Premiere of Chamber Version of Laura Schwendinger's Opera Artemisia with Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, June 1 and 2 in San Francisco

The Premiere performances of the chamber version of Laura Schwendinger's opera Artemisia will be presented at San Francisco's Z Space, 450 Florida St, by the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble on June 1 and 2, 2019 with Matilda Hofman, conductor.

The cast is directed by Jenn BeVard, and will include Betany Coffland as Artemisia, Kyle Stegall asTomasso, Marnie Breckenridge as Susanna, Jonathan Smucker as Elder 1 and Igor Vieira as Elder 2. Music by The Left Coast Chamber Ensemble.

Artemisia is an opera of passion, betrayal and art in 17th century Italy, and is based on the life of Italian painter Artemisia Gentileschi. With a libretto by Ginger Strand, author of The Brothers Vonnegut, Artemisia is a recipient of a National Opera Center Discovery grant. More about the opera at http://www.lauraschwendinger.com/artemisia.

Artemisia will be presented as part of Dorothea and Artemisia, a program that also includes Christopher Stark's From the Field, which focuses on the art and milieu of Depression Era photographer Dorothea Lange. Both chamber operas will also feature projected images that come to life. Ticket information at http://www.leftcoastensemble.org/dorothea-artemisia/.

The first composer to win the American Academy in Berlin Prize, Laura Elise Schwendinger, is a Professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her music has been performed by leading artists, including Dawn Upshaw (on tour 1997-2013) and on Voices of Our Time, (a TDK/Naxos DVD), Janine Jansen, Matt Haimovitz, the Arditti and Jack Quartets, The Choir of Trinity Wall Street, the New Juilliard Players, the Franz Liszt chamber orchestra and the American Composers Orchestra, at venues including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Alice Tully at Lincoln Center, Wigmore Hall, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Ojai, Aspen, Tangelwood and Ravinia music festivals, and Off-Broadway in the acclaimed Sounding Beckett Project. Her music has been recorded for the Albany and Centaur labels. Her website is at http://www.lauraschwendinger.com/.

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