Transgressive Theatre-Opera

04/10/2022

COMPANY UPDATE: Driving Out of the Storm with Transgressive Theatre-Opera

As we hold our collective breath, hoping that the most violent times of the COVID-19 pandemic are behind us, TT-O would like to express our gratitude to our donors, board, directors, artistic associates, artists, and especially to our audience. We refused to give in the very real threat of crippling despair but pushed ahead with our scheduled season by using technology to mount our shows digitally and added programming acknowledging our times.

We produced a new adaptation of a Handel opera with a fantasy-feel and trills galore. Light In The Piazza, our first full musical, was thrillingly received, and Resident Music Director Sarah Jenks’ Mozart For Millennials version of Le Nozze di Figaro garnered much praise. Hope Heard ‘Round The World: Echoes of Healing From Every Continent, another brain-child of Sarah’s, acknowledged the health crisis, and Genevie Thiers gifted us a benefit performance of her comic masterpiece, Anna Russell: A Visitation. TT-O is also very proud to have produced a public reading of the new play, The Clinic, by playwright Will Brumley, in association with Acting Out.

We are delighted to share with you that in the upcoming summer and fall we hope to be able to return to live performance. We’ll see how the arts community adapts, but expect Poulenc’s, La Voix Humaine starring Mary Govertsen, in a double bill with Puccini’s Suor Angelica, as we continue to acknowledge women in opera with another all-treble event.

We ask that you all continue to hang in with TT-O as we find our feet in these challenging times. Prepare for more MUSIC THAT IS AS SPOKEN AS IT IS SUNG and SPOKEN TEXT SO EVOCATIVE AND LYRICAL THAT IT SINGS.

11/10/2021

Transgressive Theatre-Opera is searching for an angel with a bedroom decorated in the art deco style who might willing to loan it to the company as the set for a short opera film.

If you are this angel, or know of an angel who might be persuaded to help us with this project, please contact Producing Artistic Director Aaron Hunt at [email protected].

Thank you in advance for your largess.

05/09/2021

Happy Mother's Day! Celebrate with the FINAL PERFORMANCE of Transgressive Theatre-Opera's production of Le Nozze di Figaro, The Millennial Version at 3:00 PM CST.

TICKETS ARE ON SALE UNTIL 2:00 PM ONLY!!!
www.eventbrite.com/e/le-nozze-di-figaro-tickets-150624815879

Le Nozze di Figaro, The Millennial Version - No speak-singing, narrated in English, shortened but timely, all the important music retained.

05/06/2021

05/05/2021

As the titular Figaro in Transgressive Theatre-Opera's "Le Nozze di Figaro, The Millennial Version," which premieres, oh when is it, TOMORROW at 7:00, Friday at 7:00, Saturday at 6:00 and Sunday, which is, I dunno, MOTHER'S DAY. at 3:00, all PM CST in the venue and on the electronic device on your choice, baritone Jonathan Wilson returns once again to delight us. Here is the famous link to those $10 tickets:
www.eventbrite.com/e/le-nozze-di-figaro-tickets-150624815879

Jonathan has been a much-beloved artist at TT-O since our second offerings in 2016 when he debuted with the company in Richard Wargo's The Seduction of A Lady, as Peter Semyonych. He has been with us for all three offerings this season, as Counsel in "Beauty's Truth," Giuseppe Naccarelli in "The Light In The Piazza," and now as The Figaro of The Hour. This is Jonathan's 8th production at TT-O. He is one of the three singers who have appeared the most frequently with the company, along with sopranos Teaira Burge (9 productions) and Mary Govertsen (10 productions).

TT-O was lucky to have snared Jonathan early in his performance career in Chicago for a production each calendar year from 2016-2018. His warm, flexible, wide-ranging voice, theatricality, and commitment to "the work" have made him one of the hottest commodities in the city, and booking him is no easy feat, as he has the choice of so many interesting productions and performing situations in which to involve himself. We were only able to have him with us all season because of productions and concert work that had to be shelved due to the pandemic, another blessing for the company to come out of this right mess.

