As One

Name: As One
Start: 2023-02-12T14:00:00-05:00
End: 2023-02-12
Location: Boston Conservatory Theater

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Friday / February 10, 2023 / 8:00 p.m.

Sunday / February 12, 2023 / 2:00 p.m.

Boston Conservatory Theater

31 Hemenway Street, Floor 2

Boston

02115

United States

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Silhouette of a woman with a blue/teal background

This riveting and heart-warming chamber opera is a coming-of-age story about a transgender woman. The opera was praised by the Washington Post, who called it “a thoughtful and substantial piece, as well as that rarest of operatic commodities—a story that lends itself to dramatization in music."

Laura Kaminsky, Composer
Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed, Librettists
David Gately, Stage Director
Sahar Nouri, Conductor

Following each performance, the production’s creative team will hold talkbacks for audience members—all are invited to participate in the discussion.

Program Information

Welcome Note

Boston Conservatory at Berklee's Voice Department accomplishes the extraordinary, meeting the needs of its community and the evolving industry through its relevant curriculum, and through a myriad of exciting opportunities that surface on our campus every day. The scope and variety of annual Voice Department performances and curated offerings testify of the ways Boston Conservatory mentors its students to thrive as artist-citizens in an ever-changing world and marketplace. We continue building on the rich history of our Voice Department, which houses the oldest opera training program in America and has served young artists, the field of singing, and the city of Boston for more than 100 years. Indeed, our students, faculty, and staff are heirs to a harvest of memory, spirit, dream, and music that long preceded us and that now nourishes and sustains us.

Just this past September, the Conservatory announced a new educational and artist development partnership with our neighbor, Boston Lyric Opera (BLO). The partnership unlocks incredible opportunities for Boston Conservatory students and members of BLO's Jane and Steven Akin Emerging Artists, and includes the Opera Innovators Series—a curated collection of talks and master classes that will engage some of the most innovative and sought-after figures in the opera world. Additionally, Voice Department classes in art song, vocal pedagogy, and the choral arts will welcome an exceptional lineup of visiting clinicians, each of whom brings their own powerful and distinct voice to bear on our season's productions and curricula. This academic year also welcomes several new faculty members and my arrival as chair and artistic director of the Voice Department.

I am so grateful to our generous donors, whose giving provides access to the tools and resources our students and faculty need to succeed, here and beyond. Providing a transformative, high level of training is the Conservatory's reason for being. Inherent in this charge is our faculty and administration's commitment to fostering a genuine sense of goodness, breathing familial inspiration through our Conservatory's hallways and learning spaces. There is an ethic of care here that is distinct and that champions people's goals and aspirations in ways where they feel creative, safe, powerful, and courageous, in and throughout the learning. We're helping students build a life for themselves through music that has purpose and that could actually change the world. With a faculty of international renown, a stealthy annual lineup of important visiting artists, and a strong commitment to a meaningful list of civic and global initiatives, Boston Conservatory's Voice Department is an exciting place to be!

I hope you enjoy your experience with us this evening, and welcome you to join us again often.

Isaí Jess Muñoz
Chair and Artistic Director of Voice

Synopsis

As One is a chamber opera in which two voices—Hannah younger and Hannah older—share the part of a sole transgender protagonist. Fifteen songs comprise the three-part narrative. With empathy and humor, they trace Hannah's experiences from her youth in a small town to her college years—and finally traveling alone to a different country, where she realizes some truths about herself.

Cast

Hanna Younger – Joel Clemens
Hanna Older – Grace Heldridge, Darya Narymanava*
*Denotes Sunday cast

Orchestra

VIOLIN I
Marta Dorovic, M.M. '24

VIOLIN II
Gaia Sbeghen, G.P.D. '23

VIOLA
Robert Bruce, M.M. '24

CELLO
Elaina Spiro, B.M. '24

About the Artists

David Gately, stage director, joined the faculty of Boston Conservatory at Berklee in 2022 as associate professor of opera. He previously served on the faculty of Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts and as director of the opera studio at Texas Christian University. He maintains an active professional career, which includes more than 300 productions at over 60 opera companies, symphony orchestras, theater companies, and opera training programs worldwide. Learn more about Gately.

