From the Met to Bare Opera: Panel Discussion
Bare Opera produces innovative interpretations of operas in intimate venues, where audiences can sit back and experience the raw, visceral power of the human voice and drama. Featuring some of the greatest emerging talent in opera, the company presents standard repertoire as well as hidden gems of the operatic canon, such Ravel's L’Enfant et les Sortilèges and Granados's Goyescas. Bare Opera pushes the boundaries and perceptions of opera. In L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, the company collaborated with artist Alexandra Posen and a team of Minecraft builders to create a Minecraft motion graphics set, reinventing the story in a contemporary child's make-believe, virtual world. In its 2016 production of Rossini’s La Cambiale di Matrimonio, Bare Opera took what is typically brushed off as a silly operatic plot—an Englishman tries to sell his daughter’s hand in marriage—and connected it to the struggles of women who continue to be forced into marriages today. Through daring reinterpretations of operas and the opera experience itself, Bare Opera strives to be an active agent of change in the cultural landscape of opera and classical music and to help create a sustainable future for the art form. During this residency, the company, which includes Wellesley alumnae Min Lew ’09, Kirsten Scott ’11, and Joana Kung ’08, will spend time on campus with the Music Department’s Opera Workshop course, and will conduct a master class, a panel discussion, and private coaching sessions, in addition to their concert.
Residency and concert generously supported by the Marjorie Copland Baum Memorial Fund, the Florence Jeup Ford ’22, Mary M. Crawford ’22, and Virginia Ford ’48 Artist in Residence Endowment Fund.