Cincinnati Opera Announces All-Digital WINTER FESTIVAL

Well known among opera fans as a summertime arts experience, Cincinnati Opera steps into winter with its first-ever, all-digital Winter Festival. Featuring three, free streamed programs premiering in February and March, Cincinnati Opera's Winter Festival spotlights celebrated singers, actors, and instrumentalists in an eclectic variety of artistic genres.

Well known among opera fans as a summertime arts experience, Cincinnati Opera steps into winter with its first-ever, all-digital Winter Festival. Featuring three, free streamed programs premiering in February and March, Cincinnati Opera's Winter Festival spotlights celebrated singers, actors, and instrumentalists in an eclectic variety of artistic genres.

"While we've eagerly anticipated the opportunity to return to live performance, we knew we couldn't wait until summer to share opera again with our community," said Evans Mirageas, The Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director. "We reached out to some of our favorite artists and partners and invited them to collaborate. What emerged are three exceptional programs that highlight the many ways opera can surprise, delight, and inspire."

The Winter Festival opens on February 5 with Opera...from a Sistah's Point of View, created by and starring the ebullient soprano Angela Brown. Premiering next on February 19, Cincinnati Opera partners with Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati to present a reading of Julian Mitchell's play After Aida, inspired by the life of composer Giuseppe Verdi and starring Cincinnati favorite actor Bruce Cromer. The festival's final program, premiering March 5, is Wanderlust, which showcases works by Debussy, Ravel, and more, and features performances by renowned soprano Talise Trevigne, the groundbreaking chamber ensemble concert:nova, and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Music Director Louis Langrée on piano.

Each program will premiere for free on Cincinnati Opera's website, cincinnatiopera.org, and will be available for on-demand streaming through March 21, 2021. Registration is required to access the free digital stream; visit cincinnatiopera.org to sign up, or call (513) 241-2742 for more information.

Cincinnati Opera's WINTER FESTIVAL

Opera...from a Sistah's Point of View

Created by Angela Brown

Premiering on cincinnatiopera.org on Friday, February 5, 2021, at 7:30 p.m.

Available to stream through March 21, 2021

Access is free, but registration is required-visit cincinnatiopera.org to register

Opera for everyone. International opera superstar Angela Brown adapts her popular show using humor, storytelling, and song to dispel common opera myths. With her signature wit and effervescent personality, Brown demystifies classic opera plotlines and celebrates the diversity of opera's characters while tracing the beauty of its music through the stories and voices of Black singers. Performing a mix of showstopping arias, poignant art songs, and moving spirituals, Brown is joined for this program by mezzo-soprano Briana Hunter, tenor Jamez McCorkle, soprano Victoria Okafor, and baritone Reginald Smith, Jr., with Marie-France Lefebvre as pianist. This program is presented in partnership with Opera Birmingham.

After Aida

Written by Julian Mitchell

Directed by D. Lynn Meyers

Presented in collaboration with Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati

Premiering on cincinnatiopera.org on Friday, February 19, 2021, at 7:30 p.m.

Available to stream through March 21, 2021

Access is free, but registration is required-visit cincinnatiopera.org to register

Portrait of an artist. Following the triumphant reception of Aida, Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi retired to his country estate at the height of his fame and popularity. Yet his wife and friends remained convinced Verdi should write another new work and spent the next decade coaxing him into partnership with a talented young librettist. The result: the composer's late-career masterpiece Otello, now considered one of the great Shakespearean-based operas. Inspired by this touching true story, Julian Mitchell's acclaimed play is presented in collaboration with Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati in a reading featuring several popular Cincinnati actors, led by Bruce Cromer as Verdi. The gripping, humorous, and loving tale integrates musical excerpts, providing a compelling peek behind opera's curtain and a humanizing portrait of one of its great artists.

Wanderlust

Featuring works by Claude Debussy, Maurice Delage, Luciano Berio, and Maurice Ravel

Premiering on cincinnatiopera.org on Friday, March 5, 2021, at 7:30 p.m.

Available to stream through March 21, 2021

Access is free, but registration is required-visit cincinnatiopera.org to register.

Songs from afar. One of the many wonderful things about music is the way it allows us to travel the world without leaving the comfort of our homes. This special remote concert combines the talents of Grammy-nominated soprano Talise Trevigne (Cincinnati Opera's Porgy and Bess, 2019), rising-star conductor William R. Langley, and the provocative chamber ensemble concert:nova to create an enchanting musical travelogue. Highlights of this globe-spanning program include Debussy's popular Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, three stunning Debussy songs featuring Trevigne as vocalist and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's Louis Langrée as pianist, and the Cincinnati premiere of a small ensemble orchestration of Ravel's Eastern-flavored Shéhérazade. This program is also presented in partnership with IATSE Local 5.

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