Don't miss the fun this weekend, with this dynamite cast. Read a bit more about Jonathan below, have a look at some pics of his work with the company, oh, and use the link!

Roles with TT-O
Le Nozze di Figaro, The Millennial Version , Figaro, 2021
The Light In The Piazza, Giuseppe Naccarelli, 2021
Beauty's Truth, Counsel, 2020
Masque At Kenilworth, Quartet Bass Soloist, 2018
Trial By Jury, Ensemble, 2018
Cosi Fan Tutte, Gugliemo, 2018
The Best of the Worst, Various, 2017
The Seduction of A Lady, Peter Semyonych, 2016

Baritone Jonathan Wilson is delighted to be performing again with Transgressive Theatre-Opera after several appearances in previous seasons and most recently singing the role of Giuseppe Naccarelli in their charming production of The Light In The Piazza earlier this year. Praised by the Chicago Classical Review as a "superb actor" with a "resounding and luxurious" voice, Jonathan is an enthusiast of contemporary opera with recent favorite roles including Robert Dziekański in I will fly like a bird (Plant, Wainwright), The Poet in When Adonis Calls (Borzoni, de los Santos, Dillard), and Hannah-Before in As One (Kaminsky, Campbell, Reed).

With a reputation for sensitively straddling musical styles, Jonathan also recently performed as the titular character in Tom Waits' and Kathleen Brennan's adaptation of Woyzeck with Chicago Fringe Opera and has premiered many roles for new chamber operas and musical theater productions around the Chicago area.

Jonathan is also a frequent singer with the Chicago Symphony Chorus, Grant Park Chorus, and Lyric Opera Chorus. Outside of performing, Jonathan is passionate about math and science and holds degrees from the University of Illinois and University of Michigan in physics, mathematics, and electromagnetics. He has worked in the cellular telecommunications industry as a radio frequency electrical engineer and in Chicago-area colleges as a lecturer of physics, astronomy, and Earth science. He greatly admires the creative overlap between the scientific and musical arts in their explorations of the intricacy, complexity, and beauty of the world.

05/04/2021

Anne Slovin returns to TT-O after FAR too long an absence as Susanna in "Le Nozze di Figaro, The Millennial Version" coming up THIS WEEKEND, Thursday and Friday the 6th and 7th at 7:00, Saturday the 8th at 6:00, and Sunday the 9th (MOTHER'S DAY, isn't it?) at 3:00, all PM CST.
www.eventbrite.com/e/le-nozze-di-figaro-tickets-150624815879

Don't miss Anne's knowing, sly portrait of the woman who runs the mansion from behind her feather duster. Anne was one of Chicago's booked-to-the-gills sopranos for several years until she ran off to graduate school. She's finishing up her D.Mus. as we speak, and if it wasn't for the fact that we are virtual this season, well, we wouldn't have this opportunity to work with her right now, something good come out of all the awful! No one who knows her voice will be surprised at how beautifully she sings it! Her Deh vieni non tardar itself is worth much more than the price of the ticket!

Here's a few screenshots. There's some slapping in the last few shots that you can't really appreciate until you can see her arm flying through the air and see them landing on Jonathan Wilson as Figaro. You're not going to want to miss that.

Virtual slapping is an art unto itself.

