Listing Info

IN OUR DAUGHTER’S EYES
January 5-6, 10*-11 & 13-14, 2023 at 8pm | January 7 & 15, 2023 at 3pm | 75 mins. (no intermission)
Baruch Performing Arts Center

CHAMBER OPERA | EAST COAST PREMIERE

COMMISSIONED BY BETH MORRISON PROJECTS, TRINITY CHURCH WALL STREET, LINDA & STUART NELSON, THE ARTHUR F. & ALICE E. ADAMS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, THE VIRGINIA B. TOULMIN FOUNDATION, OPERA AMERICA, AND FRANCIS GOELET CHARITABLE LEAD TRUSTS. THE COMMISSIONING OF DU YUN FOR IN OUR DAUGHTER'S EYES RECEIVED FUNDING FROM OPERA AMERICA'S OPERA GRANTS FOR FEMALE COMPOSERS PROGRAM, SUPPORTED BY THE VIRGINIA B. TOULMIN FOUNDATION.

A Beth Morrison Projects Production

Composed by Du Yun
Libretto by Michael McQuilken
Directed by Michael McQuilken
Conducted by Kamna Gupta
Starring Nathan Gunn

Told through the perspective of a new father, In Our Daughter’s Eyes shows the journey of the protagonist as he wrestles with truly becoming a man that his daughter would be proud of. He imparts passages from the journal he keeps -- a gift for his unborn daughter -- as the moments of this journey unfold before him.  The story traces his wife's joyful and fraught pregnancy, the legacy of the family's past, and his personal demons that he vows to vanquish before assuming the role of a father.  Along the way, mounting complications take the story through unexpected and sobering turns that test our flawed hero as he discovers a strength of self and purpose that he never imagined possible. This moving and heartfelt one man opera reunites Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Du Yun and multidisciplinary librettist & director Michael Joseph McQuilken after their lauded co-creation of Pulitzer Prize-winning Angel’s Bone in 2016.

This production is made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

In Our Daughter's Eyes is dedicated, in loving memory, to Stuart Nelson.

*The performance on January 10 will be followed by an artist conversation.

Photo credit: Craig T. Matthews

TRADE/MARY MOTORHEAD
January 8* & 14 at 4pm, January 10-11 at 7pm, January 7 & 13 at 7:30pm, 2023 | 105 min (possible intermission)
Abrons Arts Center
 

CHAMBER OPERA | WORLD PREMIERE

CO-COMMISSIONED BY BETH MORRISON PROJECTS, IRISH NATIONAL OPERA, TRINITY WALL STREET, AND NANCY & BARRY SANDERS.

A Beth Morrison Projects Production

Composed by Emma O’Halloran
Libretto by Mark O’Halloran
Directed by Tom Creed
Music Director Elaine Kelly
Starring Kyle Bielfield, Marc Kudisch, and Naomi O'Connell

In the compelling monodrama Mary Motorhead, a convicted murderer invites us to hear her secret history—the disappointments and betrayals that shaped her life—in the hope that it may shine some light upon the darkness of her actions. Mezzo-soprano Naomi Louisa O’Connell stars as the woman pushed to the edge by circumstance, now finding the road back to herself.

TRADE is the story of a rent boy and his closeted client in working-class Dublin, both trapped within their own lives. Meeting secretly in a cheap hotel, they wrestle with their own inner demons and their need for each other. Three-time Tony nominee Marc Kudisch star of LA Opera's Wonderful Town and anatomy theater portrays a family man whose world is crumbling apart, with international recording artist Kyle Bielfield as a young hustler determined to take charge of his future.

*The performance on January 8 will be followed by an artist conversation. 
 

Photo credit: Open

m??n??
[morning//mourning]
January 7-8, 15 at 5pm and January 6, 9, 11*-13 at 7:30pm, 2023 | 85 mins. (no intermission)
HERE Mainstage

MUSIC-THEATRE | WORLD PREMIERE

COMMISSIONED & DEVELOPED THROUGH HERE ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM

A HERE Production

Created by Gelsey Bell
Directed by Tara Ahmadinejad
 
An experimental opera inhabits a world in which all humans have disappeared from Earth. An ensemble of five vocalist/multi-instrumentalists witness and guide the audience through the changes on Earth as forests grow back, new species evolve, and the human-made world erodes away. The piece is a fantastical and playful exploration into the dire political and ethical contradictions that structure current human relations with nature.
 
The commissioning of Gelsey for m??n?? received funding from OPERA America’s Opera Grants for Women Composers program, supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation. Production design support provided by the Edith Lutyens and Norman Bel Geddes Design Enhancement Fund, a program of the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York (A.R.T./New York). This production is made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

*The performance on January 11th will be followed by an artist conversation.
 
