THE AUDITORIUM THEATRE OF ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY PRESENTS

THE CHICAGO PREMIERE OF MARGARET GARNER IN NOVEMBER 2008

 

Librettist Toni Morrison and Grammy Award-Winning Composer Richard Danielpour’s

Acclaimed New Opera to Star World-Renowned Mezzo-Sopranos Denyce Graves (Nov. 1 and 2) and Tracie Luck (Nov. 6, 8 and 9), Under the Direction of Broadway Sensation Kenny Leon

 

Production Marks the Return of Grand Opera to the Stage of the Auditorium Theatre

For the First Time in More Than 65 Years

 

The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, in association with Michigan Opera Theatre (MOT), presents the Chicago premiere of Margaret Garner, a new American opera based on one of the most significant and controversial fugitive slave stories in pre-Civil War America. The opera will be directed by Kenny Leon, whose recent Broadway credits include the Tony Award-winning A Raisin in the Sun; Gem of the Ocean and Radio Golf. Margaret Garner features music by Grammy Award-winning composer Richard Danielpour and a libretto by Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, a novelist noted for her poetically charged and richly expressive depictions of the African American experience. Internationally renowned mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, particularly well-known to operatic audiences throughout the world for her portrayals of the title roles in Carmen and Samson et Dalila, and for whom Margaret Garner was written, will bring her critically hailed performance to the stage of the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Parkway, Nov. 1 and 2. Celebrated mezzo-soprano Tracie Luck, who sang Margaret Garner with the New York City Opera, will sing the title role at the Nov. 6, 8 and 9 Chicago performances. Tickets are now on sale.

Additional casting for lead roles in the Margaret Garner Chicago debut include baritones Gregg Baker (Nov. 1, 2 and 8) and Chicagoan Patrick Blackwell (Nov. 6 and 9) as Robert Garner; baritones James Westman (Nov. 1, 2 and 8) and Timothy Mix (Nov. 6 and 9) as Edward Gaines; soprano Kristine Biller Mattson as Caroline Gaines (Nov. 1 – 9); soprano Karen Slack as Cilla (select dates); tenor Jason Collins as Casey (Nov. 1 – 9); tenor Ryan MacPherson as George Hancock (Nov. 1 – 9); and tenor Torrance Blaisdell as the auctioneer (Nov. 1 – 9).  Auditions were held in Chicago last September for select roles. In addition to Patrick Blackwell, bass-baritone Aaron Stegemöller was cast in the role of the third judge at the Chicago auditions. 

The Chicago performances feature more than 150 artists, including soloists, two choruses and the Chicago Sinfonietta under the musical direction of Stefan Lano.  The Chicago premiere of Margaret Garner marks the first time since 1941 that an opera of this scale has been presented on the stage of the Auditorium Theatre.  The piece was originally commissioned by MOT, Cincinnati Opera and Opera Company of Philadelphia for its 2005 debut.

The opera tells the compelling story of Margaret Garner’s quest for freedom. Fleeing Kentucky’s Maplewood Plantation in 1856 to Ohio, Margaret Garner made the horrific decision to sacrifice her own children when capture was at hand, rather than see them returned to the bonds of slavery. The opera richly speaks to audiences on a human level and as a vivid portrait of one of the most difficult periods in American history. 

“Margaret Garner is a beautiful and heartrending work, and we are certain that the opera will resonate with Chicago audiences in many powerful ways,” said Brett Batterson, executive director of the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University.  “Although the Auditorium Theatre has been host to the finest artists in the world since its opening, and has produced a number of concerts and special events, we have not undertaken any project this ambitious for decades. Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan designed the Auditorium Theatre for music and opera, and its acoustics are world renowned. We take tremendous pride in casting an immensely talented group of singers and actors for the Chicago premiere of an opera of such high artistic, educational and historic importance.”

“More than anything else, Margaret Garner is an opera that reminds us that we all belong to the same human family, and it demonstrates what can happen when we forget this fundamental truth,” said Richard Danielpour. “While slavery has been outlawed in the United States since 1865, its lingering effects have proven that issues concerning race, class, and the true meaning of freedom are in no way resolved in our country. Visiting Washington, D.C., today, one can see memorials to heroes from every war and cause, but there is not one memorial to the people who suffered under the institution of slavery. It is my hope that Margaret Garner will both memorialize and remind us of what we as a society are so easily inclined to forget.” 

 

A Brief History of Margaret Garner

 

Margaret Garner is based on the true story of one of the most significant and controversial cases of all antebellum fugitive slave stories.  Margaret Garner’s love for her husband and children fueled her ongoing fight for survival as she endured unimaginable abuse and hardship.  In 1856, Garner and her husband fled with their children to Ohio in an attempt to escape their lives as slaves at Kentucky’s Maplewood Farm.  Facing recapture, Garner made the chilling decision to attempt to kill herself and her two children, rather than see them return to the bonds of slavery.  As her husband was dragged from their hiding place, Garner succeeded in killing her two-year-old daughter before being overpowered by a party of U.S. marshals.  Margaret Garner’s trial became the longest fugitive slave case of this era.  An intense national debate – over whether Garner should be tried for “destruction of property” or murder – directly and blatantly addressed critical questions that fueled the Civil War. 

