NEC Opera: Svadba-Wedding

Ana Sokolović | Svadba (2010)

CAST

Composer's note:
When Queen of Puddings Music Theatre approached me to write an opera for six female voices, I took this opportunity to explore the wedding theme, especially the night before the ceremony, when we are privy to private and ancient rituals between the bride and her girlfriends.
        The text is taken from original Serbian poetry but given a new context for our contemporary culture. The music is derived from traditional folklore. The compositional structure is informed by everyday images and objects – such as hair, cups, and water. The scenes unfold, not in a linear narrative, but in a playful interconnection animated through drama, distilling magic and fantasy from ordinary moments.
           A wedding is an important turning point in every woman’s life, usually steeped in tradition and always signifying change and juncture. Milica’s rite of passage is universal, an archetype of human experience. Svadba offers a chance to delve deep into the quality and richness of a short but decisive moment in time.     
– Ana Sokolović

Director's note:
Svadba is the story of five bridesmaids preparing, physically and emotionally, for their friend’s wedding. It’s based on Serbian wedding traditions, music, and folklore but though they provide the colours and world of the piece, the actions, and the theme of finding love and community on the precipice of change are universal. In this production, we’re exploring the liminal space between girlhood and womanhood - that time when friendships are almost romantic in their intensity, when the items in your personal space have totemic more than aesthetic value, when your bedroom is your private kingdom. Together, we’ll pass the night with these six women in their most private sanctum as they celebrate and grieve for the change that’s about to come.
        You’ll see that we haven’t provided surtitles for this production. That’s because this sound world almost as much a painting as it is a drama. The text is pulled from Serbian poetry with origins ranging from ancient times to the current day. It’s interesting and beautiful, but ultimately has little to do with the story. The story is told in the sound - the contours, the rhythm and the way the voices relate to each other. Take it in as you would a canvas, maybe a Kandinsky or a Chagall: let your senses roam through the piece and put the colours and brushstrokes together. We’ll see you on the other side.

Note: If you would like to read the translations, they are provided for you here.

Text

Biographies

ARTISTIC TEAM

SARAH JANE PELZER – Stage Director
Sarah Jane Pelzer is a stage director and performance maker based in Vancouver, BC.  She has directed, assisted and taught across Canada and the US at Vancouver, Edmonton, and Manitoba Opera, Opera on the Avalon, Pacific Opera Victoria, Opera Kelowna, and Wolf Trap.
        This past spring, she completed a virtual Leighton Artist’s Residency at the Banff Center for the Performing Arts with soprano Teiya Kasahara to develop a method-logy for collaborative opera creation.  Prior to her transition to the opera world, Sarah was a performer and theatre-maker most known as artistic associate and co-founder of the experimental performance company SNAFU Dance Theatre. With SNAFU, she co-created and performed in several pieces that blurred the lines between dance, puppetry, clown and ceremony.
        In November 2020, Sarah co-founded Lucky Penny Opera, a company dedicated to exploring alternative models for creating opera performances. This fall, they commissioned 6 new operas created over the course of 48 hours through a project called, aptly, The 48 Hour Opera Projects. The operas created will be available to be viewed online in December.
        You can find Sarah and her work at sarahjanepelzer.com and  luckypennyopera.com

BRETT HODGDON - Conductor (Nov. 18, 20)
Brett Hodgdon is the chorus master and principal coach at Boston Lyric Opera, where he has served on the company’s music staff for over two dozen productions since 2011.In addition to his work at Boston Lyric Opera, Hodgdon has been a rehearsal pianist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 2008, having rehearsed and coached programs for BSO music director Andris Nelsons as well as many guest conductors.  He has maintained frequent collaborations with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus and the Boston Symphony Children’s Chorus, both as pianist and rehearsal conductor.  A frequent performer with the Emmanuel Music Chamber Series in Boston, he has also been rehearsal pianist for their Bach Cantata Series since 2006.  
        Hodgdon serves on the vocal coaching faculties of  New England Conservatory of Music and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and was previously music director of the University of Connecticut Opera Theater for eight seasons.  Since 2014, he has spent his summers on the coaching faculty of Si Parla, Si Canta! in Arona, Italy, where he made his international conducting debut with the Orchestra Sinfonica Carlo Coccia di Novara in 2019.  
        He received the D.M.A. in Collaborative Piano from the New England Conservatory (2014), where he studied piano with Irma Vallecillo and Cameron Stowe, and opera and vocal repertoire with John Greer and John Moriarty.  He holds the M.M. in Accompanying and Chamber Music and the B.M. in Piano Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