Here's a little more about Anne! Get your tickets!
Anne Slovin, soprano, is currently a second-year doctoral student in voice at the Jacobs School of Music, where she also completed her masters degree. During her masters, she sang the role of Clara in the collegiate premiere of It’s a Wonderful Life. An advocate for new and recent opera, some of Anne’s favorite roles include Mica Segal in the Lyric Opera of Chicago premiere of The Property (Marhulets), Mabrouka in Sumeida’s Song (Fairouz), and Brigitte in the New Voices Opera production of Marilyn’s Room (Rotolo). She is an award-winner from the German-American Academic Exchange (DAAD), the Joshi Foundation at IU, the Musicians Club of Women, and the Frank Huntington Beebe Fund for Musicians, and has also distinguished herself in the Franco-American Vocal Academy’s Grand Concours de Chant and the International Czech and Slovak Vocal Competition. Anne is the co-president of the University Gilbert and Sullivan Society, having previously performed leading roles in Iolanthe, The Yeomen of the Guard, The Sorcerer, H.M.S. Pinafore and The Gondoliers. Most recently, Anne performed the roles of Micaëla in La Tragédie de Carmen at the Waldron Arts Center and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with Bloomington Chamber Opera. Anne teaches voice privately in Bloomington through Stafford Music Academy as well as online, wherever you happen to be located! With Transgressive Theatre-Opera, Anne covered the roles of Lucy in Menotti’s The Telephone and The Girl in Beeson’s Hello Out There in 2015 and sang the role of Irena in The Seduction of a Lady as part of 2016’s Chekhov Trio.

05/03/2021

Noah Gartner, one of the busiest baritones on the Chicago scene, is not easy to get on the company's roster for just that reason. TT-O is lucky to have him singing for us for the fifth time, and in a role which would always knew would suit him very well vocally, while requiring his fantastic acting talent, because the Count in "Le Nozze di Figaro" is about as far away from Noah as one can get. In the bad-guy-antagonist category, this Count is high on the operatic list, and Noah is one the gentlest, kindest souls you will ever meet. He was also joined us in the past as Guglielmo in "Cosi Fan Tutte," Raimbaud in "Count Ory," Assan in "The Consul," and as this very same Count in Act II of this opera, which was the Finale of our "Letters of Love and Subterfuge" concert.

Check out the show in your costume of choice at your very own swelling on Thursday or Friday, May 6 or 7 at 7:00 PM, Saturday, May 8 at 6:00, or Sunday, May 9 at 3:00 PM CST, streaming to you via the TT-O YouTube station. $10 tickets are available here:
www.eventbrite.com/e/le-nozze-di-figaro-tickets-150624815879

I'm going to include a few screenshots of his work in this show, to whet your appetite, and include a little more information about him below. Don't miss the opportunity to see Noah in this role!

Originally from New York, lyric baritone Noah Gartner has been performing throughout the Chicago area during the past 10 years; notably with Third Eye Theatre Ensemble (with which he is a company member), Main Street Opera​, Petite Opera, da Corneto Opera, Windy City Opera, and Handel Week Festival in Oak Park.His most recent performance in Third Eye Ensemble’s production of With Blood With Ink garnered high praise from Chicago Classical Review: “Noah Gartner’s firm baritone as Archbishop Seijas provided a finely etched characterization as well as the best singing of the evening.”​Favorite performances include Figaro (Barber of Seville), Valentin (Faust), the title role in Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Ford (Falstaff), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Papageno (Magic Flute), Schaunard (La bohème), Alwan (Sumeida’s Song), and the title role in Petite Opera’s production of Brundibar alongside his wonderfully talented children – Paul and Aero.

04/30/2021

Soprano Mary Govertsen has had quite a season at Transgressive Theatre-Opera, going on the wild ride with us through thick and thin as we worked to make art and engage with our audience during the pandemic.

As we ALL became film makers. I think it's fair to say that, pretty much across the boards (no pun intended), it was against our wills.

She began the season as Deceit in a staged, new adaptation of Handel's first (and last) oratorio, re-titled to reflect a shift in character agency as "Beauty's Truth," a role tailored to her multi-colored, fantastically flexible instrument. As Handel and the librettist revised this piece many times over their lifetimes, many of the arias in the original version were dropped from subsequent versions for one reason or another and have been most unfairly sitting on the shelf for far too long. With some changes of lyrics and character redistribution this role was re-created specifically to highlight Mary's acting and vocal prowess, making this just one of the premieres Mary has sung this season, and if you missed it...well, perhaps we'll give you another shot at hearing it this summer. She hits it out of the park.

