Out of Darkness
3 song cycles by Jake Heggie & Gene Scheer, featuring Caitlin Lynch, Sarah Larsen & Morgan Smith
The three chapters of this work relate stories that offer compelling musical witness to survival in the face of unimaginable adversity. “Another Sunrise” tells the amazing story of Krystyna Żywulska who, after being captured as a member of the Polish resistance, created poems and songs in Auschwitz that circulated secretly and became anthems of defiance amongst her fellow prisoners. “Farewell, Auschwitz” adapts Krystyna’s lyrics, with their exhortations to preserve a sense of humanity in a place defined by inhuman behavior.
These works were commissioned by Music of Remembrance, a Seattle-based organization dedicated to remembering the Holocaust through music. Recording released May 2014 by Naxos.
The Inspector
A New Comic Opera by John Musto, Libretto by Mark Campbell. Commissioned by the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. World Premiere April 27 & 29 and May 1, 2011 at The Barns at Wolf Trap.
World Premiere Cast
Mayor Fazzobaldi – Robert Orth, baritone
Sarelda, the Mayor’s wife – Sarah Larsen, mezzo-soprano
Beatrice, their daughter – Anne-Carolyn Bird, soprano
Tancredi, a mysterious stranger – Vale Rideout, tenor
Cosimo, Tancredi’s manservant – William Sharp, baritone
Malacorpa, Directress of Health & Cemetery Services – Dorothy Byrne, mezzo-soprano
Agrippa, Directress of Education Managementation – Angela Mannino, soprano
Padre Ruffiano, Director of Salvation Resources – Javier Abreu, tenor
Adolfo, Director of Order – Matt Boehler, bass
Bobachina, one of the Post Office Twins – Andrea Shokery, soprano
Bobachino, one of the Post Office Twins – Hilary Ginther, mezzo-soprano