Organization to Also Offer Free Remote Operatic Coaching and Virtual Town Hall Discussions
NEW YORK, March 19, 2020 – On Site Opera, New York’s pioneer opera company rooted in site-specific storytelling and the immersive experience, will host a series of online performance live streams and events to remote patrons and audiences as social distancing becomes a necessary norm all over the world. With adaptation to the changing health crisis, the organization will offer encore footage from four past productions in their entirety over the next four weeks; Rhoda and the Fossil Hunt, March 23, Pygmalion, March 30, The Secret Gardener, April 6, and Murasaki’s Moon, April 13. Over the next several weeks, the organization will also lead virtual “town hall” style discussions and offer online dramatic coachings with On Site Opera’s General and Artistic Director, Eric Einhorn.
All weekly On Site Opera streams will begin at 12:00 p.m. EST on the company’s website at https://osopera.org/on-site-opera-online/ and Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OnSiteOpera/. A 30-minute Q+A with Einhorn will follow each stream.
“As we face tremendous uncertainty, what we need more than anything right now is a sense of community, a sense of inspiration, and a sense of hope,” explains Einhorn. “It is important to us as an organization to keep opera audiences connected to the art form that they love and offer resources to our community that not only entertain, but educate and support,” he continues. “Let’s keep talking, let’s keep creating, and let’s keep singing.”
STREAM SCHEDULE
Monday, March 23, 2020, 12:00 p.m. EST: Rhoda and the Fossil Hunt
Originally staged at the American Museum of Natural History, September 2017
John Musto, Composer
Eric Einhorn, Librettist and Stage Director
Jorge Parodi, Conductor
Summer Lee Jack, Costume Designer
Rhoda: Jennifer Zetlan
Charles R. Knight: Robert Orth
Dr. Henry Osborn: Patrick Cook
Co-commissioned and co-produced with Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Lyric Unlimited and Pittsburgh Opera, Rhoda and the Fossil Hunt is based on the real-life experiences of 8-year-old Rhoda Knight Kalt and her trips to the American Museum of Natural History with her grandfather Charles R. Knight, the famous naturalist artist who was commissioned to create paintings and sculptures of prehistoric creatures.
Monday, March 30, 2020, 12:00 p.m. EST: Pygmalion
Originally staged at the Lifestyle-Trimco mannequin showroom, June 2014
Jean-Philippe Rameau, Composer
Ballot De Sauvot, Librettist
Eric Einhorn, Stage Director
Jennifer Peterson, Conductor
Jordan Isadore, Choreographer
Candida K. Nichols, Costume Designer
Shawn K. Kaufman, Lighting Designer
Pygmalion: Marc Molomot
La Statue: Camille Zamora
Cephise: Emalie Savoy
L’Amour: Justine Aronson
Ensemble: Lauren Kelleher, Raymond Storms, Christopher Preston Thompson, Sean Kroll
Dancers: Jordan Isadore, Eloise Deluca
Rameau’s 1748 acte de ballet is widely considered one of his greatest one-acts. In Ballot de Sovot’s libretto, based on Ovid, the sculptor Pygmalion creates a statue to which he professes his love, and which he asks Venus to bring to life. L’Amour (Cupid) arrives to praise Pygmalion’s artistry and faith in love, and animates the statue. On Site’s new production explored the themes and lessons inherent in the myth.
Monday, April 6, 2020, 12:00 p.m. EST: The Secret Gardener
Originally staged at the Westside Community Garden, May 2017
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Kelley Rourke, English Adaptation
Eric Einhorn, Stage Director
Geoffrey McDonald, Conductor
Beth Goldenberg, Costume Designer
Shawn K. Kaufman, Lighting Designer
Sandrina: Ashley Kerr
Serpetta: Alisa Jordheim
Arminda: Maeve Höglund
Ramiro: Kristin Gornstein
Belfiore: Spencer Viator
Podesta: Jonathan Blalock
Nardo: Jorell Williams
Written by an 18-year-old Mozart, The Secret Gardener is a story of love, madness, and redemption that unfolds in the lush setting of a beautiful garden. Disguises and mistaken identities abound in Mozart’s charming tale of a triple love triangle! Co-produced with The Atlanta Opera.
Monday, April 13, 2020, 12:00 p.m. EST: Murasaki’s Moon
Originally staged at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Astor Court, May 2019
Michi Wiancko, Composer
Deborah Brevoort, Librettist
Eric Einhorn, Stage Director
Geoffrey McDonald, Conductor
Beth Goldenberg, Costume Designer
Lady Murasaki: Kristen Choi
Genji: Martin Bakari
Buddhist Priest: John Noh
The sequestered life of a lady-in-waiting feels suffocating to the imaginative yet introspective Lady Murasaki. To escape the boundaries of the palace, she begins to write an epic tale of love and freedom. Murasaki’s life in the palace helps to shape the world of her novel, The Tale of Genji, which catapults her to fame, yet creates tension within the palace. She struggles to find a balance between the relationships with those around her, the characters she creates, and the far-reaching impact of her writing. Co-commissioned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and American Lyric Theater.
Additionally, the organization’s first virtual town hall discussion was held this morning at 11:00am, and private 45-minute free online operatic vocal coaching with Eric Einhorn can be found at http://bit.ly/singwitheric upon availability. Subsequent virtual events will be announced at https://osopera.org.
ABOUT ON SITE OPERA
Founded in 2012, On Site Opera is the leading presenter of site-specific operas in non- traditional venues throughout New York City. Rooted in collaboration and storytelling, On Site Opera celebrates the connection between artist and audience through highly curated experiences led by seasoned opera artists and bold and innovative creative teams. To date, OSO has produced 18 operas in as many unique locations to critical acclaim, including Shostakovich’s The Tale of The Silly Baby Mouse using large-scale puppets in performances for families at the Bronx Zoo; Gershwin’s Blue Mondayin the historic Cotton Club of Harlem; and Rameau’s Pygmalion in Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, which explored new technology in opera through the use of Google Glass supertitles. Each production invites New Yorkers to explore their city in new and unique ways, while cultivating a new generation of opera audiences.
