American Opera Projects, the Brooklyn-based company "known for bringing cutting-edge vocal productions to the masses" (New York Magazine), presents the final New York workshop of Stephen Schwartz's new opera Séance on a Wet Afternoon at the end of November in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The Manhattan performance (The Angel Orensanz Center, 172 Norfolk St.) will be at 8:00pm on Friday, November 21, 2008. The Brooklyn performance (South Oxford Space, 138 South Oxford Street, Brooklyn, NY) will be held at 8:00PM on Saturday, November 22, 2008. Tickets to each performance are $50. AOP will honor Mr. Schwartz and the company's own 20-year history with post-show receptions available to the public with an additional donation.
The two-act opera will be performed by singers Lauren Flanigan, Hila Plitman, Caroline Worra, Jessica Miller, Ory Brown, Michael Zegarski, Daniel Hoy, Madeline Marquis, John Kimberling, and Maeve Hoglund accompanied by Charity Wicks and Chris Cooley, pianists. Valéry Ryvkin will be the Music Director for both performances.Séance on a Wet Afternoon is the first opera by noted Broadway and film composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz ("Wicked", "Godspell", "Enchanted", etc.). Based on the novel by Mark McShane and the award-winning screen adaptation by Bryan Forbes, Séance is a psychological thriller about a medium, Myra Foster, who conspires with her husband to gain fame and fortune by kidnapping a girl and then "finding" her through her séances.After each performance, audience members who make an additional donation of $100 dollars will be given the opportunity to attend a reception with the composer and cast of Séance on a Wet Afternoon. The reception will be held in honor of AOP's 20th anniversary of developing and presenting new opera and Mr. Schwartz's contribution to contemporary theatre music.Stephen Schwartz, composer/librettist
Stephen Schwartz Stephen Schwartz was born in New York City on March 6, 1948. He studied piano and composition at the Juilliard School of Music while in high school and graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1968 with a B.F.A. in Drama. His first major credit was the title song for the play Butterflies are Free; the song was eventually used in the movie version as well.
In 1971, he wrote the music and new lyrics for Godspell, for which he won several awards including two Grammys. This was followed by the English texts, in collaboration with Leonard Bernstein, for Bernstein's Mass, which opened the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The following year, he wrote the music and lyrics for Pippin and two years later, The Magic Show. At one point, Godspell, Pippin, and The Magic Show were all running on Broadway simultaneously.
Other works as a composer and/or librettist include The Baker's Wife, followed by a musical version of Studs Terkel's Working, Captain Louie, Personals, Rags, Children of Eden. Film works include the Disney animated features Pocahontas, for which he received two Academy Awards and another Grammy, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He also provided songs for DreamWorks' first animated feature, The Prince of Egypt, for which he won another Academy Award for the song "When You Believe".
Mr. Schwartz's most recent musical, Wicked, opened in the fall of 2003 and is currently running on Broadway.
Valéry Ryvkin, Music DirectorPhoto by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd
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