Thanks so much to all those who made donations large and small last week to help us better our chances at earning $1,000 through our fiscal sponsor’s Spring Match Campaign. Unfortunately, we were not one of Fractured Atlas’s chosen winners, but THANKS TO YOUR GENEROSITY, WE ARE NOW TWO-THIRDS OF THE WAY TO OUR $6,000 goal for our online Suor Angelica campaign. If you didn’t give last week, please consider making a donation this week instead. As the start of the rehearsal process for this show is now just under a week away, your gift will help us to start production from a place of financial security, a gift that is so invaluable to our little collective of multi-tasking artists. Thank you so much again for supporting opera nouveau. Let’s keep this good energy going TOGETHER!
Our fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas, is distributing $1,000 to 20 different projects for their annual Spring Match campaign. Every donation made to Sotto Voce THIS WEEK ONLY – between Monday April 15 and Friday April 19, 2024 – gives us an extra chance to receive the $1k. Please consider making a donation of any amount to improve our odds, and be sure to share our fundraiser far and wide—every donation counts! Note also that Fractured Atlas is a non-profit arts service organization, and so contributions for the charitable purposes of Sotto Voce are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
When you donate this week, your gift will support our June 2024 production of Giacomo Puccini’s Suor Angelica. Check out a sneak preview of the show above, with Sotto Voce founding director Jessie Downs performing the famous aria, “Senza Mamma.” This video was directed and produced by Jessie’s co-director and partner Alex Huddleston with piano accompaniment by Sotto Voce Key Artist Jon Vogtle. Please check it out, like, comment, and subscribe! Anything you can do or give helps us so much! From all of us, thank you!
On our campaign page (linked above) you can also read more about this show and our “opera nouveau” take!
Did you miss our “opera nouveau” production of W.A. Mozart’s The Magic Flute this February? Did you attend the live shows but just have to see it again? You’re in luck! The full audio-video recording – including both the short films and live music – is now available on our YouTube channel! Please take a moment to check it out, give it a like and leave a comment, and subscribe to our page. Stay tuned also for more fabulous content as our production of Puccini’s Suor Angelica gets underway in the next few weeks.
We are thrilled to announce that our next production will be Giacomo Puccini’s stunning one-act opera Suor Angelica. Performances will be Friday June 28th at 7pm and Sunday June 30th at 3pm at St. Joseph University Parish in Buffalo NY.
This will be our first official opera production beyond the walls of the UU Church of Buffalo, and we are so honored to be able to present it at St. Joseph University Parish. Bringing this story to life in a space very near to its convent setting forwards our vision of creating unique productions that highlight the many beautiful historic space around Buffalo. St. Joseph was also host to another innovative local opera company – the legendary Opera Sacra, active from 1975 to 2015. We are thrilled to be taking up their torch with this show.
Suor Angelica is an ideal vehicle to highlight the vocal talents of our core team of artists, as well as an opportunity to welcome new artists into the Sotto Voce family. Our own Founding Director and President Jessie Downs (Pamina in The Magic Flute, Sashatya in her own The Second Sight) will be singing the title role – one that she has performed before and counts among her favorites. Our Queen of the Night Julia Anne Cordani (also Bird Spirit in The Second Sight) will be playing the role of the cheerful Suor Genovieffa. We are also very excited to welcome back Chicago-based mezzo-soprano Ola Rafalo (Diskana in The Second Sight) as the brooding Principessa. In a couple of weeks’ time, we will be holding auditions to determine the rest of our players. If you or someone you know may be interested in auditioning, see our OPPORTUNITIES page for more information.
While you will have to stay tuned for more details about our “opera nouveau” interpretation, know that we will be showcasing not only the beautiful St. Joseph sanctuary and Puccini’s stunning music, but also shining light on how this is truly a “tragedy for all times.” The opera centers around Suor Angelica – a woman who is forced into a convent after having a child out of wedlock. After waiting for seven years for some news from her family, it is revealed that her child has died, and she choses to take her own life in response. Not only is this a moving piece of fiction, but it is a true work of “verismo” or “operatic realism” that unveils the gruesome truth of how society throughout the ages attempts to erase those it sees as unnecessary persons. Despite the opera’s dark themes, its miraculous ending demonstrates the power of faith in redemptive love that can transcend humanity’s punitive institutions.
