Of Fiercer Origins: An Operatic Double-Bill

Of Fiercer Origins: An Operatic Double-Bill features the Philadelphia Premiere of A PREGNANT PAUSE, the opera & further reflection through song: Two World Premiere songs set to poems by Adrienne Rich, and a set of songs from Libby Larsen's The Birth Project. Music for A PREGNANT PAUSE is by Garth Baxter, with Libretto by Alize Francheska Rozsnyai. Music for "What Is Possible” is written by Philly-based Cerulan S. Payne-Passmore, and “Heroines” is by LA-based composer Tori Lavan. Both works are from Adrienne Rich's "A Wild Patience Has Taken Me This Far."  A PREGNANT PAUSE takes us inside the mind of Serena, as she waits for the results of a pregnancy test. She is met by two doppelgängers: one who extols the wonders of motherhood; the other who advocates for remaining child-free. A short opera about the decisions women face when their bodies cease to be their own, for three sopranos, sung by Alize Francheska Rozsnyai, Marcelle McGuirk, and Katherine Boyce, with Hannah Han on piano. The evening is paired with songs which speak to challenges and depth of the female psyche, with poetry by Adrienne Rich, 20th-century feminist poet credited with bringing "the oppression of women and lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse". Electronics created by Cerulean S. Payne-Passmore. Stage direction by Vanessa Ogbuehi.