Community Calendar

World Premiere
Music by Rene Orth
Libretto by Hannah Moscovitch
Performed in English with English supertitles
Part of Festival O23

Is she insane? Or just pretending? This psychological drama follows trailblazing reporter Nellie Bly through her internment at Blackwell's Asylum, exposing, as Bly did, notions of madness and societal biases against women.

This world premiere from composer Rene Orth and librettist Hannah Moscovitch stars Kiera Duffy (Breaking the Waves) as Nellie, mezzo Raehann Bryce-Davis in her company debut as Lizzie, and baritone Will Liverman as Dr. Blackwell.

Daniela Candillari makes her company debut at the podium, and Joanna Settle (Sky on Swings) directs. Designer Andrew Lieberman's set evokes the dark labyrinth of the asylum and Nellie's journey within its walls.

Sat, Sep 23 8:00 p.m.
Wed, Sep 27 7:00 p.m.
Sat, Sep 30 8:00 p.m.
Sun, Oct 1 7:00 p.m.
Approximately 70 minutes with no intermission.

Unholy Wars closes the dusty history book and reframes the Crusades from a Middle Eastern perspective to reveal a new story of belonging and resilience. Conceived and created by Lebanese American tenor Karim Sulayman, music by Handel and Monteverdi is interwoven with that of composer Mary Kouyoumdjian to explore and reclaim representations of his identity. Reexamining Baroque interpretations of the Crusades and depictions of the Middle East, Sulayman asks "Can we lean into the discomfort of our collective history while forging a new path forward?"

This boundary-breaking piece premiered at Spoleto Festival USA, where critics called it "emotional" and "powerful." The intimate staging directed by Kevin Newbury, with visual narrative by Kevork Mourad, explores the tensions of history, representation, identity, and survival through music and dance.

World Premiere
Music by Rene Orth
Libretto by Hannah Moscovitch
Performed in English with English supertitles
Part of Festival O23

Is she insane? Or just pretending? This psychological drama follows trailblazing reporter Nellie Bly through her internment at Blackwell's Asylum, exposing, as Bly did, notions of madness and societal biases against women.

This world premiere from composer Rene Orth and librettist Hannah Moscovitch stars Kiera Duffy (Breaking the Waves) as Nellie, mezzo Raehann Bryce-Davis in her company debut as Lizzie, and baritone Will Liverman as Dr. Blackwell.

Daniela Candillari makes her company debut at the podium, and Joanna Settle (Sky on Swings) directs. Designer Andrew Lieberman's set evokes the dark labyrinth of the asylum and Nellie's journey within its walls.

Pre-season performance: La musica notturna di Madrid
Thursday, September 28, 2023, 7 pm at the Salmagundi Club, 47 Fifth Avenue
Adam Cockerham, guitar
Luigi Boccherini: Guitar Quintet in C Major, Op. 30, No. 6, G. 324, “La musica notturna delle strade di Madrid”
Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto for Strings in G Major, RV 151
Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto for Strings in G Minor, RV 157
 
This special pre-season chamber music performance for subscribers only presents an ACO string ensemble at the Salmagundi Club, a historic arts center on the National Register of Historic Places. The musicians are joined by Baroque guitar virtuoso Adam Cockerham, Associate Music Director of the Academy of Sacred Drama. The program opens with Boccherini’s Guitar Quintet, initially written for strings, a work quite popular in Spain during the composer’s lifetime. Attached to the Spanish Court of the late 1700s, Boccherini wrote the piece to evoke the lively atmosphere of Madrid at night. Its passe caille, or Passacaglia of the Street Singers section, has often been used in such modern settings as the 2003 film Master and Commander. Completing the program are two Vivaldi concerti written for string orchestra without a soloist. RV 151 is one of the composer’s best-known works, familiar to cinema-lovers from the Bob Fosse film All That Jazz and Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette.
 
Tickets, priced at $125, are available at www.aconyc.org, or by calling the ACO at (212) 362-2727, ext.4. 

World Premiere
Music by Rene Orth
Libretto by Hannah Moscovitch
Performed in English with English supertitles
Part of Festival O23

Is she insane? Or just pretending? This psychological drama follows trailblazing reporter Nellie Bly through her internment at Blackwell's Asylum, exposing, as Bly did, notions of madness and societal biases against women.

This world premiere from composer Rene Orth and librettist Hannah Moscovitch stars Kiera Duffy (Breaking the Waves) as Nellie, mezzo Raehann Bryce-Davis in her company debut as Lizzie, and baritone Will Liverman as Dr. Blackwell.

