The Santa Fe Opera & New Mexico PBS Announce New Series "From Page To Stage"
The Santa Fe Opera & New Mexico PBS Announce New Series “From Page To Stage” on the making of world premiere opera “The Lord of Cries”
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Santa Fe, NM — Beginning Saturday, March 27**, the Santa Fe Opera and New Mexico PBS (NMPBS) present an original iCOLORES! broadcast series on the making of John Corigliano and Mark Adamo’s new opera The Lord of Cries. From Page to Stage offers an inside, multi-part view on the creative forces behind the Santa Fe Opera’s 17th world premiere, scheduled to open on July 17 as part of the 64th Festival Season. Airing monthly as part of NMPBS’s landmark, award-winning iCOLORES! series dedicated to the creative spirit of New Mexico, viewers will meet and hear from Santa Fe Opera General Director Robert K. Meya, renowned tenor George Shirley, composer John Corigliano, librettist Mark Adamo, director James Darrah, costume designer Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, soprano Susanna Phillips, Santa Fe Opera production director Chelsea Antrim Dennis and other creative luminaries. Through discussions with key creators and exclusive rehearsal and performance footage, From Page to Stage captures the collaborative process of opera-making and aims to conclude with the safe and successful reopening of one of America’s longest-running opera festivals.
From Page to Stage marks the first collaboration of its kind between the Santa Fe Opera and New Mexico PBS. Says General Director Robert K. Meya, “The Santa Fe Opera is delighted to embark on this exciting new series with New Mexico PBS. For over sixty years the Santa Fe Opera has been committed to playing a significant role in New Mexico’s vibrant arts and culture landscape by presenting performances of the highest quality of new, rarely performed, and standard works. From Page to Stage truly has something for everyone and we are grateful for this opportunity and the incredible partnership of NMPBS in telling our story. We are so excited to invite opera fans and newcomers behind the scenes at the Santa Fe Opera.”
Franz Joachim, NMPBS General Manager and CEO notes, “For over sixty years New Mexico PBS has presented the best of the Southwest’s arts, history, music and culture to the communities of New Mexico and the nation. While historically NMPBS and its award-winning ¡COLORES! series have told numerous stories highlighting the Santa Fe Opera, with this new multi-part series, we have the luxury of focusing solely on one opera. We feel that exploring the myriad of creative elements that go into bringing a final production to an audience is the next step in a cultural progression. NMPBS is proud to partner with the Santa Fe Opera in this new endeavor, and looks forward to sharing it with communities across New Mexico and the nation.”
From Page to Stage Program Schedule
All episodes will be broadcast locally on NMPBS channel 5.1, and will stream online at nmpbs.org and santafeopera.org. Each episode will be rebroadcast the Friday following its premiere at 8 pm MDT on WORLD channels 5.4 and 9.1.
Episode 1: The Storied History of Santa Fe Opera — Saturday, March 27, 4 pm MDT
Episode 2: The Lord of Cries Story & Creators — Saturday, April 24, 4 pm MDT
Episode 3: Conceptualizing The Lord of Cries — Saturday, May 29, 4 pm MDT
Episode 4: Role Play and The Lord of Cries — Saturday, June 26, 4 pm MDT
Episode 5: Health & Safety at The Santa Fe Opera — Saturday, July 3, 4 pm MDT
Episode 6*: Rehearsing The Lord of Cries — Saturday, July 10, 4 pm MDT
Episode 7*: Opening Night of The Lord of Cries — Saturday, August 14, 4 pm MDT
*Tentatively scheduled at this time.
**Please note that this Press Release has been updated to reflect production schedule adjustments. Air dates are TBD and will be announced in due course.
About The Lord of Cries
The Lord of Cries by composer John Corigliano and librettist Mark Adamo, is based on the intriguing points of intersection between two classics of Western literature, The Bacchae of Euripides and Dracula by Bram Stoker.
Separated by 24 centuries, The Bacchae and Dracula tell virtually the same timeless story, with the same subversive message: We must honor our animal nature lest it turn monstrous and destroy us. The Lord of Cries begins with a strange, androgynous god returning to earth to offer a mortal three chances to “ask for what you want” or risk the consequences. He materializes in Victorian England in the guise of the eponymous “Lord of Cries,” none other than the irresistible antihero of Dracula.
Corigliano creates powerfully contrasting sound worlds to distinguish the tidy world of the Victorians against the savage grandeur of the immortals, forging musical drama from the tension and the gravitational pull between the two worlds. Says the composer, “One important point of The Lord of Cries is that this conflict between who we want to be and who we actually are goes on and on; it tormented the ancient Greeks, and it torments us still. So that torment is the score’s real subject.”
The Lord of Cries is only the second opera by John Corigliano, following his acclaimed The Ghosts of Versailles (1991), which at the time was the Metropolitan Opera’s first commission in three decades. Corigliano’s one-hundred-plus compositions have won him the Pulitzer Prize, four Grammy Awards and an Oscar, and have been performed and recorded by many of the world’s greatest soloists, conductors and orchestras.
Librettist Mark Adamo, an accomplished composer in his own right, has authored the libretti for his four full-length operas, Little Women (1998), Lysistrata (2005), The Gospel of Mary Magdalene (2013) and Becoming Santa Claus (2015). The Lord of Cries marks the first operatic collaboration between Corigliano and Adamo, longtime partners in life.
