May 2019
In May 2019, composer Josh Groffman, librettist Sarah Heady, stage director Amanda Consol, dramaturg Caitlin Kane, and Vital Opera General Director Kelvin Chan gathered for four days to continue working on Josh and Sarah’s Unfinished (now Halcyon) with a focus on refining the piece’s dramatic storytelling. It was amazing to have five smart, thoughtful artists working together for over 25 hours, grappling with difficult questions about the piece’s existing material, the role and ethics of music-theater in representing real-world, historical events, and the meaning of place and its loss. While these questions were challenging, our work was also open, creative, and joyful. Special thanks to the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Special Initiative for the Humanities for providing space and funding for the Intensive!
Explore our other projects
Meltdown
Grounded in the lived experience of scientific practice, Meltdown is a one-act dramatic work for mezzo-soprano and piano trio that explores the intertwined dynamics of grief over the climate crisis, sexual harassment and violence, and the exploitation of people and land.
Queens Voice Lab
Launched in July 2020, Queens Voice Lab is a diverse and inclusive, artist-led community for professional singer-actors. Originally intended as a workspace for artists to center their creative process, QVL has evolved to meet the needs of its artists and now serves primarily as a paid opportunity for participants to regularly engage and cultivate a supportive community of peers.
Halcyon
Halcyon (formerly Unfinished ) is a new documentary-style opera that explores the question: “What happens to us when a place that matters to us comes to ruin?”
“Millbrook is a Frame of Mind:” Reflections in Word and Song
As part of Community Day on September 7, 2019, the Millbrook Library and Vital Opera presented the inaugural edition of Millbrook is a Frame of Mind: Reflections in Word and Song, a celebration of Millbrook featuring music, poetry, and prose from the village.
Four Hands of Bridge
In April 2015 we premiered Four Hands of Bridge, an experimental evening featuring four consecutive performances of Samuel Barber’s A Hand of Bridge. This brief, yet intense opera explores themes of consumerism, marital infidelity, the loss of a loved one, and isolation in modern society.
Artist Development Workshop on Le Nozze Di Figaro
Our artist development workshop on Le Nozze di Figaro in November of 2013 was an opportunity for a group of nine singer-actors to delve deeply into the music, text, plot, and characters of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro).
An Edible and Musical Birthday Celebration for Julia Child
In August 2012 we presented An Edible and Musical Birthday Celebration for Julia Child in honor of Julia Child’s 100th birthday.