From all of us at Sotto Voce, we can’t wait to share another special show with you, and we can’t make it happen without your support. Thank you and stay tuned!
From all of us at Sotto Voce, thank you so much to our audiences last weekend for helping us to *make magic* with our first canonical opera production! We are so grateful that you helped us raise the $22,000 we needed to make this show a reality and filled the house of the UU Church of Buffalo for two separate performances. We also recieved so much amazing feedback through audience surveys and online messages from our audience members, some of which you can now read on our newly added TESTIMONIALS page. We can’t wait to bring you more innovative and high quality shows in the future, so stay tuned to this website and our socials to hear what we’re cooking up next!
Sotto Voce Board Members at The Magic Flute matinee reception (from left): Leslie Boldt, Alex Huddleston, Jessie Downs, Louis Bryant, Julia Anne Cordani, and Nate Muka.
Our company is so thrilled to share the fruits of the past few months of work with you this evening. Below are a couple of sneak previews of how the original short films by director Alex Huddleston launch the performers into Mozart’s musical numbers, helping to tell this old story with a modern sense of humor and pathos. Tickets are on sale on Eventbrite until 5pm tonight for tonight’s show, but will also be available at the door. Don’t forget that you’ll have another chance to catch the show on Sunday afternoon!
We are now just a week away from opening night! In celebration we’d like to share this special music video version of The Magic Flute’s most famous aria, as sung by Julia Anne Cordani, our Queen of the Night! This version of the scene was created by our fabulous Director Alex Huddleston for today’s outreach event at the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts, helping us to spread the word about our FREE open dress rehearsal for local music students – next Wednesday 2/21 at 6:30pm.
Tomorrow, Saturday 2/17 at 2pm, we will present another outreach event – a lecture recital at the UU Church of Buffalo featuring LIVE sneak previews of both the musical numbers and the short films from the opera,. This event is open to the public and is pay-what-you-can. Come out to gain insight about our take on the show.
Lastly, below is another behind the scenes clip form our rehearsal process as a belated “Galentines Day” treat, from our Ladies to yours!
We are now less than 2 weeks away from opening night, and we at Sotto Voce hope that you are as excited as we are. But if you’re new to opera, you may be asking yourself, “What’s so *magic* about this flute?” Well, check out this sneak peak from one of our staging rehearsals to get a glimpse, and then come experience the “freude” (JOY) of these “wilde Tiere” (WILD ANIMALS) for yourself FRIDAY Feb. 23 + SUNDAY Feb. 25 at the UU Church of Buffalo!
As of this past weekend, we have very nearly wrapped on filming the original short films for our production of W.A. Mozart’s The Magic Flute, having capturing some of the films’ key shots with our full cast. This week, we also sang through the full show for the first time and have now begun both staging rehearsals – bringing to life the opera’s live action – and a series of outreach events events around town – featuring previews of and insight into are interpretation of the show. And of course, opening night is now just over two weeks away, so get your tickets today!!!
Our cast arrives.The priests say a little prayer for our production!Papageno isn’t too worried, though.Behind the scenes is bustling with last minute costume adjustments and excited conversation.Because we are ALL gathered……ready for the *magic* to begin!
The drama is getting real as we have our last music-only rehearsal and last two major filming sessions this weekend. Next week, our cast is heading into our Sitzprobe, staging rehearsals, and our first outreach event at local retirement community Canterbury Woods. Meanwhile, our fearless director continues to work hard on editing everything we’ve filmed together to truly bring this piece to life. Below are some behind the scenes shots from last weekend, featuring an intense scene between Pamina and Sarastro as well as some haunting shots of Pamina and Papageno under stark lighting. Don’t wait! Get your tickets today!!!
Sotto Voce 