Really Spicy Opera will play a free concert for the National Institutes of Health on December 8, 2022 at 12:30 PM. This concert will take place in the NIH Atrium.
Due to current health conditions, the concert is open to the NIH community of patients, and patient families.
Excerpts from the March-April installment of the Aria Institute: Mezzo Edition will be streamed online in a virtual showcase on Saturday, April 9 from 2-3 PM CT.
Hear brand-new opera arias for mezzo-soprano written by Marianna Mott Newirth, Spicer Carr, Ellen Denham, Greg Nahabedian, Sandra Flores-Strand, Monica Chew, Susan Bradley Smith, Rylan Leo Helmuth, Megan Cohen, Del’Shawn Taylor, Caroline Cao, and Vance Maverick.
Featuring performances by Lisa Neher, Courtney Kayser, Anne Wieben, Jodi Goble, and Lindsey Huff Breitschaedel.
The March/April 2022 Aria Institute was co-directed by Anne Wieben, Basil Considine, and Tess Altiveros, and made possible through financial support from the Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and the Network of Ensemble Theaters.
A showcase of new music created by Really Spicy Opera’s September-October 2021 Aria Institute cohort.
Featuring works by: Joshua Brown, Ilima Considine, Jessica Grams, Helena Michelson, Jolie O’Dell, Monica Raymond, Laura Shamas.
Musical performances by: Maggie Burr, Christina Christensen, Jennifer LeDoux, Siena Forest, Ellie Harstad, Linh Kauffman, Yvonne Freese, and Elena Stabile, with Jean Van Heel (piano).
Includes the world premiere of the collaboratively written Eruption: An Opera of Volcanic Proportions, curated by Playwright-in-Residence Kate Robards in association with Tess Altiveros, Basil Considine, and Anne Wieben.
0:04 General Introduction (Tess Altiveros) Showcase, Part 1
1:51 Intro to “Good Cape/Bad Cape” (Basil Considine)
3:10 Duet: “Good Cape/Bad Cape”, from Katzenmann vs. the Patriarchy (Music: Joshua Brown, Lyrics: Jessica Grams)
Cat: Maggie Burr; Katzenmann: Christina Christensen
42:38 Trio: “Embrace” (Music: Helena Michelson, Lyrics: Laura Shamas)
Vocalists: Yvonne Freese, Ellie Harstad, Jennifer LeDoux
47:26 Duet: “Isn’t This Romantic?” (Music and Lyrics: Basil Considine)
Vocalists: Maggie Burr, Linh Kauffman
Recorded at Wild Sound Recording Studios in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Really Spicy Opera is a Professional Company Member of Opera America, and a member of the Minnesota Theater Alliance and the Network of Ensemble Theaters.
Come tune in to the showcase of new opera music written for Really Spicy Opera’s Aria Institute: Duet/Trio Edition! Featuring duets and trios written by Caroline Cao, Tiffa Foster, Jodi Goble, Jamey Guzman, Lauren McCall, Mona Washington, and Jane Wong.
What would an operatic version of Star Wars: The Last Jedi sound like? What about Sharknado the Opera: COVID Spring Break? What would happen in the operatic version of meeting your old crush (and 100% douche) from high school? What if you could hear Aphra Behn tell off a theatre critic, 17th-century opera style? How about just giving opera more puppies and tigers?
Find out the answers to these and other forbidden opera subjects in the livestreamed concert showcase of The Aria Institute: Soprano Edition this Thursday, 7/30 from 5-6 PM Central Time.