Photo credit: Mia Bergeron

MARCHITA
January 12-14*, 2023 at 6pm and 9:30pm | 60 mins.
Dorothy B. Williams Theater, HERE Arts Center

MUSIC-THEATRE | WORLD PREMIERE

Composed, directed and performed by Silvana Estrada 
Music Direction by Laura Itandehui
Musical arrangements by Roberto Verástegui and Juanma Trujillo
Choreographed by Clara Pampyn
Featuring the Ka'y Ha' Quartet

After an international tour across the globe, Silvana Estrada summons a new passage for her debut album Marchita in a ritual of melodies that burst from tradition, loss, and love. You will not want to miss this intimate performance by this rising star of the international folk music scene!

This engagement of Silvana Estrada is made possible through Performing Arts Global Exchange, a program of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

*The performance on January 14 will be followed by an artist conversation.

Photo credit: Sol Talamantes

THE ALL SING
"Here Lies Joy"
January 8, 2023 | 15 mins.
Times Square
 

OUT OF BOUNDS | WORLD PREMIERE

COMMISSIONED, DEVELOPED, AND PRODUCED BY PROTOTYPE

Co-created by Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR), Marc Bamuthi Joseph,
Composed by Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR)
Libretto and creative direction by Marc Bamuthi Joseph
Music direction by Damien Sneed 
Featuring an incredible line-up of MET soloists, to be announced at a later date.

In an exuberant cri de coeur, PROTOTYPE will celebrate its 10th anniversary season by bringing communities together through what we know best - the voice. Originally commissioned in direct response to the forced isolation of the pandemic, The All Sing is an ode to song and human connection that brings hundreds of people together in a vibrant tapestry of sound, poetic justice, and hope. From the voices who tread the boards of some of our most hallowed stages to those who tread the tiles of their shower, all are welcome in this ebullient celebration of connection, community, and our capacity for joy. Together we will craft an unforgettable moment and sing for a return to a more just, healthy, and music-filled life.

Photo credit: Open

note to a friend
January 12th & 14 2023 at 7:30pm* | January 15th, 2023 at 3pm | 60 minutes
Japan Society
 

CONTEMPORARY OPERA | WORLD PREMIERE
 
Composed by David Lang
Text by Ryunosuke Akutagawa
Directed by Yoshi Oida
Starring Theo Bleckmann
 
In response to Japan Society’s commissioning for a new chamber opera, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang picked up texts written by iconic Japanese novelist Ryunosuke Akutagawa. The result is this stunning and haunting song cycle, note to a friend, addressing an eternal human fascination with death and suicide. Theater luminary Yoshi Oida, Paris-based opera director and longtime member of Peter Brook’s international theater company, directs this world premiere for the one-and-only New York vocalist Theo Bleckmann. Tokyo Bunka Kaikan in Japan, co-producer of this production, selects the featured string quartet members. You can’t miss this meetup of international gems!
 
Commissioned by Japan Society. Co-produced by Japan Society and Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, in a promotional partnership with PROTOTYPE. note to a friend is supported, in part, by Doug and Teresa Peterson, and The Japan Foundation, New York. This project is part of a promotional partnership with PROTOTYPE.

*Please note the performance on Thursday, January 12 will be followed by a MetLife Meet-the-Artist Reception, and the performance on Saturday, January 14 will be followed by an artist conversation.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Japan Society 

UNDINE
Streaming January 5-15, 2023*
Live virtual Q & A with Artists on January 9 at 4pm 
 

ANIMATED OPERA | DIGITAL STREAM

PRODUCED BY STEFANIE JANSSEN FOR STICHTING WILDERMOED, PÁDRAIG FAGAN FOR PAPER PANTHER PRODUCTIONS, SJARON MINAILO FOR STUDIO MINAILO
 
Based on a story by Stefanie Janssen 
Original Music by Stefanie Janssen & Michaël Brijs
Story by Stefanie Janssen, Sjaron Minailo & Michaël Brijs 
Directed, edited and screenplay by Sjaron Minailo
Music and foley recording, mixing, production, mastering by Richard van Kruysdijk

An epidemic of addiction is raging in the world of mermaids. The mermaid Undine is addicted to hard plastic! In search of her daily dose, she ends up moving between an aquarium and a hydroponic garden in an apartment building in the middle of a city. There she meets the deeply unhappy Rodmenia, the wife of a tailor, and her neighbour Anselmo, an eccentric philosopher. Undine stays in the aquarium in Anselmo’s study, where she appeases her addictive hunger with plastic busts of famous philosophers. Undine’s arrival shakes Rodmenia and Anselmo out of their respective ruts. The two neighbors become obsessed by the mermaid. Her magic world, in which she manipulates and seduces, stirs up an unprecedented desire for something glorious. Whereas Rodmenia sees this as a chance to escape her lonely, depressing existence and take charge of her own life, Anselmo sees Undine as a trophy, and the answer to the philosophic questions upon which his life has foundered. They each abandon themselves to their excessive desires, with far reaching consequences.

