Tag Archives: Opera New Work Reading

Maryland Opera Studio presents Proving Up at Clarice Smith, Feb 18

Maryland Opera Studio presents Proving Up at Clarice Smith, Feb 18

Maryland Opera Studio presents
Proving Up
Craig Kier, music director
Missy Mazzoli, composer
Royce Vavrek, librettist

Saturday, February 18, 2023 . 8:00PM

Venue: Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

Based on a 2013 short story by Karen Russell, Proving Up, is a surreal and haunting commentary on the American dream as experienced by the Zegners, a fictional family of 1860s homesteaders. This narrative feels newly relevant at this fraught moment in the nation’s history, when people are examining and reevaluating the achievability of the American Dream. The Zegners are a family that does everything “right” and are still undermined by forces beyond their control. These characters have parallels in our contemporary world: a mother who tries to maintain control through domestic order, a father who turns to the bottle under the pressures of supporting a family, children forced to take on responsibilities beyond their years and a lone, deranged man who resorts to violence and destruction. Pushed to the edge by poverty and ultimately undermined by fate, the Zegners’ fixation on “proving up” never wanes.
 
About the Maryland Opera Studio:
 
Under the direction of Craig Kier, the Maryland Opera Studio is dedicated to the future of opera. Preparing the next generation of great singers and offering performances ranging from classic repertoire to provocative new works, it is building contemporary audiences for opera and advancing the art form to sustain those audiences.
 
Tickets: Free, no tickets required. Click here.

Maryland Opera Studio presents TWA at Clarice Smith, Feb 17<

Maryland Opera Studio presents TWA at Clarice Smith, Feb 17

Opera New Work Reading
TWA
Maryland Opera Studio
Friday, February 17, 2023 . 7:30PM

Venue: Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

This new opera inspired by the popular folk ballad THE TWA SISTERS, explores the eternal conflict between the opposing forces of love and jealousy; and why this ancient ballad resonates even more deeply today with the proliferation of social media and virtual sharing platforms.
 
With a tone reminiscent of Guillermo Del Toro’s popular cinematic fables, this opera sheds light on the joy, wonder, humor and pain in the relationship between sisters within a unique episodic structure which spans continents and centuries.
 
About the Maryland Opera Studio:
 
Under the direction of Craig Kier, the Maryland Opera Studio is dedicated to the future of opera. Preparing the next generation of great singers and offering performances ranging from classic repertoire to provocative new works, it is building contemporary audiences for opera and advancing the art form to sustain those audiences.
 
Tickets: Free, no tickets required. Click here.

Opera New Work Reading: Sunder at Clarice Smith, Aug 27, In-person

Opera New Work Reading: Sunder at Clarice Smith, Aug 27, In-person

Opera New Work Reading: Sunder
Maryland Opera Studio
Friday, August 27, 2021 . 7:30PM

Fri, Aug 27, 2021 . 07:30PM to 09:00PM

Nailah Nombeko, composer
Alicia Haymer, librettist
Amanda Consol, stage director
Jonathan King, music director

Venue: Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. In person, general admission

Co-produced with Annapolis Opera, the University of Maryland School of Music’s Maryland Opera Studio presents the rescheduled performance of last season’s New Work Reading: Sunder.

Heartfelt chants ring out in a southern small town that’s had enough of the police criminalizing the poor. White protestors have occupied space downtown in the People’s Plaza, fighting for the freedom of homeless Black people who have been arrested for petty crimes, and given astronomical bail. Turmoil threatens to come between two close friends at the helm of the movement, as the protestors decide if they should remain peaceful, or amp up their efforts with force. In the midst is a Black police officer, who struggles to find his authenticity in a hotbed of justice, race and morality. What will become of a movement, once mighty, that loses its way because of a need for power?

Watch this behind-the-scenes preview film that was produced during the Spring 2021 semester.

Tickets: free, registration recommended. Click here.

Maryland Opera Studio presents Four Freedoms at Clarice Smith, Feb 14

Maryland Opera Studio presents Four Freedoms at Clarice Smith, Feb 14

Opera New Work Reading: Four Freedoms
Maryland Opera Studio
Friday, February 14, 2020 . 7:30PM

Venue: Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Grand Pavilion, general admission.

Inspired by FDR’s 1941 State of the Union address — the “Four Freedoms” speech — Joseph C. Phillips, Jr.’s new opera explores these four philosophical pillars and our relationship to them now.

The New Work Reading marks the premiere of the winning piece from the fourth annual UMD Opera Composition Contest. The School of Music’s Maryland Opera Studio and The Clarice’s Artist Partner Program established the UMD Opera Composition Contest in 2016 as part of their ongoing dedication to cultivating and performing new work that addresses socially relevant themes. Information about winning artists will be announced in the fall.

Tickets: Free, no tickets required. Click here.

Opera New Work Reading: Hajar at Clarice Smith, Feb 15

Opera New Work Reading: Hajar at Clarice Smith, Feb 15

Opera New Work Reading

Friday, February 15, 2019 . 7:30 PM

Venue: Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Gildenhorn Recital Hall.

The New Work Reading is the premiere performance of the winning piece of the Third Annual UMD Opera Composition Contest. The UMD School of Music’s Maryland Opera Studio and The Clarice’s Artist Partner Program established the UMD Opera Composition Contest in 2016 as part of their ongoing dedication to cultivating and performing new work that addresses socially relevant themes.

Elisabeth Mehl Greene’s new opera Hajar synthesizes the Jewish and Islamic stories of Hagar/Hajar into a modern tale of a Syrian refugee mother and her son trying to reach safety in America. Hajar confronts the immigration crisis in the United States and worldwide, challenging the acceptance of policies that resist compassion.

Maryland Opera Studio students premiere an opera by the winner of the annual Opera Composition Contest. In its third year, the contest is a joint initiative of the Maryland Opera Studio and Artist Partner Program to support the cultivation and performance of new work.

This event is part of the Year of Immigration, which aims to transform dialogue into impact on urgent issues related to immigration, global migration and refugees, and to foster open conversation and greater connection with the University of Maryland’s large and diverse international community. For more information visit yearofimmigration.umd.edu.

Free, no tickets required.