A New York Times Critic’s Pick!

Castor and Patience

World premiere!
July 21, 28 & 30, 2022 | 7:30 p.m.
July 23 & 24, 2022 | 3:00 p.m.
Scpa’s Corbett Theater

Music by Gregory Spears
Libretto by Tracy K. Smith

Sung in English with projected lyrics

A long overdue family reunion finds two African American cousins at odds over the fate of a historic parcel of land they have inherited in the American South. Castor is eager to sell the land to pay off his crushing debt, but Patience is determined to fight off overzealous investors and preserve her family’s legacy. Deeply relevant to ongoing calls for racial justice, Castor and Patience probes historical and continuing obstacles to Black land ownership in the U.S. With powerful, soaring music by Gregory Spears, composer of our acclaimed 2016 commission Fellow Travelers, and an original libretto by Pulitzer Prize winner and former U.S. poet laureate Tracy K. Smith, this timeless and topical premiere is the buzz of the opera world.

read the synopsis

Listen

Talise Trevigne sings "Think you know this man?" from Castor and Patience, with Marie-France Lefebvre and Michael Lewis on piano.

PHOTO GALLERY

Congregants gather at a Watch Night service: (foreground) Phillip Bullock, (rear clockwise from top left) Zoie Reams, Victor Ryan Robertson, Amber Monroe, Earl Hazell. Photo by Philip Groshong.

Castor (Reginald Smith Jr.) and his wife, Celeste (Jennifer Johnson Cano). Photo by Philip Groshong.

Castor (Reginald Smith Jr.) and Patience (Talise Trevigne). Photo by Philip Groshong.

Members of a freedmen’s community: Earl Hazell, Victor Ryan Robertson, Phillip Bullock Photo by Philip Groshong.

Castor (Reginald Smith Jr.) and Celeste (Jennifer Johnson Cano). Photo by Philip Groshong.

Ruthie (Raven McMillon) with her father, Castor (Reginald Smith Jr.). Photo by Philip Groshong.

Castor (Reginald Smith Jr.) and Patience (Talise Trevigne), with (background L to R) Celeste (Jennifer Johnson Cano), Ruthie (Raven McMillon), Wilhelmina (Victoria Okafor), and West (Randell McGee). Photo by Philip Groshong.

Castor’s parents, Cato (Phillip Bullock) and Clarissa (Amber Monroe). Photo by Philip Groshong.

Cast & Creative Team

Gregory Spears // Composer

Tracy K. Smith // Librettist

Talise Trevigne // Patience

Reginald Smith Jr. // Castor

Jennifer Johnson Cano // Celeste

Victoria Okafor // Wilhelmina

Benjamin Taylor // West

Frederick Ballentine // Judah

Raven McMillon // Ruthie

Patience Talise Trevigne
Castor Reginald Smith Jr.
Celeste Jennifer Johnson Cano
Wilhelmina Victoria Okafor
West Benjamin Taylor
Judah Frederick Ballentine
Ruthie Raven McMillon
Clarissa/Ensemble Amber Monroe
Jane/Ensemble Zoie Reams
Nestor/Ensemble Victor Ryan Robertson
Cato/Ensemble Phillip Bullock
Second Man/Ensemble Earl Hazell

Composer Gregory Spears
Librettist Tracy K. Smith
Conductor Kazem Abdullah
Stage Director Kevin Newbury
Scenic Designer Vita Tzykun
Costume Designer Jessica Jahn
Image Designer Rachel Eliza Griffiths
Projection Designer S. Katy Tucker
Lighting Designer Thomas C. Hase
Wig & Makeup Designer James Geier

Featuring the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
New production from Cincinnati Opera

NEWS & REVIEWS

A New York Times Critic’s Pick! “[The cast’s] outpourings are so fervent, the melodies so sweet, that you can find yourself moved nearly to tears by more or less random lines ... by the second act, the tension inexorably rising, resistance to a work so openhearted, tender and plain-spoken seems futile.” Read the full review

The New York Times: Best Classical Music Performances of 2022 - “In a … deeply satisfying vein, Gregory Spears and Tracy K. Smith’s Castor and Patience, which premiered at Cincinnati Opera in July, was an unshowy, restrained, warmly tonal exploration of a Black family and the land it owns.” Read the full story

NPR: “Castor and Patience opera explores systematic barriers to Black land ownership”
Listen to the story

Cincinnati Business Courier: “The hallmarks of the opening night performance were its evocative, poetic libretto, gorgeous orchestral score and powerhouse cast of singing actors.” Read the full review

Opera News: “To turn so complex a libretto into a musically satisfying opera requires a gifted composer, and Spears is undoubtedly that.” Read the full review

I Care If You Listen: “Spears’ lush score supports the dialogue-driven libretto with percolating syncopation, ebulliently hurtling forward until blossoming, nostalgia-imbued lyricism offers moments of repose… Smith’s libretto — her first ever — is the undeniable star of the production.” Read the full review

Parterre: “The cast is superb… The final aria is breathtaking.” Read the full review

I Care If You Listen: 5 Questions to Tracy K. Smith

Cincinnati Business Courier: Cincinnati Opera explores racial justice in new world premiere

CityBeat: Cincinnati Opera’s Fierce and Castor and Patience Give Voice to Underrepresented Stories

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Opera Insights
Enhance your Castor and Patience knowledge with a pre-curtain lecture one hour before each performance in SCPA’s Corbett Theater. Evans Mirageas, The Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director, provides overviews and insights into the opera's history, music, and production. Free to all ticket holders. No reservations required.

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