DAMIEN KRZYZEK - Conductor (Nov. 19, 21)
Damien Krzyzek’s teaching and performing career incorporates his unique and diverse background as a pianist, classical singer, linguist, and opera coach. A faculty member of New England Conservatory since 2007, he has also served on the music staff of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis since 2008.  Formerly the Principal Coach of Boston Lyric Opera, he prepared 13 productions for that company over four consecutive seasons, including Dvořák’s Rusalka, for which he served as Czech diction coach. Additionally, Krzyzek has worked as rehearsal pianist for Opera Colorado, and diction coach for Opera Boston’s The Bartered Bride and Béatrice et Bénédict.  In addition to his academic and operatic duties, he has privately coached professional singers for roles at national and international opera companies. He has studied and coached more than a dozen languages to date, including Russian, Dutch, Catalan, and Polish. An active performer, Krzyzek collaborates regularly with vocalists and instrumentalists throughout New England.

JEFF ADELBERG - LIGHTING DIRECTOR
Jeff Adelberg is a Boston-based designer, responsible for over 300 productions. His recent work includes: Merchant of Venice, King Lear, Edward II (Actors’ Shakespeare Project); A Lie Agreed Upon, A Doll's House Part 2, True West (Gamm); The Children, The Curious Incident... (Speakeasy); Vanity Fair, Frankenstein (Underground Railway); The Seagull, The Stone (Arlekin Theatre); Beckett Women: Ceremonies of Departure  (Cambridge, MA and Belfast, NI); Birdy, Macbeth (Commonwealth Shakespeare);  Trouble in Tahiti (Boston Lyric Opera); Boston’s Christmas Revels since 2010. Jeff attended the University of Connecticut and teaches at Boston College, Brandeis University, and Northeastern University. Member USA-829. www.JeffAdelberg.com

KARIN HARTMANN LUDLOW -  Production Stage Manager
Ms. Ludlow is delighted to be returning to the New England Conservatory where previously, she stage managed Agrippina, La finta giardiniera, and Later The Same Evening. Local credits include four seasons for Odyssey Opera where she stage managed Ezio and Sir John in Love, directed by Joshua Major. Other credits with Odyssey Opera include The Importance of Being Earnest, Le Cid and Die Tote Stadt. Her six seasons with Opera Boston included stage managing Béatrice et Bénédict, Fidelio, Tancredi, The Pearl Fishers, and the North American premiere of Angels in America. She made her Boston stage management debut at Boston Lyric Opera with Maria Stuarda. Regional credits include five seasons as Production Stage Manager at The New Repertory Theatre and ten seasons as Production Stage Manager at Lake George Opera. Favorite credits include three seasons for Sarasota Opera Association where she stage managed Tosca, Die Fledermaus, The Flying Dutchman, and various works of the Verdi cycle.

BROOKE STANTON - Costume Designer
Brooke Stanton is a professional costumer who has worked in theatre, film, and television. Her clients include George Lucas, Disney, Peter Sellars, the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, New England Conservatory, and the American Conservatory Theatre, among others. She has toured the U.S. and Europe with shows and held every position in the costuming field, from designer to stitcher. She studied Costume Design at NYU and has a degree in Textiles from the California College of the Arts.

ABOUT THE CAST (in alphabetical order)

CHIHIRO ASANO - LJUBICA
Chihiro Asano is a graduate student studying Vocal Pedagogy at New England Conservatory (NEC) in Boston. She is an alumna of the prestigious Tokyo College of Music in Japan where she graduated with top honors in 2019 and earned a Bachelor of Music degree with a major in Vocal Performance. She has worked part-time as an assistant to an otolaryngologist at Tokyo Voice Center, International University of Health and Welfare, from 2017 up to 2019. She is a classical singer and hopes to become a vocal pedagogy teacher in Japan in the near future.