*There will be an artist conversation for Undine on January 14 at 7:30pm ET.

Photo credit: Courtesy of the Undine Team

ABOUT PROTOTYPE

PROTOTYPE – OPERA | THEATRE | NOW is a co-production of Beth Morrison Projects and HERE, two trailblazers in the creation and presentation of contemporary, multi-disciplinary opera-theatre and music-theatre works. The pioneering festival is the only one of its kind in New York City and is a model now emulated around the country – producing and presenting a wide spectrum of works, from intimate black-box experiences to larger chamber opera productions, valuing artistic, curatorial, and producorial risk-taking.

PROTOTYPE is committed to surprising our audiences and confounding their expectations through content, form, and relevance. The festival gives voice to a diverse group of composers, librettists, performers and musicians across all genres, backgrounds, and cultures. In providing a recurring showcase of visionary opera-theatre and music-theatre pieces, the touring life of the work extends around the world. The festival also presents groundbreaking new works by international artists and has become a global reference of artistic excellence in the field of opera and music-theatre. https://www.prototypefestival.org/ 

ABOUT BETH MORRISON PROJECTS

Beth Morrison Projects (BMP) is one of the foremost creators and producers of new opera-theatre and music theatre, with a fierce commitment to leading the industry into the future, cultivating a new generation of talent, and telling the stories of our time. 

Founded by “contemporary opera mastermind” (LA Times) Beth Morrison, who was honored as one of Musical America’s Artists of the Year/Agents of Change in 2020, BMP has grown into “a driving force behind America’s thriving opera scene” (Financial Times), with Opera News declaring that the company, “more than any other… has helped propel the art form into the twenty-first century.” 

Operating across the US and internationally, with offices in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, BMP’s unique model offers living composers the support, guidance, and freedom to experiment, allowing them to create singularly innovative and impactful projects. Since forming in 2006, the company has commissioned, developed, produced and toured over 50 works in 14 countries around the world, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning chamber operas Angel’s Bone and p r i s m. 
 
In 2013, BMP co-founded the PROTOTYPE Festival with HERE Arts Center, which has been called “utterly essential” (The New York Times), “indispensable” (The New Yorker), and “one of the world’s top festivals of contemporary opera and theater” (Associated Press). https://www.bethmorrisonprojects.org

ABOUT HERE

Since 1993, HERE has been one of New York’s most prolific producing and presenting organizations, and today stands at the forefront of the city’s presenters of new multi-genre art. HERE’s aesthetic represents the independent, the innovative, and the experimental. HERE supports work that does not fit into a conventional programming agenda. As the ultimate in hybrid forms, music-theatre and opera-theatre commissioning, development, and producing feature prominently in HERE’s programming. Premieres developed and produced at HERE include Taylor Mac and Matt Ray’s The Hang (slated originally for Prototype 2022 and ran for a sold-out six week winter run earlier this year), Grace Galou and Baba Israel’s Cannabis: A Viper Vaudeville (slated originally for Prototype 2022 and running for four weeks this summer), Kamala Sankaram’s first opera Miranda as well as her more recent critically acclaimed Looking at You, Yoav Gal’s Mosheh, Christina Campanella and Stephanie Fleischman’s Red Fly/Blue Bottle, Corey Dargel’s Removable Parts, Nick Brooke’s Border Towns, Stefan Weisman & David Cote’s The Scarlet Ibis, Paul Pinto’s Thomas Paine in Violence, and Leah Coloff’s ThisTree, among others. In 2013, HERE joined forces with Beth Morrison Projects to found the PROTOTYPE festival, now acclaimed as “shift[ing] the whole paradigm of what opera is and can be.” In addition, HERE has developed such acclaimed works as Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues; Basil Twist’s Symphonie Fantastique; Young Jean Lee’s Songs of The Dragons Flying To Heaven; Trey Lyford & Geoff Sobelle’s all wear bowlers; and Taylor Mac’s The Lily’s Revenge. HERE has garnered 17 OBIE awards and 2 OBIE grants for artistic achievement, 5 Drama Desk nominations, 4 NY Innovative Theatre Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize nomination. HERE was named a Top Ten Off-Off Broadway Theatre by Time Out New York, and The New York Times has called HERE “one of the most unusual arts spaces in New York.” https://www.here.org