"Opera Fusion: New Works," the ground-breaking
collaboration between Cincinnati Opera and the opera department at the
University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music designed to foster the
creation of new American opera, will workshop “Great Scott” by Jake Heggie and
Terrence McNally this fall.
It will be the fourth year in a row of such residencies, which have led to the production of four new operas, including “Morning Star’ by Ricky Ian Gordon and William M. Hoffman, to receive its world premiere by Cincinnati Opera June 30, 2015 at Music Hall.
The workshop, which will utilize the talent, resources and facilities of both Cincinnati Opera and CCM, will take place Nov. 17-25. It will culminate in a free public reading of Heggie and McNally’s work at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 25 at Memorial Hall downtown.
“Great Scott” tells the story of an opera company and a football team, brought into conflict when an important production by the opera goes head to head with the local football team’s first-ever appearance in the Super Bowl. To make things even more complicated, the owner of the team and the founder of the opera company are husband and wife.
Dallas Opera will present the world premiere of “Great Scott” Oct. 30, 2015. Jack O’Brien, director of the recent Broadway revival of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” with Ethan Hawke, will direct. Evan Rogister, who led Heggie’s “Moby Dick” at Washington National Opera this spring, will conduct. Both O’Brien and Rogister will participate in the Cincinnati residency.
Tickets for the Nov. 25 public reading will be available beginning Oct. 1 through the Cincinnati Opera box office at (513) 241-2742.
"Opera Fusion: New Works" is led by co-artistic directors Marcus Küchle, director of artistic operations at Cincinnati Opera, and Robin Guarino, J. Ralph Corbett Distinguished Chair of Opera at CCM. The initiative is funded by a $300,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Subject of previous Opera Fusion residencies have
been “Doubt” by Douglas Cuomo and John Patrick Stanley (2011), premiered at
Minnesota Opera in January, 2013; “Champion” by Terrence Blanchard and Michael
Christofer (2012), premiered at Opera Theater of St. Louis in June, 2013; “Fellow Travelers” by Gregory Spears and Greg Pierce (2012); and Gordon and Hoffman's "Morning Star" (2012), to be premiered by Cincinnati Opera in June, 2015.
Seasons!
Several Cincinnati arts groups have announced their 2014-15 seasons.
Among them:
Catacoustic Consort
Sept. 21. 3 p.m. Church of the Advent, 2366 Kemper Lane, Walnut Hills. Dieterich Buxtehude, “Membra Jesu Nostri.” Oratorio for five voices and viol consort.
Nov. 22. 7:30 p.m. Church of the Advent, 2366 Kemper Lane, Walnut Hills. “La musica d’amore.” Sumner Thompson, tenor. Seventeenth-century Italian music for tenor, harp, theorbo, lirone and gamba.
Feb. 28, 2015. 7:30 p.m. St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Terrace Park. Sacred music of the French High Baroque. Shannon Mercer, soprano. Music of Jean-Joseph de Mondonville for soprano, harpsichord and pardessus.
March 22, 2015. 3 p.m. Trinity Episcopal Church, 326 Madison Ave., Covington, Ky. The Exquisite Consorts. Music by Matthew Locke and William Lawes for Baroque harp, viols and theorbo.
April 26, 2015. 3 p.m. Church of the Redeemer, 2944 Erie Ave, Hyde Park. Michael Maniaci, male soprano. Contemporary music for viola da gamba and voice, including works by Elvis Costello and Tan Dun.
Season tickets are $125, $100 if purchased before Sept. 21. Information and tickets at www.Catacoustic.com.
Matinée Musicale
Oct. 2. 11 a.m. The Anderson Center, 7850 Five Mile Rd. Jeanine De Biqe, soprano. Cincinnati debut.
Nov. 16. 3 p.m. The Anderson Center, 7850 Five Mile Rd. Andrew Garland, baritone. Matinée Musicale debut.
Dec. 11. 11 a.m. The Mayerson Jewish Community Center, 8485 Ridge Rd., Amberley Village. Ilya Kaler, violin. Cincinnati debut.
March 3, 2015. 11 a.m. The Anderson Center, 7850 Five Mile Rd. Natasha Paremski, piano. Cincinnati debut.
April 2, 2015. 11 a.m. The Mayerson Jewish Community Center, 8485 Ridge Rd., Amberley Village. Yevgeny Sudbin, piano. Cincinnati debut.
Season tickets are $50,
interchangeable for any of the season’s recitals. Information and tickets at www.matinee-musicale-cincinnati.org
St. Peter in Chains Cathedral Concerts, “Great Music in a Great Space”
Oct. 30. 7:30 p.m. St. Peter in Chains Cathedral. 325 W. 8th St. Choir of Westminster Abbey.
Nov. 30. 3 p.m. Advent Lessons and Carols. Choir of St. Peter in Chains Cathedral. Season choral music with hand bells to mark the beginning of the Advent season. No tickets required. Free-will offerings accepted.
Feb. 11, 2015. 7:30 p.m. St. Peter in Chains Cathedral, 325 W. 8th St. St. Olaf Choir.Feb. 15. 3 p.m. An early music festival featuring choral music from the medieval and Renaissance periods with the Choirs of St. Peter in Chains Cathedral, Xavier University and Collegium Musicum. No tickets required. Suggest offering $20 for adults.April 1. 7:30 p.m. Ancient Office of Tenebrae, featuring chants and choral music of Holy Week, including the "Lamentations of Jeremiah " and Allegri's "Miserere." Choir of St. Peter in Chains Cathedral. No tickets required. Free-will offerings accepted.
April 17, 2014. 7:30 p.m. St. Peter in Chains Cathedral, 325 W. 8th St. Chanticleer.
Subscriptions are $96.90. Individual tickets are $38 in advance, $40 at the door. Call (513) 421-2222 .
Music at Ascension, 2014 Fall Chamber Concert Series
Sept. 20. 7:30 p.m. Ascension Lutheran Church, 7333 Pfeiffer Rd. Mark Valenti, piano.
Oct. 11. 7:30 p.m., Ascension Lutheran Church, 7333 Pfeiffer Rd. Michael Young, baritone.
Nov. 8. 7:30 p.m. Ascension Lutheran Church, 7333 Pfeiffer Rd. Spencer Sharp, violin.
Concerts are free and open to the public. Free-will donations accepted. Call (513) 793-3288.