Daniela Candillari makes her company debut at the podium, and Joanna Settle (Sky on Swings) directs. Designer Andrew Lieberman's set evokes the dark labyrinth of the asylum and Nellie's journey within its walls.

Sat, Sep 23 8:00 p.m.
Wed, Sep 27 7:00 p.m.
Sat, Sep 30 8:00 p.m.
Sun, Oct 1 7:00 p.m.
Approximately 70 minutes with no intermission.

Unholy Wars closes the dusty history book and reframes the Crusades from a Middle Eastern perspective to reveal a new story of belonging and resilience. Conceived and created by Lebanese American tenor Karim Sulayman, music by Handel and Monteverdi is interwoven with that of composer Mary Kouyoumdjian to explore and reclaim representations of his identity. Reexamining Baroque interpretations of the Crusades and depictions of the Middle East, Sulayman asks "Can we lean into the discomfort of our collective history while forging a new path forward?"

This boundary-breaking piece premiered at Spoleto Festival USA, where critics called it "emotional" and "powerful." The intimate staging directed by Kevin Newbury, with visual narrative by Kevork Mourad, explores the tensions of history, representation, identity, and survival through music and dance.

Fri, Sep 22 8:00pm
Sun, Sep 24 2:00pm
Fri, Sep 28 8:00pm
Sun, Oct 1 2:00pm
Approximately 3 hours including one 20-minute intermission

New Production
Music by Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and Arrigo Boito
Performed in Italian with English supertitles
Part of Festival O23

A powerhouse cast and some of Verdi's most sumptuous music fuel this sweeping story that mixes political turmoil with poignant family drama.

Baritone Quinn Kelsey stars as Simon Boccanegra, a leader coming into great power who must balance duty to his nation with his duties as a father after his long-lost daughter Amelia (soprano Ana María Martínez) reenters his life. Surrounded by poisonous rivals, can he be the man those who love him need him to be and survive the plots of those who hate him?

Sat, Sep 23 8:00 p.m.
Wed, Sep 27 7:00 p.m.
Sat, Sep 30 8:00 p.m.
Sun, Oct 1 7:00 p.m.
Approximately 70 minutes with no intermission.

Unholy Wars closes the dusty history book and reframes the Crusades from a Middle Eastern perspective to reveal a new story of belonging and resilience. Conceived and created by Lebanese American tenor Karim Sulayman, music by Handel and Monteverdi is interwoven with that of composer Mary Kouyoumdjian to explore and reclaim representations of his identity. Reexamining Baroque interpretations of the Crusades and depictions of the Middle East, Sulayman asks "Can we lean into the discomfort of our collective history while forging a new path forward?"

This boundary-breaking piece premiered at Spoleto Festival USA, where critics called it "emotional" and "powerful." The intimate staging directed by Kevin Newbury, with visual narrative by Kevork Mourad, explores the tensions of history, representation, identity, and survival through music and dance.

Sat, Sep 23 8:00 p.m.
Wed, Sep 27 7:00 p.m.
Sat, Sep 30 8:00 p.m.
Sun, Oct 1 7:00 p.m.
Approximately 70 minutes with no intermission.

Unholy Wars closes the dusty history book and reframes the Crusades from a Middle Eastern perspective to reveal a new story of belonging and resilience. Conceived and created by Lebanese American tenor Karim Sulayman, music by Handel and Monteverdi is interwoven with that of composer Mary Kouyoumdjian to explore and reclaim representations of his identity. Reexamining Baroque interpretations of the Crusades and depictions of the Middle East, Sulayman asks "Can we lean into the discomfort of our collective history while forging a new path forward?"

This boundary-breaking piece premiered at Spoleto Festival USA, where critics called it "emotional" and "powerful." The intimate staging directed by Kevin Newbury, with visual narrative by Kevork Mourad, explores the tensions of history, representation, identity, and survival through music and dance.

Victoria Schwartzman is a classical pianist currently based in New York City. An avid solo and chamber music performer, she regularly appears on stage throughout the United States and abroad.

Deeply committed to music education, she is the co-founder of the Newburgh Music Festival, a week-long immersive classical music program devoted to solo performance and chamber music. She also is on faculty at Montclair State University and Long Island University as a Vocal Coach and on piano faculty at Bard College Conservatory Preparatory Division. Join us to hear this Russian-born pianist perform works by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Nikolai Medtner.

The Afternoon Recital Series is made possible, in part, through the support of the Ocean County College Foundation.