Sahar Nouri, conductor, appears in her first collaboration with Boston Conservatory. Nouri is the music director of Lamont Opera Theater at the University of Denver. She also serves at Opera Colorado as assistant conductor/chorus master. Nouri is the founder of Dandelion Opera Institute, a summer training program for young opera singers, pianists, and conductors. Learn more about Nouri.

Evan Adamson, scenic designer, is an award-winning set designer for theater and live entertainment, with 20 years of experience designing productions throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. He is delighted to be welcomed into the Boston Conservatory at Berklee community. Adamson is an adjunct professor at Purchase College and a credited contributor to the textbook Designer Drafting and Visualizing for the Entertainment World. Learn more about Adamson.

Paul Marr, lighting designer, is a freelance design professional based in Boston, working with numerous companies, including Boston Conservatory's Dance Division , Tufts University, and the Boston Center for the Arts, to name a few. When not designing, Paul works full time with Blue Man Group as the electrics supervisor.

Chloe Moore, costume designer, is a Boston-based educator, costume maker, and designer for opera, theater, and dance. Her recent work includes credits with Boston Playwrights Theatre, Boston University's School of Theater and Opera Institute, Boston Early Music Festival, A.R.T., and American Players Theater in Spring Green, Wisconsin. Learn more about Moore.

Joel Clemens, baritone, is a Professional Studies Certificate in Opera Performance student from Virginia, currently studying with Rebecca Folsom. He completed his M.M. in Opera Performance at the Conservatory in 2022. His recent credits include Hawkins Fuller in Fellow Travelers, Sid in Albert Herring, and Publio in La Clemenza di Tito.

Grace Heldridge, mezzo-soprano, is a Master of Music in Opera Performance student from Omaha, Nebraska, currently studying with Rebecca Folsom. Heldridge is a graduate of the University of Kansas (B.M. '21, voice). During her time at the Conservatory, she has appeared onstage as Mrs. Ott (Susannah), Nancy (Albert Herring), and Annio (La Clemenza di Tito), and will perform as Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro) this spring.

Darya Narymanava, mezzo-soprano, is a Master of Music in Voice Performance student from Borisov, Belarus, currently studying with Monique Phinney. Her most recent credits include Mrs. Ott in Susannah and Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro. Darya recently was named a finalist in the New England region of the Metropolitan Opera's Laffont Competition.

Production Credits

CREATIVE TEAM
Artistic Director – Isai Jess Muñoz
Conductor – Sahar Nouri
Assistant Conductor – Brendon Shapiro
Stage Director – David Gately
Scenic Designer – Evan Adamson
Costume Designer – Chloe Moore
Lighting Designer – Paul Marr
Surtitle Designer – Emma Shelton
Coaching and Musical Preparation – Jean Anderson-Collier, James Myers
Rehearsal Pianists – Maja Tremiszewska, Liya Nigmati

PRODUCTION STAFF
Interim Director of Performance Services and Producer – Hanna Oravec
Production Stage Manager – Bethany Rachel
Staff Assistant Stage Manager – Emily Hanson
Technical Director – Greg Rishoi
Associate Technical Director – Taylor Kaufman
Technical Directing Consultant – Audrey Kimball
Costume Shop Manager – Alison Pugh
Assistant Costume Shop Manager – Leah Foley
Drapers/Stitchers – Caroline Seeley, Sam Martin
Stitcher – Carly Wilcox
Wardrobe Manager – Kiara Escalera
Audio Supervisor – Steve Younkins
Lighting Supervisor – Matthew Martino
Production Electrician – Gabe Goldman
Props Manager – Larry Dembski
Stage Supervisor – Avery Hunt

STUDENT PRODUCTION STAFF
Student Assistant Stage Manager – Svitlana Biliakovska
Light Board Programmers – Lori Newsom, Olivia Monarch
Light Board Operator – Abi Zellner
Spotlight Operators – William Morris, Lily Counihan
Wardrobe Crew – Nicole Jones
Run Crew – Maddox Bane

CONCERT SERVICES STAFF
Senior Manager of Concert Services – Luis Herrera
Concert Production Coordinator – Matthew Carey
Concert Production Manager – Kendall Floyd
Manager of Performance Technology – Wes Fowler
Performance Technology Technicians – Sara Pagiaro, Goran Daskalov

Boston Conservatory thanks audience members for viewing this program information online. This paperless program saved 200 sheets of paper, 21 gallons of water, and 18 pounds of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions.