Taylor Raven and Jorell Williams
The Seattle Times called longtime AOP baritone Jorell Williams and
mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven "passionate, powerful performers" in Seattle
Opera's new production
American Opera Projects
"inspiring and groundbreaking, innovative yet relatable"- Seattle Weekly on AS ONE
"The 2014 chamber opera "As One" has a power all its own. It is the
power of intimate revelation, a close encounter in a small gem of a
hall where the two singing actors are so near that they can almost touch
the audience. And they do touch the audience - with the emotional
impact of an affecting story about a child born into the wrong body.
...the finale is as uplifting as any operatic ending could be."
- Melinda Bargreen of The Seattle Times
Seattle Opera opened its run of As One
last Friday in the iconic Washington Hall and the glowing reviews
followed immediately after continuing a string of positive attention on
the hit chamber opera by composer Laura Kaminsky and librettists Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed that was commissioned and premiered by American Opera Projects. As One
depicts the experiences of its sole transgender protagonist, Hannah, as
she endeavors to resolve the discord between her Self and the outside
world.
"No
opera, to my knowledge, has told the story of a trans person as either a
central or subsidiary character, but novelty alone wouldn't be enough
to carry As One had not that story been framed with such expert and thoughtful craft." - Gavin Borchert of Seattle Weekly
Gavin Borchert of Seattle Weekly calls As One
"a gift... to opera companies hoping to reach untapped audiences who
may be more drawn by an examination of here-and-now issues than by
vengeful gods or scheming soubrettes" and its immense popularity backs
up that statement.
In a time where it is rare for a new opera to ever get a second production, Seattle Opera's As One
is the sixth production of the opera including AOP's 2014 world
premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Three new productions have
already been announced for 2017 at Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Colorado, and Long Beach Opera. (And we'll have more to tell you about very soon!) According to the national service organization OPERA America, by the end of 2017, As One will have received more new productions in the three years since its premiere than any other contemporary American opera.
"The opera's success is due in part to the talent at the heart of the playbill," posits Rich Smith of Seattle publication The Stranger. "Another part of the show's success might be due to its portability." Smith made the painful, but honest, assessment that As One is "an evening of heart-rending/heart-lifting opera that will make you think you actually like opera."
Also reviewed...
Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line to Freedom at Chicago's South Shore Opera
"Those
who want to know more about Harriet Tubman can turn to a magnificent
new opera that illuminates her career and artfully sketches a compelling
picture of her life. "Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line to
Freedom" by composer Nkeiru Okoye is an example of American opera at its very best." - M.L. RANTALA, Classical Music Critic of Hyde Park Herald
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