Resonance Works Selects First Executive Director & Announces Return to the Stage for its Ninth Season

Resonance Works has announced its 2021-22 season, Bridging Time, Space, and Tradition, and the appointment of Dr. Clare Longendyke as the organization's first Executive Director. Resonance Works' ninth season combines virtual and in-person performances in line with the organization's mission to enrich the Pittsburgh community through innovative musical experiences that engage audiences and empower artists.

The season opens on October 1 with HEROES, a series of world premiere opera films created by the member companies of the Decameron Opera Coalition that explore the meaning of heroism. In November, Back to the Future features an all-female-composer line-up and soloist Jeffrey Turner, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's former principal bassist, with the Resonance Chamber Orchestra. A family-friendly film of Engelbert Humperdinck's beloved Hansel & Gretel debuts in December, with a concert by 2021 Metropolitan Opera Grand Finals-winning soprano, Raven McMillon, following in February. Verdi's iconic masterpiece, Rigoletto, closes the season with performances in late May.

The Decameron Opera Coalition presents HEROES

Resonance Works' new season kicks off on October 1, 2021 with the virtual premiere of HEROES, the second project by the Decameron Opera Coalition. Resonance Works co-founded this unprecedented partnership of nine indie opera companies from across the U.S. that united to cultivate new work and reshape the way opera is created and enjoyed. The coalition's inaugural series, Tales from a Safe Distance, was hailed "an unbridled success" (Houston Journal), and was awarded a 2020 "Freddie" Excellence in Opera Award from Fred Plotkin and WQXR New York Public Radio, named one of the industry-defining moments of the year by Operawire, and has been archived in the Library of Congress. The film series is still available for public streaming in the IDAGIO Global Concert Hall.

The Coalition returns with renewed fervor for HEROES, seven world premiere opera short films presented in three episodes that explore the meaning of heroism and profile unsung, unconventional, or misunderstood heroes from varying eras and geographies. Each DOC company honors a different hero with their chapter: from Hazel M. Johnson (the mother of environmental justice) and Sacajawea, to the everyday heroes of Pittsburgh, New York City, and Duluth. Framing the series is "Hero Songs," a new art song cycle by DOC co-founders Peter Hilliard and Matt Boresi. Headlining the project is renowned soprano Karen Slack (Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago), recently named a 2022 winner of the Sphinx medal of excellence. Slack is joined in the song cycle by former Pittsburgh Opera resident artist tenor Javier Abreu, mezzo-soprano Tesia Kwarteng, and baritone John Castillo.

Resonance Works' chapter, "Letter to Our Children," is the creative product of composer Justine F. Chen, a 2020 Opera America Discovery Grant recipient, and the award-winning playwright Jacqueline Goldfinger. The piece is framed as a touching letter from the composer to her twin sons about her late father's heroism in taking care of his family. Mezzo-soprano Laurel Semerdjian, an alum of the Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist program, brings the world premiere to life alongside an ensemble drawn from the Resonance Chamber Orchestra.

The DOC will host a live-streamed premiere-night virtual party on October 1 at 8pm with artist interviews and glimpses into all the chapters. Episode-specific parties take place virtually on October 3, 5, and 7, streaming on all virtual platforms. All three HEROES episodes premiere on October 1, and tickets are now on sale at https://bit.ly/DOCHeroes. Following the immense success of Tales, HEROES promises to be a dynamic start to the Resonance Works season.

Back to the Future

On November 13 & 14, the company returns to the stage for its first in-person mainstage performances since December 2019. With Back to the Future, the Resonance Chamber Orchestra makes its debut at the Greer Cabaret at Theater Square featuring a program of string orchestra works inspired by past musical traditions from around the world. The program includes guest soloist and former Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra principal double bassist, Jeffrey Turner, in the Pittsburgh premiere of Missy Mazzoli's Dark with Excessive Bright (2018). Also featured on the program is Chen Yi's Shuo (1995), a "shimmering, sparkling amalgam of folk singing from [the composer's] native China," Jessie Montgomery's Source Code (2013), which is based on syntax derived from black spirituals, and Gabriela Lena Frank's Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout (2003), a work that juxtaposes the western classical and Andean folk music traditions. Tickets for these performances will go on sale later this month.

