Dorothea and Artemisia

Christopher Stark From the Field WORLD PREMIERE

Laura Schwendinger Artemisia WORLD PREMIERE

Artemisia, a new opera by Laura Schwendinger with libretto by Ginger Strand, is an opera of passion, betrayal, and art in 17th Century Italy based upon the life of famed painter Artemisia Gentileschi (1593 - c.1656). With projected images that come to life, the opera tackles Gentileschi’s struggles and triumphs as she battles inequality and reveals hidden stories.

Christopher Stark's micro-opera, From The Field, focuses on the art and milieu of Depression-Era photographer Dorothea Lange, as she sought to document the real lives of migrants fleeing the Dust Bowl.

Join Left Coast Chamber Ensemble as we celebrate these two incredible artists! Last season’s opera sold out. Secure your seats today!

The complete and fully-staged world premiere of Artemisia is made possible by generous funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Opera Center, and the San Francisco Arts Commission.

Operas are performed in English with English supertitles projected above the stage.

Artists

From the Field

Nikki Einfeld, Dorothea Lange
Anna Presler, violin
Leighton Fong, viola

Jenalie Auth, costume designer
Allen Willner, lighting designer
Andrew Lucia, projections
Elisabeth Reeves, stage manager

Christopher Stark, composer
Megan Stark, libretto

Artemisia

Betany Coffland, Artemisia
Kyle Stegall, Tommaso
Marnie Breckenridge, Susanna
Jonathan Smucker, Elder 1
Igor Vieira, Elder 2
Nikki Einfeld, Abra

Kate Stenberg, violin
Leighton Fong, cello
Stacey Pelinka, flute
Leslie Tagorda, clarinet
Loren Mach, percussion
Constance Koo, harp
Anne Rainwater, piano

Matilda Hofman, conductor
Jenn BeVard, director
Maggie Whitaker, costume designer
Allen Willner, lighting designer
Andrew Lucia, projections
Angrette McCloskey, set design
Elisabeth Reeves, stage manager

Laura Schwendinger, composer
Ginger Strand, libretto

Tickets

Reserved seating, special ticket prices:

$60 Premium
$45 Standard
$35 Community
$18 Student/Under 35 (Community section)

SAN FRANCISCO
Z Space
450 Florida St, San Francisco
Saturday, June 1, 2019, 7:30 PM
Sunday, June 2, 2019, 2:00 PM
[directions]

Program Note from Artemisia director Jenn BeVard:

“It is both exciting and daunting to bring Artemisia Gentileschi’s story to life on stage. She is such a formidable figure, both as an artist and as a person who publicly exposed the man who sexually assaulted her at a time when doing so was unheard of.

Her art and her trauma have an immediacy and contemporary resonance -- we are living in a moment where pain so often becomes fodder for public consumption. The reason to tell her story now is because it is a story of a woman who finds power and demands to be seen not just as an artist but as a subject— she places her own trauma at the center of her paintings and in doing so she commands witness. Her art is provocative, modern, courageous, and Laura Schwendinger’s opera is a real reflection of that.

This confluence, the story of a Baroque painter told through the medium of opera and the story of a woman told through the medium of her own voice, feels even more appropriate to share right now, during a time when women’s voices are finally being heard, acknowledged, and responded to.

Artemisia’s story is a beautiful rarity and we cannot wait to share it with Bay Area audiences.”

Artemisia Timeline of Events

January 2017: Trinity Wall Street Church in NYC presents first workshop of the new opera!

November 2018: Center for Contemporary Opera in NYC will preview several scenes with piano at Symphony Space.

March 2019: Trinity Wall Street Church in NYC will present portions of the opera in a partly-staged concert with chamber orchestra.

June 2019: Left Coast Chamber Ensemble premieres complete opera, fully staged.

From the Field Timeline of Events

April & May 2019: Open rehearsals at the GTU’s Doug Adams Gallery in Berkeley where Left Coast is the Ensemble-in-Residence.

June 2019: Left Coast Chamber Ensemble premieres the micro-opera.