Opera Collective to Give Women a Voice with One-Act Opera THE PROPOSAL

This November, the MTA's Arts for Transit's Opera Collective comes above ground to produce an opera highlighting the mental and physical voices of women, at a time when women struggle to be equally heard.

On November 20 (3pm) and 22 (8pm), six of the female members of Opera Collective and "masterful" (OperaPulse) Music Director/Pianist Mila Henry present composer Milton Granger's The Proposal at St. Malachy's/The Actors' Chapel.

Founded in 2005, Opera Collective makes opera accessible by singing in the subways of New York City, at greenmarkets, and at free public concerts as well as private events and galas. Through this presentation of The Proposal, its members will bring to life a story of the exploration of one woman's mind as she comes face to face with five distinct parts of herself to make a life-altering decision. As all of her alter-egos gather together in her mind, she must hear everyone out, from the Five-Year-Old to the Mother Teresa inside of Herself. With direction by Dona Vaughan's "finely detailed staging" (The Birmingham News), Opera Collective seizes on this rare opportunity to present this one-act, filled with "abundant humor" (Pittsburgh City Paper).

Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano Abigail Wright - "full in the low range and balanced throughout with no apparent limit at top" (Tri-City Herald) - plays the conflicted Herself. The first of the five alter-egos to appear is Five-Year-Old, spiritedly sung by Metropolitan Opera soprano Carla Wesby, a founding member of Opera Collective. Co-founder of Opera Collective and in-demand oratorio soloist, soprano Adrienne Patino Dunn, joins as Officer, while Sensuous Woman is played by mezzo-soprano Rebecca Schuessler, who has been hailed as "commanding" and "indomitable" (Metro, San Jose). The "impassioned and musical" (Voce di Meche) soprano Patricia Vital brings Statue of Liberty to life, complimented powerfully by mezzo-soprano Kristen Lamb Kasarjian as Mother Teresa.

For more information contact Opera Collective at operacollective@gmail.com. Tickets are $15 and are available at the door and at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2696801.