I'm now officially way out of my comfort zone.
If you've noticed that a few of your musician friends have bags under their eyes and have seemed perpetually distracted for the past few weeks, it could be because they've been writing operas. Thanks to an Inspiration Grant awarded by the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City, the Black House Collective and the Kansas City Electronic Music & Arts Alliance are producing a series of newly composed chamber operas, collectively called "Rites of Being."
Six composers have written 15 minute mini operas based on the theme of ritual. Each composer interpreted ritual differently; the featured rituals range from morning coffee to human sacrifice. The composers are: Eli Hougland, John Chittum, Russell Thorpe, Simon Fink, Brad Van Wick, and Hunter Long.
We're now a few weeks into rehearsals and I can say: I thought I understood that writing an opera would difficult, but this has proven to be quite an involved and complex undertaking. Luckily, I have wonderful collaborators. Alison Heryer is our collaborating artist and will help us tranform the Paragraph Gallery into a suitable venue for opera, and Lisa Cordes is our production director. We're also lucky to have the singing talents of Stacey Stofferahn, Jessica Salley, Emily Charles, Anna Louise Hoard and Nathan Granner.
There will be two performances on May 16th and 17th with very limited seating. Information about ticket sales is coming shortly.
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