Directed by: Lawrence Edelson
Music by: Lembit Beecher
Libretto by: Hannah Moscovitch
Original Production
July 2022 - Opera Saratoga
DESIGNERS
Julia Noulin-Merat - Scenic Designer
Whitney Locher - Costume Designer
Marcella Barbeau - Lighting Designer
Sue Schaefer - Wigs & Makeup Designer
ORIGINAL CAST
Emily Senturia - Conductor
Meredith Arwady - Martha
Phyllis Pancella - Danny
Helena Colindres - Winnie
Ryan Johnson - Ira
Reviews
”...... a brutal, but very relatable experience. The excellent cast is led by alto Meredith Arwady as Martha, already deep in decline, and mezzo Phyllis Pancella as Danny, who becomes a companion on the sad journey. Whether in a lucid or scattered state, the women sing with a palpable presence and force and a demanding kind of beauty. Their knowing resistance heightens the fear, confusion and anger. The characters often appear framed in doorways, as if at the gates of hell. Time becomes a strange element. The children, well played by soprano Helena Colindres, Martha’s daughter, and by tenor Ryan Bryce Johnson as Danny’s son, are lost in a stasis of waiting. Meanwhile, their agitated moms are frantically calling up old memories and clamoring to find what is the present moment. Again, there are no gentle farewells. With regular and extended pauses, the production seemed to take deep breaths and allow things to sink in.”
- The Times Union
PRODUCTION PHOTOS
Comments