 

Performance Schedule

 

Margaret Garner will be presented November 1 – 9.  The performance schedule is as follows:

Saturday, Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m.*

Sunday, Nov. 2 at 3 p.m.* – Gala performance (no price level I available for this performance)

Thursday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.**

Saturday, Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m.**

Sunday, Nov. 9 at 3 p.m.**

* featuring Denyce Graves

** featuring Tracie Luck

Friday, Oct. 31. at 11 a.m.: Full 3-hour dress rehearsal open to student groups, elementary through college/university ($10 seats; groups of 10 or more; performance recommended for 8^th grade and up, due to mature content).

 

Ticket Information

 

Tickets are now on sale.  Single ticket prices are $150 / $120 / $85 / $55 / $40. For tickets, visit the Auditorium Theatre box office at 50 E. Congress Parkway; call Ticketmaster at (312) 902-1500; or log on to ticketmaster.com.  For more information, visit margaretgarnerchicago.org or auditoriumtheatre.org.

Discounted Margaret Garner tickets are currently available for groups of 10 or more, including student groups for the Oct. 31 dress rehearsal. For more information on group sales, call Beth Bullock at (312) 431-2357 or e-mail bbullock@auditoriumtheatre.org.

Margaret Garner tickets are currently available as part of two Auditorium Theatre 2008-2009 subscription series. The American Series includes Margaret Garner, Too Hot to Handel: The Jazz-Gospel Messiah and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. The Arts Appreciation Series includes The Kirov Ballet & Orchestra performing Giselle, Margaret Garner, Too Hot to Handel: The Jazz-Gospel Messiah, Batsheva Dance Company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Nederlands Dans Theater I. Subscribers receive discounted tickets, priority seating, invitations to special events, prepaid discounted parking and other benefits. For more information on subscriptions, call Beth Bullock at (312) 431-2357 or e-mail bbullock@auditoriumtheatre.org.

Tickets, tables and sponsorships are currently available for the Margaret Garner Gala on Sunday, Nov. 2. The Margaret Garner Gala package includes tickets to the performance at 3 p.m; a cocktail reception at 6:30 p.m.; a gala dinner at 7:15 p.m. at The Palmer House Hilton (17 E. Monroe); and entertainment at 8:45 p.m. Individual gala tickets are $500 / $750. Tables of 10 are $5,000 / $7,500 / $10,000. Gala sponsorships are available for $25,000. For more information, call (312) 922-2110 ext. 368 or e-mail amartinez@auditoriumtheatre.org.

 

Sponsors and Supporters

 

This enormous undertaking has met with significant leadership support from the Chicago community. The lead corporate sponsor of Margaret Garner is The Boeing Company and the lead individual sponsors are Bob and Marjilee Blackwell. The Chicago Community Trust is the lead foundation sponsor and the Louise H. Landau Foundation is the lead civic engagement partner. Kraft Foods, Inc. is the lead education sponsor and United Airlines is the official and exclusive airline of the Auditorium Theatre. The Palmer House Hilton is the official hotel partner.  Margaret Garner Project co-chairs are James and Mary Bell, Bob and Marjilee Blackwell, Gail Waller and Tim Schwertfeger. Margaret Garner Gala co-chairs are Sandra and Timothy Rand and Andrea and William Zopp. The Margaret Garner Gala sponsor is Exelon Corporation. Additional corporate and foundation support is being provided by Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, Best Portion Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, Sage Foundation, The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust, Merrill Lynch and The City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs - City Arts Program Grant.

Community Collaborators

 

The historical, legal and moral issues explored in Margaret Garner lend themselves to a broad spectrum of related activities.  Community collaborators include the following organizations:  Roosevelt University; Chicago Public Schools Office of Fine Arts; Chicago Foundation for Women; The Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms; The Chicago Urban League; Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs; Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media; Columbia College Chicago; DuSable Museum of African American History; Facing History and Ourselves; The HistoryMakers; Ravinia Festival Association; WTTW 11 – 98.7 WFMT; in addition to the Chicago Sinfonietta and Michigan Opera Theatre. 

The Margaret Garner project manager is Gail Kalver, former executive director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.

Additional information is available at margaretgarnerchicago.org. 

 

About the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University

The Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, located at 50 E. Congress Parkway, is an independent, not-for-profit organization committed to presenting the finest in international, cultural and community programming to Chicago, and to the continued restoration and preservation of the National Historic Landmark Auditorium Theatre.  For more information about programming, volunteer and donor opportunities or theater tours, call (312) 922-2110 or visit auditoriumtheatre.org, now featuring Chicago’s Landmark Stage, a comprehensive online history of the Auditorium from 1889 through today, made possible by the generous support of the American Express Performing Arts Fund.