New Camerata Opera to Present Animated Children's Opera Film: ONE TRAIN

This October, New Camerata Opera will present its very first animated opera film for children: One Train, composed by Hilary Purrington with a libretto by Hannah McDermott. Chilean-based animation studio Catarata brings the film to life.  The film will be released on Wednesday October 25th, 2023, and it will be available for purchase on Vimeo.

One Train tells the story of Miriam, a young girl who takes a New York City subway ride with her mother on the first day of school.  On her journey, she encounters a magician experiencing homelessness.  He helps Miriam view the world through the eyes of her diverse fellow passengers. 

Librettist Hannah McDermott expands upon the intentional choice of setting for the animated opera film.  “It is so easy to get lost in the whirl of your own life and forget that there is a whole world out there filled with other people,” McDermott says. “One of the places that makes me acutely aware of the world outside myself is the New York City subway. When you look around the train car, you begin to realize that you're surrounded by strangers all with their own individual worries, cares, and desires.” It was also incredibly important to McDermott that a character experiencing homelessness be featured in the story. She says, “The New York subway system often provides shelter for the city's most vulnerable. I wanted One Train to highlight the value of this often overlooked population.” 

Composer Hilary Purrington also feels passionately about the themes One Train develops. She states, “I think it's incredibly easy to surround yourself with people who resemble you—in terms of race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, education, etc. This opera teaches the main character to look beyond the familiar and become acquainted with the lives of people very different from her, and I think this is an important lesson—particularly for young people.” Director Carlos Araya of Catarata Studio agrees. “...The film serves as a bridge to reconnect and acknowledge the battles people silently fight every day…. With One Train, we seek to instill a sense of unity and empathy, reminding us all that we are not alone in our struggles. It's a powerful and heartwarming experience, which I am honored to be a part of."

Because the 13-minute film develops such a rich story geared for children of all ages, the project posed obstacles for the creative team.  Purrington explains, “It was challenging to compose a concise work…that is musically cohesive and creates unique musical worlds for each of the characters.  Further, knowing that the story is primarily intended for an audience of children, I wanted to create a musically sophisticated work that also facilitates clear and compelling storytelling, and striking that balance was an interesting challenge.”  Librettist McDermott also felt pressure with respect to the story arch. “The most difficult part of crafting this piece was the time constraint. We needed to find a story that could be told efficiently but also had an emotional core. Additionally, it was an exciting challenge to think about how the music and text would interact with the animation. We wanted the narrative to have as many jumping-off points as possible for the animators to create a vivid visual world for the piece.“ There were some unique advantages in the creative process, however. Both Purrington and McDermott are friends, having attended The Juilliard School together.  They also each have significant vocal training in their backgrounds and are therefore keenly aware of the needs of singers.  Throughout the process, the cast of One Train collaborated with Purrington, McDermott, and Catarata Studio to fine-tune the musical, textual, and artistic details.  The cast features Kristin Renee Young (Miriam), Stan Lacy (The Magician), Erik Bagger (Marcus), Kyle Oliver (Kevin),  Maria Brea (Rea), and Julia Tang (Mom), with musical direction from Violetta Zabbi. 

Animated film and opera are two genres that are seldom combined.  However, in the current digital age, this pairing presents an important opportunity for accessibility.  Outside of major cities like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, it can be very challenging to attend operas at all, let alone at an affordable price.  With streaming as such a ubiquitous method of content consumption today, New Camerata Opera is bringing opera to young people in their very own homes. Purrington notes, “...a project like One Train is intended to be delivered through a recorded medium, and so the product is inherently different [from video recordings of staged operas]. I'm beyond excited that One Train will be accessible to such a broad audience—it's a special project and a beautiful story, and I'm thrilled that we can share it with so many.”

New Camerata Opera is a New York City-based, cooperative company beginning its eighth season. Their mission is to engage, excite, and educate through immersive performances that break down barriers and inspire the opera fans of the future. Since its inception, NCO has been bringing developmentally appropriate operas to children at schools, libraries, and other community spaces throughout the tri-state area.  In the face of funding cuts for arts programs in New York and across the United States, NCO is determined to fill the void.

To post a comment, you must register and login.