Tag: puccini

Meet the cast of Sotto Voce’s SUOR ANGELICA!

~ sottovocevocalcollective ~ Leave a comment
From top left: Jamie Gangemi (The Monitor), Laurie Pastena (The Abbess/ Second Lay Sister), Maria Jacobi (The Novice), Sarah Arrowsmith (Suor Osmina), Emily Yancey (First Traveling Sister), Jessie Downs (Suor Angelica), Rosa Vu (Suor Dolcina), Maria Parker (The Nursing Sister), Aleksandra Tirone (First Lay Sister/ Second Traveling Sister), Ola Rafalo (La Principessa), Julia Anne Cordani (Suor Genovieffa), Erin Alexander (The Mistress of the Novices)

We are so thrilled to have assembled such a fantastic cast for our upcoming production of Suor Angelica! Our core team of Alex Huddleston (director), Jessie Downs (Suor Angelica), and Julia Anne Cordani (Suor Genovieffa) are joined by returning guest artist (Disakana in The Second Sight) Chicago-based mezzo-soprano Ola Rafalo (La Principessa); returning Spirits from The Magic Flute – Jamie Gangemi (The Monitor), Erin Alexander (The Mistress of the Novices), and Rosa Vu (Suor Dolcina), as well as Magic Flute chorister Sarah Arrowsmith (Suor Osmina); and our newest members – Laurie Pastena (The Abbess/ Second Lay Sister), Aleksandra Tirone (First Lay Sister/ Second Traveling Sister), Emily Yancey (First Traveling Sister), Maria Parker (The Nursing Sister), and Maria Jacobi (The Novice). You can read more about these wonderful people on our FEATURED ARTISTS page and get your tickets to hear them in the shows!

The Sister rehearsing the choral sections of the opera, led by Julia Anne Cordani at the piano.

Also, consider coming out to hear some of these fabulous artists in recital on Saturday June 8th at 7pm at our home base – the UU Church of Buffalo – singing selections from Mozart, Puccini, and more. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged to help support our show!

On Tuesday June 18th at 7pm at Randall Baptist Church of Williamsville, you can also join us for a special edition of “Let’s Do Lunch” called “Let’s Get Together.” The evening’s program will feature desserts, informative yet fun talks about Sotto Voce’s “opera nouveau” project, opportunities to meet our newest members, excerpts from the The Magic Flute, and previews of both Suor Angelica and shows for the 2024-25 Sotto Voce season and beyond. Write to AACPP_Lets_Do_Lunch AT protonmail.com for more information.

We’re Almost There!

~ sottovocevocalcollective ~ Leave a comment

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!

Sotto Voce needs YOUR HELP this week!

~ sottovocevocalcollective ~ Leave a comment

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!

Sotto Voce’s SUOR ANGELICA is coming your way!

~ sottovocevocalcollective ~ Leave a comment

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!