opera fusion: new works

Opera Fusion: New Works (OF:NW) is a dynamic partnership between Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). Created in 2011 to foster the development of new American operas, OF:NW has grown into a nationally recognized collaboration which is not only advancing in repertoire, but also serving as an inspiring example of a successful joint venture between an educational institution and a professional performing arts organization. 

Process

OF:NW offers composers or composer/librettist teams the opportunity to workshop an opera during a 10-day residency in Cincinnati. Residencies utilize the facilities, personnel, and talent of both Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). The workshops are cast with a combination of CCM students and professional artists, and each workshop concludes with a free public presentation of excerpts followed by an audience Q&A session.


RECENT WORKSHOPS

HILDEGARD

Thursday, October 10, 2024 | 7:30 p.m.
Wilks Studio • Music Hall

Music and libretto by Sarah Kirkland Snider
Stage Direction by Elkhanah Pulitzer
Dramaturgy by Annie Jin Wang

Commissioned and produced by Beth Morrison Projects, Hildegard imagines three of the most pivotal events in the life of 12th-century German Benedictine nun, visionary, composer, and polymath Hildegard von Bingen. The opera begins in the year 1147, when Hildegard begins transcribing her visions of God. She enlists the assistance of a young convalescent, Richardis von Stade, and the two women quickly develop a transformative partnership that awakens them creatively, spiritually, and—much to the internal conflict of both women—romantically. As their story unfolds, an unforeseen crisis threatens both their hard-won accomplishments and the intimacy, in all its complexity and secrecy, that has become their salvation.



 

Opera Fusion: New Works is generously funded by