CCM, Cincinnati Opera Co-Host Free Performance of 'Intimate Apparel'

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) and Cincinnati Opera’s

Opera Fusion: New Works program

presents a free performance of excerpts from new American opera

Intimate Apparel

at

7:30 p.m.

on

Monday, Nov. 14

in the Cincinnati Club's Oak Room.

Tickets are available now through the Cincinnati Opera box office by calling 513-241-2742 or visiting 

cincinnatiopera.org

.

Opera Fusion: New Works is currently providing a 10-day workshop for

Intimate Apparel

, which is composed by

Ricky Ian Gordon

to a libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright

Lynn Nottage

. The new opera is commissioned by The Metropolitan Opera/Lincoln Center Theater’s New Works Program.

The workshop is directed by 

Robin Guarino

, CCM's J. Ralph Corbett Distinguished Chair, and conducted by

Timothy Myers

, the artistic and music director of North Carolina Opera.

Paul Cremo

, dramaturg and director of opera commissioning programs for the Metropolitan Opera, will be the dramaturg for the workshop.

Adapted by Nottage from her prize-winning 2003 play of the same name,

Intimate Apparel

tells the story of Esther, a 35-year-old seamstress in 1905 New York City. Esther sews lingerie for a living, interacting with a wealthy Fifth Avenue wife, a Tenderloin prostitute and a Jewish fabric merchant on the Lower East Side, with whom she shares a closeness that cannot be pursued further because of his religion. Esther embarks on a letter-writing relationship with a Panama Canal laborer, leading to marriage and ultimately heartbreak, but she maintains her strength of character and determination to make a better life for herself.

Learn more about

Intimate Apparel

at

cincinnatiopera.org

About Opera Fusion: New Works

Funded by a generous grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Opera Fusion: New Works is a groundbreaking joint program of Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music created in 2011 to foster the development of new American operas. The program offers composers or composer/librettist teams the opportunity to workshop an opera during a 10-day residency in Cincinnati, utilizing the talent, personnel and facilities of both organizations. The workshops are cast with a combination of CCM students and professional artists, and each workshop concludes with a public performance. The program is led by co-artistic directors Marcus Küchle, Director of Artistic Operations of Cincinnati Opera, and Robin Guarino, the J. Ralph Corbett Distinguished Chair of Opera at CCM. In 2015, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation renewed the program’s funding, allowing for a second cycle of six workshops over three years.

In 2011, Opera Fusion: New Works awarded its first workshop to composer Douglas J. Cuomo and librettist John Patrick Shanley in support of their new opera 

Doubt

, which premiered at Minnesota Opera in January 2013. In 2012, Opera Fusion: New Works provided workshops for 

Champion

, by composer Terence Blanchard and librettist Michael Cristofer, which premiered at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in June 2013; and 

Morning Star

, by composer Ricky Ian Gordon and librettist William M. Hoffman, which premiered at Cincinnati Opera in June 2015. In 2013, the residency went to 

Fellow Travelers

, by composer Gregory Spears and librettist Greg Pierce, which premiered at Cincinnati Opera in June 2016. In 2014, the program invited composer Jake Heggie and librettist Terrence McNally to workshop Great Scott, which premiered at the Dallas Opera in October 2015. For the final workshop of the original six-workshop grant, the residency was awarded to Meet John Doe, with music and libretto by the late Daniel Catán. The first workshop of the second grant cycle was given in October 2015 to 

Shalimar the Clown

, by composer Jack Perla and librettist Rajiv Joseph, which premiered at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in June 2016.

Most recently Opera Fusion: New Works presented excerpts from new American opera

Some Light Emerges

on September 22, 2016. Composed by Laura Kaminsky to a libretto by Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed,

Some Light Emerges

was originally inspired by the creation of Houston’s iconic Rothko Chapel by philanthropist and art collector Dominique de Menil.

Opera Fusion: New Works Lab Presents

Intimate Apparel
Composed by Ricky Ian Gordon
Libretto by Lynn Nottage
Co-artistic Directors Robin Guarino and Marcus Küchle
Robin Guarino, director
Paul Cremo, Dramaturg
Timothy Meyers, conductor

Performance Time

7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14

Location

The Cincinnati Club’s Oak Room

30 Garfield Place, Cincinnati OH 45202

Reserving Tickets

Admission to 

Intimate Apparel

is free, but reservations are required. Please contact the Cincinnati Opera box office for tickets by calling 513-241-2742 or visiting 

cincinnatiopera.org

.

____

CCM Season Presenting Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Opera Department Sponsor: Mr. & Mrs. Edward S. Rosenthal

Opera Production Sponsor: Genevieve Smith