Photo by Eamon Queeney
Those two short lines are laden with pathos, emotion and high drama. It sounds operatic — and it will be. Opera Fusion: New Works chose the drama of struggle for faith and power for its inaugural workshop production, with libretto by Shanley and the score by protean composer Douglas Cuomo.
Cincinnati Opera and CCM’s opera department are the forces behind Opera Fusion: New Works, and the program moniker says it all.
“We’re trying to foster new work that has
a chance of entering the canon of operatic repertoire,” says Marcus
Küchle, Cincinnati Opera’s head of artistic operations, who co-directs
the initiative with Robin Guarino, J.
DoubtCincinnati Opera’s role in co-producing the Toni Morrison-Richard Danielpour opera Margaret Garner in 2005 led to a three-year grant from the Andrew J. Mellon Foundation, announced last May. The funding covers a 10-day intensive residency for the composer and librettist to fine-tune their work utilizing artistic and administrative resources provided by CCM and Cincinnati Opera. Guarino will direct and Seattle-based Gary Wedow will conduct.
Doubt will be performed 8 p.m.
Saturday CCM’s at Werner Recital Hall (tickets are free but reservations
required; to reserve seats, call 513-556-4183) and 3 p.m. Sunday at
NKU’s Griffin Hall (tickets are also free but reservations required; to
reserve seats, call 513-241-2742). Go here to read Anne Arenstein's full interview.