Hansel & Gretel

In December, Resonance Works joins forces with Opera Ithaca to ring in holiday cheer with a new film version of Engelbert Humperdinck's beloved opera, Hansel & Gretel. The film is an innovative reimagining of the 19th-century original: Hansel and Gretel, lost in the woods, stumble upon the set of a celebrity pastry chef's cooking show, where they are invited to be the guest stars (and main ingredients!). The film's all-star cast includes sopranos Meghan Kasanders (Staastoper Hannover, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis) and Marlen Nahhas (Washington National Opera Cafritz Young Artist), mezzo-soprano Annie Rosen (Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago), and baritone Mario Diaz-Moresco (Chautauqua Opera), and a special partnership with the Pittsburgh Youth Chorus. Resonance Works' Artistic Director Maria Sensi Sellner leads an octet of Resonance Chamber Orchestra players.

Resonance Works and the Pittsburgh Youth Chorus will host an in-person movie premiere event at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater on December 18. The delightful new film will stream online through the holiday season.

Raven McMillon in Concert

February brings a one-night only concert by one of opera's brightest rising stars. Soprano Raven McMillon, a 2021 Grand Finals Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and Carnegie Mellon alum, returns to Pittsburgh on February 20, 2022 at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater with a multi-genre program of art song, opera, and jazz. A second-year artist in the Houston Grand Opera Studio, this season, she takes on the roles of Frasquita in Carmen, Peter in the world premiere of Joel Thompson's The Snowy Day, and Papagena in The Magic Flute, and makes her house and role debut at Opera Philadelphia as Gilda in Rigoletto.

Rigoletto

Resonance Works closes the season on May 20 & 22 with its long-awaited production of one of opera's most beloved and heartbreaking tales, Giuseppe Verdi's masterpiece, Rigoletto. An intimate reimagining by returning stage director Valerie Rachelle (On the Town) updates the story to the 1930s, bringing the relevance of Gilda's experience into nearer focus. Baritone Andrew Cummings takes on the role of Rigoletto, lending his "hefty voice and formidable presence" (Houston Chronicle) to the character. Soprano Joanna Latini (Glimmerglass Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Carnegie Mellon University alumna) headlines in her role debut as Gilda, with Puerto Rican tenor Ángel Vargas (Dallas Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis) in his role debut as the Duke of Mantua. The mainstage production will be accompanied by a streaming world premiere of L'assassino, a hip-hopera creation by composer and performing artist K.F. Jacques. A prequel to the Rigoletto story, L'assassino tells of the dark beginnings of the assassin Sparafucile through Jacques' unique fusion of hip-hop and opera. Jacques' "Corsair" premiered in last season's Tales from a Safe Distance and was named Best New Local Opera Production of 2020 in The Chicago Reader.

Longendyke, a "steward" of Resonance Works' mission

Executive Director Clare Longendyke, who joins Resonance Works from The University of Chicago where she served as Artist in Residence and Director of Chamber Music, exudes a contagious passion for inspiring audiences to forge deeper connections to classical music. In her work as an arts administrator and entrepreneur, Longendyke has advocated for creative placemaking and pioneered new ways to connect artists and audiences to their communities. Longendyke's efforts to bring innovative musical experiences to public places and historic sites earned her a nomination for the Indianapolis Business Journal's Women of Influence award in 2019. She balances an active international career as a concert pianist with her work as an administrator. "Resonance Works has been a model of resiliency through this challenging time for artists and arts organizations across the country," Longendyke commented. "I am proud to steward the organization forward alongside Artistic & General Director Maria Sensi Sellner as we continue to innovate new and unique ways to engage Pittsburgh audiences and artists."

Season Ticket Information

Tickets are currently on sale for HEROES at bit.ly/DOCHeroes. Single tickets for the remainder of the Resonance Works season will go on sale throughout the season. Live performances will have a virtual ticket option for a digital encore following the in-person event.

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