Visit this page to watch a livestreamed performance of excerpts from The Hours on Monday, March 15, at 5:00 p.m.
Cincinnati Opera and CCM Opera's joint Opera Fusion: New Works program partners with the Metropolitan Opera and The Philadelphia Orchestra to present excerpts from The Hours, an opera-in-the-making with music by composer Kevin Puts (Silent Night) and a libretto by Greg Pierce (Fellow Travelers). The new work, adapted from Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and the Paramount Pictures film, tells the story of three women whose lives have a literary connection. Their three stories are elegantly interwoven, as parallels and echoes in their lives shed light on the eternal search for meaning, fulfillment, and connection, particularly for women who are constrained by societal roles and their own complicated desires and expectations.
A presentation of excerpts from the piece will be streamed live on Monday, March 15, at 5:00 p.m., followed by a conversation with the creators and Cincinnati Opera's Evans Mirageas. Visit this page to watch.
Kevin Puts, composer
Greg Pierce, librettist
Cast & Creative Team
Composer Kevin Puts
Librettist Greg Pierce
Conductor Kensho Watanabe
Assistant Conductor William R. Langley
Workshop Manager Jennifer Picone
Pianists Marie-France Lefebvre & Matthew Umphreys
COVID-19 Compliance Officer Andrea L. Shell
Clarissa Teresa Perrotta
Virginia Georgia Jacobson
Laura Victoria Okafor
Richard Morgan Smith
Leonard/Ensemble Victor Cardamone
Dan/Ensemble Christian Pursell
Sally/Quentin/Ensemble Christina Hazen
Louis/Ensemble Tyler Johnson
Richie/Angelica/Ensemble Tori Adams
Man Under Arch/Ensemble Nick Kelliher
Barbara/Mrs. Lasch/Ensemble Amanda Olea
Kitty/Vanessa/Ensemble Amber Monroe
Nelly/Heather/Julian/Ensemble Megan Graves
Walter/Michael/Ensemble Justin Burgess
The Hours has been commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera and The Philadelphia Orchestra, and will receive its world premiere during the Met’s 2022-23 season.
About Opera Fusion: New Works
Opera Fusion: New Works (OF:NW) is a partnership between Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) dedicated to fostering the development of new American operas. This collaboration is jointly led by Evans Mirageas, The Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director of Cincinnati Opera, and Robin Guarino, professor of opera at CCM. OF:NW offers composers and composer/librettist teams the opportunity to workshop an opera during a residency in Cincinnati. Residencies use the facilities, personnel, and talent of both Cincinnati Opera and CCM. The workshops are cast with a combination of CCM students and professional artists, and each workshop concludes with a free public presentation of excerpts followed by a Q&A session, all of which is streamed online. Since its founding in 2011, OF:NW has developed 18 new American operas, including Gregory Spears and Greg Pierce’s Fellow Travelers, Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally’s Great Scott, Ricky Ian Gordon and Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel, Rufus Wainwright and Daniel MacIvor’s Hadrian, and Matthew Aucoin and Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice. For more information, visit ofnw.org.
Opera Fusion: New Works is generously funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.