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Press Releases

Announcing Opera Praktikos’s “There Will Be Cake”, A Dessert-Inspired Mono-Opera, Dec 12-14

October 15, 2024 | By April Thibeault | AMT PR | april@amtpublicrelations.com

 

New York’s First Disability-Affirmative Opera Company

Lee Hoiby’s Bon Appetit World Premiere of Fluffernutter


New York, NY (For Release 10.14.24) — New York’s first disability-affirmative opera company Opera Praktikos (OPrak) presents “There Will Be Cake” – a matinee mono-opera concert series on Thursday-Saturday, December 12-14, 2024, at 1:30 p.m., at downtown Manhattan’s Asylum NYC. With performances by abled and disabled artists, this site-specific musical drama centers around food and its visceral memories and emotions. Bon Appetit! shares Julia Child’s words of wisdom in a light-hearted, charming masterclass in comedic character singing followed by the world premiere of Fluffernutter, an opera inspired by the delicious Fluffernutter sandwich.

“Two slices of Americana to perk up any jaded New Yorker’s palette: that ineffable cook Julia Child makes a French chocolate cake; and a tasty New England staple reminds us that aging is hard,” explains Greg Moomjy, musicologist and co-founder/artistic director of OPrak. A man who has Cerebral Palsy and is a wheelchair user, Moomjy invites New Yorkers with and without disabilities to unite over their shared interest in live music and dessert. When assembling this program, we wanted to give audiences small samplings of comic opera performed by top-notch singers at an accessible venue. And, yes, we will also serve cake!”

The program begins with Lee Hoiby’s Bon Appetit! (1989), adapted from two episodes of Julia Child’s well-loved cooking show, The French Chef. With approval and input from Child herself, a friend of the composer, the libretto narrates Child’s cooking of a chocolate cake with clever lines such as “Choc’late is much more complicated than any of us suspect.” Reflecting the television show’s format, the opera is written for a single singer, performed here by Hailey McAvoy, a “gorgeous-voiced (Broadway World)” mezzo-soprano with Cerebral Palsy. Another “sweet” mono-opera is the world premiere of Fluffernutter (2024) inspired by the New England tasty treat. Composer Spicer Carr is a queer, autistic writer who was commissioned by OPrak to write Fluffernutter with libretto by OPrak’s co-founder Marianna Mott Newirth. Fluffernutter evokes the trials of adulting and the power of nostalgia all thanks to the classic peanut butter-marshmallow crème sandwich.

About Opera Praktikos

Opera Praktikos (OPrak), established in 2021, proudly stands as New York City's pioneering disability-affirmative opera company. Its mission is to make opera an inclusive and accessible art form for audiences and artists alike by crafting exceptional opera productions that transcend conventional barriers related to class, economic status, and physical challenges. Through deliberate reinterpretations of classical operas and the commissioning of new works, it aims to ensure that artists and audience members can readily identify with the stories and lived experiences of People with Disabilities being portrayed on the stage. OPrak is dedicated to breaking down stereotypes about disability and fostering an inclusive and accessible opera community in the heart of New York City. OperaPraktikos.org

Program Ticketing Information:

Thursday-Saturday, December 12-14, 2024, at 1:30 p.m.

Asylum NYC, 123 East 24th Street, New York City, Subway: 4/6 to 23rd Street.

Tickets: $10-$35 (ages 16 only). Livestream (Saturday only) $10-$35. To reserve, visit AsylumTix.com or call 212.203.5435.

Cast Crew:
Hailey McAvoy – mezzo-soprano

Shanley Horvitz – zwischenfach

Calvin Hitchcock – piano music director

Gwynn MacDonald – stage director

Program:

Bon Appetit! composed by Lee Hoiby (1926-2011) with text by Julia Child adapted by

Mark Shulgasser

Fluffernutter (2024) **world premiere** composed by Spicer Carr with libretto by Marianna Mott Newirth and piano arr. by Patrick Tice-Carroll

 

Opera Praktikos, Inc received operating support from OPERA America’s NYC Opera Grant: Supporting Small-Business Organizations, supported by the Howard Gilman Foundation.

  

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