Ouroboros Opera and Valkyrie Ensemble to Present Chicago Premiere of LA FEMME BOHEME This Month

Two Chicago-based companies Ouroboros Opera and The Valkyrie Ensemble will join forces this month to produce the Chicago Premiere of La Femme Bohème – the beloved Puccini opera La Bohème with a twist. The leading cast is made up entirely of female and non-binary performers. The unique interpretation of the opera is enhanced by an equally unique performance venue. Popular Andersonville bookstore Women and Children First provides an intimate and “Bohemian” setting for the grand opera. Performances are Friday, August 25 & Saturday, August 26 at 7:30 PM at Women and Children First bookstore 5233 N. Clark St. in Andersonville. Due to the size of the venue, seating is extremely limited. Tickets are $25 general admission; $15 for industry professionals, and are available for purchase now on Eventbrite.

La Bohème, one of the most often performed operas in the modern canon, explores the lives of a group of Parisian artists experiencing enduring friendship, turbulent romantic relationships, and ultimately tragedy as they dodge bills, skip rent payments, and attempt to carve out a life for themselves as artists. In traditional productions, the four Bohemian roommates- poet Rodolfo, painter Marcello, musician Schaunard, and philosopher Colline are played by men while the female characters – Mimì and Musetta- are defined entirely by their relationship status to the men.  By recasting all of the six main characters as femme, La Femme Bohème allows all Puccini's vivid characters to take on new dimensions and agency. La Femme Bohème was first produced by Austin based opera company LOLA.

“Our goal is always to make sure people feel welcome at the opera,” said Ouroboros Opera Co-Founder Alexis Enyart “This is an art form that belongs to everyone and so by re-imagining who the characters in Bohème are we also re-imagine who can be included in our community .”

“We are so thrilled to be collaborating with the accomplished Ouroboros Opera on this production.” adds Valkyrie Ensemble Artistic Director Marnie Baylouny “After a pandemic hiatus, Valkyrie Ensemble is ready to get back to the work of creating gender parity in this artform we love.”

Conducted by Alexis Enyart and directed by Paige Dirkes-Jacks the ensemble cast features soprano Angela Born as Mimì; soprano Alannah Spencer as Rodolfo; mezzo-soprano Beck Buechel as Marcello; soprano Marnie Baylouny as Musetta; mezzo-soprano Tracey Furling as Schaunard; contralto Angela Torres-Kutkuhn as Colline; baritone Jeremiah Strickler as Benoît/Alcindoro; and Molly Clementz as Parpignol. Pianist Lillia Woolschlager takes on the role of the orchestra.

About Ouroboros Opera

Ouroboros Opera is dedicated to providing high quality performances of standard operatic repertoire in intimate spaces, creating opera that is more accessible to audiences and performers. Ouroboros Opera is a collaborative model of production in which all the performers on stage invest as equal shareholders to produce an opera. This model was developed and tested in 2019 by company founders Alexandra Enyart and Marysa Abbas in an attempt to give the power of production back to performers. Ouroboros Opera continues to be committed to the community of Chicago and is dedicated to creating the best experiences possible for the community on both sides of the stage.  For more information visit www.ouroborosopera.com

About The Valkyrie Ensemble

Founded in 2020, the Chicago-based Valkyrie Ensemble's mission is to empower and promote women in and through opera by supporting female artists, promoting works by and about women, and taking charge of the narrative of opera by producing updated versions of the operatic canon and commissioning new works. The repertoire of the traditional operatic canon possesses significant gender disparity in the number of roles available for women. This statistic combined with the fact that almost 75% of voice program graduates are women, means that, especially at the start of their careers, women face fewer opportunities to perform in addition to less pay. Add on to that the general abuse and mistreatment of women in opera plots, the need to advocate for the promotion of women is essential to keeping the art form relevant. La Femme Boheme marks The Valkyrie Ensemble's first live production since launching months before the start of the global pandemic and immediately pivoting to creating virtual content. For more information visit valkyrieensemble.com

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