Organization

Lighting designer

A.J. Guban

Conductor

Evan Rogister

Stage director

Francesca Zambello

Singer

Katerina Burton

Soprano

Teresa Perrotta

Daniel J Smith

Baritone

Jonathan Patton

Justin Burgess

Mack Wolz

Mezzo-soprano

Hannah Shea

Anthony P Ballard

Tenor

Cecelia McKinley

Contralto

Washington National Opera

Orchestra

Welsh National Opera Orchestra

English

American opera initiative

Long Beach

United States

Terrace Theater

AOI 20 Minute Operas: Concert Various

Public

*New Work

Approved

WNO’s acclaimed commissioning program for contemporary American opera enters its tenth exciting season.

This season, three talented composer-librettist teams—B.E. Boykin and Jarrod Lee, Jens Ibsen and Cecelia Raker, and Silen Wellington and Walken Schweigert—showcase their three new one-act operas.

Oshun is a journey of sacrifice, self-love and redemption displayed in the face of those who would deny it. From Oshun’s story we learn that, with help from those who love us well, we can believe and manifest our inner strength even in our darkest hour.

Bubbie has filled the void of Covid isolation by solving as many word searches and crosswords as possible...until her latest puzzle turns out to be a ƈʊʀֆɛɖ ֆʊʍʍօռɨռɢ ɨռƈǟռȶǟȶɨօռ that conjures a Demon from the netherworld. When Bubbie welcomes him with delight, insisting he must be her long-lost goth grandson, how far will her well-intentioned neighbor Karen go to convince the old woman that something is horribly wrong? A pandemic take on a viral internet myth, this short piece weaves together classical music and heavy metal to pose thorny questions about chosen family and what constitutes true evil.

Calamus is a teenage artist with a fantastical imagination and endless curiosity. Rather than easels or clay, Calamus’ canvas is their own body. With the aid of a magic elixir, Calamus shapeshifts, expressing their true spirit by bending into different forms and offering the poetry of transformation. But when a tyrannical politician criminalizes such elixirs, Calamus’ world is on the brink of destruction, and they will need all their strength to bend the arc back towards justice…

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble