John Dufffy Institute for New Opera presents World Premiere of KEPT

The Virginia Arts Festival will present the world premiere performances of the new chamber opera Kept: a ghost story at Norfolk's Attucks Theatre May 25 at 7:30 p.m. and May 28 at 3 p.m.

Developed by an all-female creative team, the opera tells the story of a wild young woman, the lighthouse keeper she marries, and the secrets they keep from each other and themselves. This is the first fully staged production to come out of the Virginia Arts Festival's John Duffy Institute for New Opera. Tickets are $25 and available online at vafest.org, by phone at 757-282-2822 or at the Virginia Arts Festival box office, 440 Bank St., Norfolk (10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday).

Inspired by the stories of the haunted Old Presque Isle Lighthouse in northern Michigan, Kept: a ghost story marks the first operatic collaboration between composer Kristin Kuster and poet/librettist Megan Levad, whose haunting score and vivid poetry illuminate the conflicted hearts of the ill-fated lovers.

The opera's unique score is written for six trumpets and percussion. Kuster, who "writes commandingly for the orchestra" (The New York Times), has created commissioned works for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Levad is a prize-winning poet whose work has been published in a collection as well as in numerous publications, including Granta, the quarterly literary magazine devote to new writing.

"Megan and I have been weaving and spinning words and music together since 2009," explains Kuster. "KEPT: a ghost story is our first collaboration for the operatic stage, and it has been a thrilling three years of getting our sea legs in writing a large-scale dramatic work. There are very few opportunities for composer/librettist teams between the early workshop phase and a premiere. The Duffy team has given us the environment and resources to re-shape, hone, refine, and improve our work in ways we wouldn't have without their input and help."

The all-female creative team also includes stage director Mary Birnbaum, associate director of Artist Diploma Program at the Juilliard School, whose work has been seen at major opera companies including Houston, Santa Fe, and Seattle, and Grammy Award-winning conductor JoAnn Falletta, music director for the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Buffalo Philharmonic.

In a unique casting choice, tenor William Burden will sing both of the lead characters, the Keeper and Bride. Burden's performances have won critical acclaim for appearances at some of the most prestigious opera houses in the United States and Europe, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Glimmerglass Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Opéra National de Paris, and more.

A supporter of new works, he appeared in the U.S. premiere of Hans Werner Henze's Phaedra at Opera Philadelphia, and created the roles of Peter in Mark Adamo's The Gospel of Mary Magdalene and Dan Hill in Christopher Theofanidis' Heart of a Soldier at the San Francisco Opera. Burden will be joined by a chorus of nine. Kept: a ghost story was developed through the John Duffy Institute for New Opera, an ongoing initiative of the Virginia Arts Festival to support emerging writers of opera led by Grammy Award-winning composer Libby Larsen.

The Institute scouts composer/librettist teams who are already at work on operas and provides these teams with professional mentors and producing partners, with the intent to see these works through to multiple productions. Kept: a ghost story is the first fully produced work to be presented. The Virginia Arts Festival John Duffy Institute for New Opera is supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Friedrich Ludwig Diehn Fund of the Hampton Roads Community Foundation, and the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and receives the support of Old Dominion University's F. Ludwig Diehn Composers Room.

Tickets and Performance Information World Premiere of Kept: a ghost story Thursday, May 25 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 28 at 3 p.m. Attucks Theatre, 1010 Church St., Norfolk VA Tickets $25. Available online at www.vafest.org, by phone at 757-282-2822 or at the Virginia Arts Festival box office, 440 Bank St., Norfolk (10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday - Friday)

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