KAYLEIGH BENNETT - LENA
Kayleigh Bennett is an Opera Studies graduate student at NEC studying voice with Jane Eaglen. She received her Vocal Music Education and Music Performance double major degree with honors in music at Moravian College in 2019, and during her time at Moravian she studied voice with Megan Durham. Her 115-page project on Puccini was granted honors and is currently displayed in Reeves Library. In 2018, she was selected for and attended the Up North Vocal Institute, a selective opera performance program. Kayleigh has appeared as a soloist in recitals throughout Pennsylvania and Michigan, as well as with the Moravian College Choir and with a variety of churches. She especially enjoys performing works by Mozart, Brahms, and Ravel.

SARA BUGGY - DANICA
Sara Buggy is an emerging artist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has previously performed with Peabody Opera, Opernfest Berlin, and New England Conservatory Opera in roles such as Constance in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites, Mary Warren in Ward’s The Crucible, and Giannetta in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore. Miss Buggy is currently pursuing a Graduate Diploma in the studio of Jane Eaglen. 

DARBY CLINARD - LJUBICA
Darby Clinard, mezzo-soprano, is a second year master’s student here at New England Conservatory, studying Vocal Performance with Karen Holvik. She is originally from Northern Virginia and received her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from James Madison University. Darby most recently appeared in NE C's production of Dialogues of the Carmelites as Mère Marie. Previously, Darby has appeared in James Madison University Opera Theatre productions of Dead Man Walking (Sister Helen), and Così fan tutte (Dorabella). Ms. Clinard is so excited for the upcoming year at NEC. 

LOREN GRAZIANO - MILICA
Canadian coloratura soprano Loren Graziano is currently pursuing her Graduate Diploma in Vocal Performance under the tutelage of Lisa Saffer. Most recently, Loren had the pleasure of debuting as Elisa in NEC’s Graduate Opera production of Il re pastore. In addition, her studies in the NEC opera department include her involvement in the Fall scenes production as Nannetta from Verdi’s Falstaff, and Theodora from Handel’s Theodora. 
        Loren graduated from the University of Toronto in 2020 with a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance, and in 2018 she earned a Bachelor of Music degree. Loren debuted as Olympia in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffman at the Halifax Summer Opera Festival in 2019. She has been featured on stage and in recital across Toronto, including Opera Atelier’s 2019 production of Mozart’s Idomeneo (Chorus), the University of Toronto Opera’s production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni (Chorus), Gershwin’s Of Thee I Sing (Chorus), and as a soloist in the University of Toronto Vocalisseries.  Loren has also been involved in the choral and ensemble work at UofT, including the early music ensemble Schola Cantorum lead by Daniel Taylor, the MacMillian Singers conducted by Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt, and the Opera Undergrad Ensemble. Loren has been a part of several prestigious summer programs, such as St. Andrews by the Sea, the Cornish-American Song Institute, Opera NUOVA, Oberlin in Italy, COSI: Centre for Opera Studies in Italy Apprentice Program, and the Orford Music Summer Academy.

JULIETTE KAOUDJI - NADA
Mezzo-soprano Juliette Kaoudji’s most recent operatic performances were in Dialogues of the Carmelites (Mère Jeanne)and in a scenes program of Handel’s Ariodante (Ariodante) at NEC. An alumna of the Boston Arts Academy, she received her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance in 2020 from NEC and was the recipient of an entrepreneurial grant to oversee four opera scenes performed for the veterans at the Soldiers Home in Chelsea. She is now in the second year of the Master of Music program and studies with Carole Haber. 
        Her other opera experiences include Mayrik in Role Playing Game by NEC alumnus Jacob Schulman, Dido in Dido and Aeneas (BAA), and scenes from the Magic Flute (Second Lady, Così fan tutte (Dorabella), La Cenerentola (Thisbe), and Carmen (Mercedes).