Johannes Debus returns to the Santa Fe Opera podium to conduct this world premiere production. James Darrah directs, with sets by Adam Rigg, costumes by former technical apprentice Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko, lighting design by Pablo Santiago and projection design by Adam Larsen.
The title role of The Lord of Cries is written for superstar countertenor
Anthony Roth Costanzo, who makes his Santa Fe Opera debut as Dionysus. Soprano and former Santa Fe Opera apprentice singer Susanna Phillips returns to the Santa Fe Opera stage in the role of Lucy Harker. She is joined by tenor David Portillo as Jon Harker in his company debut, baritone and former apprentice singer Jarrett Ott asJohn Seward, bass Matt Boehler in his company debut as Van Helsing and bass Kevin Burdette as the Correspondent. Susanne Sheston is the Chorus Master.
The Lord of Cries receives its world premiere on July 17, 2021, and runs for six performances.
About iCOLORES!
The ¡COLORES! series debuted 1989, and features local and national stories about film, visual and performing arts, theatre, photography, literature, painting, sculpture, poetry and dance. ¡COLORES! provides an in-depth look at the inspiration, challenges and processes of a wide range of artists ¡COLORES! – New Mexico PBS/KNME was a 2019 recipient of the New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, as a Major Contributor to the Arts. ¡COLORES! programs have been included in museums across the country, at community events, and in classrooms from elementary school to higher education. Additionally, ¡COLORES! has received a National Emmy® nomination for Community Service, several Southwest regional Emmys, the Jury Prize at the Telluride Mountain Film Festival, and a showing at the Smithsonian’s Latino Film Festival.
¡COLORES! is presented nationally through a collaboration between New Mexico PBS and the Public Television Major Market Group (MMG), a public television affinity group. View previous episodes on the ¡COLORES! YouTube channel and look for ¡COLORES! on Facebook and Instagram. Tara Walch is the Series Producer of ¡COLORES!. Michael Kamins is the Executive Producer of Cultural Affairs Programs.
Funding for ¡COLORES! is provided in part by the Frederick Hammersley Foundation, and Viewers Like You. Thank you.
About New Mexico PBS
Celebrating over 60 years of service, NMPBS (KNME & KNMD-TV) serving New Mexico and the Navajo Nation, broadcasts a wide array of nature, history, current affairs, health, performance, children’s, educational and entertainment programs. NMPBS produces NEW MEXICO IN FOCUS, ¡COLORES! and a variety of specials. NMPBS operates 7 digital broadcast channels: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 9.1 and 9.2. NMPBS is co-licensed to the University of New Mexico (UNM) and Albuquerque Public Schools (APS). Visit nmpbs.org for more information.
About the 2021 Season
The Santa Fe Opera’s 2021 Season, running July 10 through August 27, presents 30 performances of four operas, including the world premiere of The Lord of Cries by John Corigliano and Mark Adamo directed by James Darrah; the company premiere of Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed and designed by Netia Jones; Laurent Pelly’s stylish new production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro; a new production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin directed by Alessandro Talevi; a celebratory concert featuring soprano Angel Blue in her company debut with 2021 Season artists and The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra; and two Apprentice Scenes performances.
The 64th Season celebrates the inclusion of works new to the world stage alongside audience favorites by Mozart and Tchaikovsky, and features some of opera’s most exciting talents. A variety of time periods and languages are represented, with pieces and perspectives dating from 1786 to 2021, sung in English, Italian and Russian. The future season is the second to be led by General Director Robert K. Meya, Artistic Director Alexander Neef and Music Director Harry Bicket, and perfectly fits the time-tested programming model pioneered by Santa Fe Opera founder John Crosby: a balanced and varied repertory of new, rarely performed and standard works portrayed in a new light. The Santa Fe Opera has been working to bring this incredible art form to audiences since 1957, and will continue its work to expand opera’s reach to new and diverse audiences through contemporary works, world premieres and its Opera For All Voices Initiative. Says Meya, “The 2021 Season will be a tribute to our unwavering optimism for the future of opera and the delight it can bring to viewers of all ages and backgrounds.”
About the Santa Fe Opera
Lauded by The Wall Street Journal as “the Rolls-Royce of American summer opera festivals,” the Santa Fe Opera annually draws 85,000 people from New Mexico and around the globe. Nestled atop a mountain vista in northern New Mexico, the company’s iconic Crosby Theatre is open on three sides, allowing visitors to enjoy performances complemented by the elements. Since 1957 the company has presented over 2,000 performances of 175 different operas by 89 composers spanning five centuries of opera, creating a legacy of 45 American premieres and 16 world premieres.
The Santa Fe Opera gratefully acknowledges the Bank of Albuquerque for its generous sponsorship of
From Page to Stage: The Santa Fe Opera’s world premiere of The Lord of Cries.
Page Header Image: The Lord of Cries illustration by Benedetto Cristofani
The mission of the Santa Fe Opera is to advance the operatic art form by presenting ensemble performances of the highest quality in a unique setting with a varied repertory of new, rarely performed, and standard works; to ensure the excellence of opera’s future through apprentice programs for singers, technicians, and arts administrators; and to foster an understanding and appreciation of opera among a diverse public.