. For more information, visit ofnw.org. 

Founded in 1920, Cincinnati Opera presents a thrilling season of opera every June and July in multiple venues, including the recently renovated historic Music Hall. The company’s repertoire includes beloved classics and contemporary works brought to life by some of the world’s most dynamic performers and creative teams. 

Cincinnati Opera’s 2019 Summer Festival will run June 13 through July 28, featuring Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’sThe Marriage of Figaro, Charles Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet, Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, The Gershwins’Porgy and Bess, and the world premiere of Blind Injustice, a world premiere opera inspired by stories of Ohio Innocence Project exonerees, by Scott Davenport Richards and David Cote. The 2019 season is possible with support from ArtsWave, Ohio Arts Council, The Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund, and many generous individuals, corporations, and foundations. 

Cincinnati Opera’s mission is to enrich and connect our community through diverse opera experiences. 

cincinnatiopera.org

Declared “one of the nation’s leading conservatories” by The New York Times, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is a preeminent institution for the performing and media arts. The school’s educational roots date back to 1867, and a solid, visionary instruction has been at its core since that time. 

CCM offers nine degree types (BA, BM, BFA, MFA, MM, MA, AD, DMA, PhD) in nearly 120 possible majors. The synergy created by housing CCM within a comprehensive public university gives the college its unique character and defines its objective: to educate and inspire the whole artist and scholar for positions on the world’s stage. 

CCM’s 2018-19 Opera Series includes Mainstage productions of Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw (Nov. 15-18, 2018) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito (April 12-14, 2019), along with an undergraduate production of Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus (Feb. 8-10, 2019) and a Studio production of William Bolcom’sDinner at Eight (Feb. 22-24, 2019). 

ccm.uc.edu

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