“If big things are going to change for the better, we have to start somewhere. And if we have the power and resources to do it, as we do at JSOM, it’s up to us to be the catalyst.”
JSoM graduate voice student Sadie O’Conor is indeed doing big things in the opera world. Her passion project Unsung Opera, winner of the 2023 JSoM Innovation Competition, is staging and directing two historical operas written by women. “Our new company is devoted to breaking down biases and limits of opera, enabling us to cultivate an industry where previously stifled voices can be heard,” says Sadie.
The idea originated in an opera literature class, which was looking at Amelie-Julie Candeille’s Catherine during a study of women’s contributions to opera in the 18th and early 19th centuries. “At the time, we only had a couple excerpts of the score, and two of the students in the class had to sight read the music, because that was the only way we would be able to hear what it sounded like,” O’Conor explains. “The more I learned about how restrictive the traditional canon of repertoire has been toward women and other composers kept out of the public sphere, and the more I saw all the talent and resources we have here, the more I knew we had the ability to do something to help if we really decided to do it.”
“Unsung Opera is dedicated to shining a light on the voices and works of people who were silenced in the past,” says Sadie. “We want to bring these works back to life so they can add meaning to arts scenes in Bloomington and beyond, just as they did in the past, and we want to do this through engaging, innovative, accessible productions that show how much the themes of these works are alive and connected to our lives today.”
The project is a huge collaborative endeavor, and manages to celebrate women in opera on every level of leadership and involvement in the project. “Our executive team, conductor, directors, lead filmmaker, and two of our faculty advisors are all women, all from different departments/schools at IU,” says Sadie. The cast is also made up entirely of students from JSoM and from the School of Theatre. The company’s ensemble cast includes Addison Ballew, Jeremy Clark, Howell Petty, Peter Valentino, Noah Lauer, Libby Goodwin, and Kate Westhoven (who also serves as the company’s executive producer).The staging was done by director Alexys Hatch, assisted by Alice Lind. Deven Shah serves as music director, and will also be on stage as the pianist for Un Mariage par Quiproquo, while the orchestra for Catherine is led by Michelle Kwok at the podium. “It’s such a collaborative project,” O’Conor says. “They have all worked incredibly hard with an extremely short turnaround time (we put up these two shows in just six weeks!). And right now, this cast and orchestra are literally the only people in the world who know these roles, which is really cool!”
O’Conor is not only one of the translators/adaptors of the French libretto, but she is also playing the lead role of Catherine in the work by Amelie-Julie Candeille while directing the project. This dual role of executive director and singer is not merely an impressive feat, but also a deliberate choice directly reflecting a long history of gender repression. “I am playing Catherine as a tribute to the fact that the opera’s writer/composer, Amelie-Julie Candeille, also played Catherine in the original cast,” says Sadie. “Her playing the role on stage allowed her to draw a parallel for her audience between the radical feminist ideals voiced by her character and real women that they knew and recognized, to show that these ideas of freedom and equality should have real impacts in society.” O’Conor explained that the character of Catherine eventually became inextricably linked with her identity in public and with the idea of women being a creative force in the public sphere.
The performances in the end of April will include two works: Catherine, ou la Belle Fermiere by Amelie-Julie Candeille (originally premiered in 1792), and Un Mariage Par Quiproquo with music by Maria Sabatier-Blot and libretto by Adele Laboureau (original premiere in 1861); The final performances will be recorded and published online for free to benefit scholars and music lovers everywhere.
“This is the kind of show that everyone can enjoy,” Sadie says, “so we encourage you to come and bring your friends and family! Come prepared to laugh, cry, and have a great time.”
There will be two performances:
April 30th: 7pm at the FAR Center
May 1st: 7pm at the FAR Center
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