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WHEN:
Saturday, June 15 at 8:00pm
WHERE:
Ray Charles Performing Arts Center at Morehouse College
900 West End Ave SW
Atlanta, GA 30310
TICKETS:
$ 20 + (Or $25 if combined with The 96-Hour Opera Festival Showcase)
For more information and tickets visit The Atlanta Opera website.
A spokesperson describes the event as follows:
"...The one-act opera is a dark comedy that reflects on an environmental/spiritual retribution by unknown forces for the unsavory genesis of Lake Lanier in Forsyth County, Georgia. Once known as Oscarville, a thriving black community of homes, stores, and churches, the community was attacked and residents driven out by local white aggression, then, 30 years later the area was flooded to create a reservoir and recreational lake. Since the lake was formed, unexplained drownings and other happenings have plagued the area giving it a reputation for being haunted. In this opera, a private detective, a witch, and various county residents try to determine the cause and solution for a growing threat … random puddles that invade the county...
"...Selected as winner of the inaugural 96-Hour Opera Project in 2022, Forsyth County is Flooding (with the Joy of Lake Lanier) by Marcus Norris (music and lyrics) and Adamma Ebo (book and story) is the first of many new operas that will be launched from the annual competition. The work is fully staged under the direction of Tinashe Kajese-Bolden, award-winning director, actor, and producer who is Jenning Hertz Artistic Director at The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. Kajese-Bolden leads a creative team that includes conductor Chaowen Ting, choreographer Dell Howlett, lighting and projection designer Bradley Bergerson, scenic and props designer Kat Conley, and costume designer Jarrod Barnes. The cast features Kevin Thompson (Church Jenkins), Minka Wiltz (Odella), Andrew Gilstrap (Mayor John Johns), Tiffany Uzoije (Butter), and Marnie Breckenridge (Bully)...
Editor's Note: This performance is a mid-point event in The Atlanta Opera's 96-Hour Opera Project and Festival, described by an opera spokesperson as "...an incubator for talented underrepresented creatives in the opera field. Founded in 2022, the program fields a competition for librettists and composers and offers cash prizes, mentorship opportunities, supportive workshopping, and ultimately premiere performances. Annually, the Festival presents newly created 10-minute operas for competition and judging, plus the works-in-progress, and premieres of winners from past seasons..."