EMMA ROBERTSON ­– MILICA
Originally from Marietta, GA, soprano Emma Robertson is pursuing her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance at New England Conservatory of Music studying with Michael Meraw. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Performance from the University of Georgia where she studied with Dr. Elizabeth Johnson-Knight.  In 2019, she won the Kay and Jimmy Garrison Student Grand Prize at the Orpheus Vocal Competition, which gave her the necessary scholarship and funding to attend the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria that summer. A few months later, she received an Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in Atlanta, GA. As a result she was invited to coach with Nate Raskin, an opera coach on faculty at the Met, and was granted a semi-finalist spot in the Lindemann Young Artist Development program. This past July she. performed L’Elisir d’amore with Opera Maine and is a studio artist with the company for the 2021-2022 year. Ms. Robertson has performed in opera ensembles and performed/studied roles such as Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Sophie (Werther), Cleopatra (Guilio Cesare), Marzelline (Fidelio), and Gianetta (L’Elisir d’amore). She has performed as Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro) with the Aquilon Music Festival and Young Artist Program, and, more recently, as Berta (Il barbiere di Siviglia) with the UGA Opera Department. When not performing, she enjoys teaching private voice, hiking, biking, drawing and/or painting, and playing with her cat Laurence.

KATERINA SKAFIDAS - DANICA
Katerina Skafidas is a soprano from Syracuse, NY and is in the second year of her Master of Music program in Vocal Performance at NEC, studying with Jane Eaglen. She has a concentration in vocal pedagogy and teaches students of varying styles and abilities. Ms. Skafidas is a soloist at St. Michael’s church in Milton and has a fellowship with NEC’s Community Performance Partnerships to bring music to those in the Boston area who have the least access to it. 
        Ms. Skafidas graduated summa cum laude from Syracuse University (B.M. ’20), studying voice performance with Janet Brown. She worked with composers on premiering their works, particularly through the Society for New Music. As a frequent recitalist with organizations around Syracuse, she also sang with the Syracuse Opera in chorus and comprimario roles for three seasons.

YUWEN SUN - NADA
Mezzo-soprano Yuwen Sun is a second year master’s degree candidate at New England Conservatory where she studies under the tutelage of Lisa Saffer. Ms.Sun earned her bachelor’s degree from East China Normal University and has entered and won prizes in competitions in Singapore and China.

ANDERSEN WHITE - LENA
Hailing from Houston, TX, Andersen White is a young singing actress who specializes incoloratura and lyric repertoire. She has previously sung with Opera Connecticut, Hartford OperaTheater, and at New England Conservatory. Andersen’s operatic roles include Princess Dora(Lori Laitman’s The Three Feathers), Valencienne (Lehár’s The Merry Widow), and The Rooster(Janáček’s Cunning Little Vixen). Andersen White is passionate about various types ofrepertoire, but she especially enjoys performing new works after premiering Yantra 9 with thelate David MacBride in 2017 and working with Lori Laitman in 2019. Miss White is currentlypursuing her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance at NEC, studyingwith Dr. Ian Howell and she expects to graduate in the spring of 2022. In 2019, she graduated, summa cum laude, with a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performancefrom the Hartt School of Music where she studied with Dr.Robert Barefield.

HUANHUAN XIE - ZORA
Huanhuan Xie is a second year master’s student in the Voice/Opera performance program at NEC and is a student of Carole Haber. During her time at NEC, she has performed in several jazz groups and has sung selections from Handel’s Ariodante and Giulio Cesare and in the production of Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites. She began to study piano at age 5 and expects to continue to play it for the rest of her life.  

SHUQI YANG - ZORA
Chinese soprano Shuqi Yang is currently pursuing her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance at NEC under the tutelage of Carole Haber. In 2019, Shuqi graduated from Shanghai Conservatory of Music with a master’s degree in Vocal Performance. In 2016, she played the role of Donna Anna (Don Giovanni)in Summer Festival in Arezzo, Italy. In 2017, she attended the Salzburg Music Festival, studied with coloratura soprano Luciana Serra and German pianist Hartmut Höll, and performed an aria from Massenet’s Manon. That same year Shuqi was selected to perform on behalf of Shanghai Conservatory of Music at the Royal College of Music, UK and Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg, Germany. During her studies in Shanghai, Shuqi performed with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and performed in Shanghai Concert Hall’s program, “Music Afternoon Tea”, for local citizens. Within one year she gave two solo recitals at Shanghai Conservatory.