Two fantastical stories, written 100 years apart, about the imaginative power of children. Mermaid in the Jar A collaboration between Mannes Opera & Mannes Orchestra, Mermaid in the Jar, the first short chamber opera in the Peters and Vavrek’s Wild Beast of the Bungalow triptych (Mermaid in the Jar, Prairie Dogs, and Fine and Dandy), takes place entirely within an eleven-year-old girl’s bedroom as she overhears her parents’ volatile conversations. After the Girl captures a Mermaid, she is forced to confront what it means to care for others and to be cared for herself. Music by Rachel J. Peters, libretto by Royce Vavrek Based on a short story by Sheila Heti Conductor: Christopher Allen Director: Rose Freeman Cast: Yohji Daquio, Brianna Dulock, Yu Shi, Dalis de la Mothe, Grace Bernard L'Enfant et les Sortilèges: Fantaisie lyrique en deux parties Amidst the contemporary works is one French opera, the much loved L'enfant et les sortilèges: Fantaisie lyrique en deux parties (The Child and the Spells: A Lyric Fantasy in Two Parts). Written almost 100 years ago by the writer Collete and composer Ravel, L’Enfant et les sortilèges also explores the world of a discontented child and their vivid imaginary landscape. After a bout of bad behavior, the items in the Child’s nursery come to life to chastise, terrorize, and teach the Child the value of compassion. Music by Ravel, libretto by Collette Cast: Claire Coven, Marcella Astore, Enes Pektas, Yixuan Li, Haojie jiang, Pedro Barros, Dallas Saxer, Haojin Mo, Maia Suwanameera, Melissa Hartman, Ping Gu, Himanshu Barot, Colin Safley, Marcella Astore, Yu Shi, Young Il Jeon, Brianna Dulock, Luna Park, Patricia Williams, Angela Shon, Claire Dai, Dmitri Mironov, Grace Bernard, Yu Shi, Hansol Oh, Qin Li, Yui Lee, Catherine McClure, Eliza Goldsteen, Christina Draper, Tiffany Ye, Josh Bowden, Nicholas Barrón, Haoran Deng, Haoming (Tim) Xia, Kore Adachi, Junze Gong. Julian Bailey
New York City, NY; NYC