Cincinnati Business Courier: CCM’s production of ‘Fellow Travelers’ included in list of 2023 arts highlights
Initially workshopped at CCM in 2013, the opera runs March 30-April 2 in Patricia Corbett Theater
The Cincinnati Business Courier recently published Janelle Gelfand’s preview of Cincinnati’s 2023 arts offerings. CCM’s upcoming production of Gregory Spears and Greg Pierce’s Fellow Travelers was included as one of the highlights of the new year.
Described by Gelfand as “one of the most successful new American operas,” the title has strong ties to CCM and Cincinnati. Based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Thomas Mallon, Fellow Travelers was originally workshopped at CCM in 2013 as part of the college’s Opera Fusion: New Works (OF:NW) partnership with Cincinnati Opera.
Cincinnati Opera presented the world premiere of Fellow Travelers in 2016 with a production that was conducted by CCM faculty member Mark Gibson and featured alumnus Joseph Lattanzi (MM Voice, 2015; AD Opera, 2015) singing the role of the opera's co-lead, Hawkins Fuller. The 2016 cast also included alumni Christian Pursell (MM Voice, '17), Paul Scholten (MM Voice, '09), Alexandra Schoeny (DMA Voice, '19) and Talya Lieberman (AD Opera, '16).
Gelfand writes: “Now, a decade after those 2013 workshops, CCM Opera presents Fellow Travelers, March 30-April 2 in Patricia Corbett Theater.” Conducted by CCM alumnus William R. Langley (MM Orchestral Conducting, '18) with co-direction by CCM artist diploma student Daria Zholnerova and CCM faculty member Greg Eldridge, the opera is set at the height of the McCarthy era, when young Timothy Laughlin is eager to join the crusade against Communism. A chance encounter with a handsome, profligate State Department official mamed Hawkins Fuller leads to Laughlin's first job in Washington, D.C., and his first love affair. Drawn into a maelstrom of deceit and intrigue, Laughlin struggles to reconcile his political convictions, his love for God and his love for Fuller — an entanglement that will end in a stunning act of betrayal.
Read the Cincinnati Business Courier’s 2023 arts preview. Tickets for CCM’s upcoming production of Fellow Travelers are on sale now.
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Featured image at top: Promotional image for CCM's Spring 2023 production of Fellow Travelers. Photo/Mark Lyons
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