She continued the TT-O season as Signora Naccarelli in "The Light In The Piazza," presenting an Italian mother who is quietly running her family with a carefully placed word here and there, playing the subservient wife externally, while surviving and keeping her family safe by sheer wit. She was also hysterically funny as one of the two characters who were allowed to knock down the fourth wall and speak directly to the audience, assuring us that, "I don't speak English, but I have to tell you what's going on." And a high "C" that was heard in Yugoslavia.

She is helping us close out the season with the Countess in our upcoming version of "Le Nozze di Figaro, The Millennial Version," another fresh adaptation where the story is told in English narration, surrounded by the most beloved music in the score delivered in the original Italian. She is lovely as the betrayed wife who, with the help of her maid, sets out to right the situation and save her honor and her marriage. Not everyone who sings some of the high-flying coloratura roles in Mary's repertoire can sing this role, which calls for long, lyrical phrases, often hanging out for long periods of time in the vulnerable middle register, alternating with high "Cs," of course. Mary makes it seem like a walk in the park, which it most certainly isn't, but she will make you forget all about the difficulty of the music. She disappears into her characterizations, never taking the audience out of the story to wonder if she's going to make the next crazy high note. Of course she is. She's the real ticket, the total pro, "the package," as some might say.

We are so lucky to have had Mary with us all season. Come to your living room to see her performance NEXT WEEKEND, streaming on Thursday, May 6 and Friday, May 7 at 7:00 PM, Saturday, May 8 at 6:00 PM, and Sunday, May 9 at 3:00 PM, all CST. Here's the link for tickets:
www.eventbrite.com/e/le-nozze-di-figaro-tickets-150624815879

We're in the editing phase (it's like tech week only scarier because it's newer and there is always a fresh precipice around the corner), and don't yet have any footage to show you, but here are a few screenshots of her performance, which will give you an idea of what you're in for! Don't miss it!

04/28/2021

Brent A. Morden has been The Man Behind The Curtain this season at Transgressive Theatre-Opera, allowing us to produce a season - in fact, a larger season than was planned - at such a difficult time. Brent was responsible for the audio design for "Beauty's Truth," and the audio & visual design for everything else in the season, which would include "The Light In the Piazza," and the concerts "Hope Heard 'Round The World" and "Anna Russell, A Visitation." He is now hard at work, putting the finishing touches on Sarah Jenks' fresh adaptation of "Le Nozze di Figaro, The Millennial Version," playing in your living room on Thursday and Friday, May 6 & 7 at 7:00, Saturday, May 8 at 6:00, and Sunday, May 9 at 3:00, all PM CST, on TT-O's YouTube station!

Brent wears many hats in his professional life, making him uniquely qualified for this type of work, and it is that very fact (plus his blinding work ethic) that makes his work look like there's a team of him on the project. And perhaps there is, in a way. Brent is a singer, arranger, composer, conductor, educator, and all-around Renaissance Individual based in NYC, and we are very, very lucky to have found him and have him in our court this season.

Get your tickets at the link below, and then scroll down a little to read more about Brent.
www.eventbrite.com/e/le-nozze-di-figaro-tickets-150624815879

And then hire him. There's no way you don't need to hire someone for something with at least one of his skill sets.

Brent A. Morden is a New York-based composer, arranger, conductor, singer, and educator. Brent’s career has seen him conduct his award-winning band works in venues including Carnegie Hall, write music & lyrics for two comedy musicals produced at Columbia University, and assist acclaimed music director Rob Fisher. Nowadays Brent works as the Program Manager for Every Voice Choirs, a NYC-based nonprofit children’s choir program. Having produced audio for multiple virtual concerts since March 2020, Brent is excited to bring his expertise to Transgressive Theatre-Opera this season. Brent graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University in 2019 and enjoys running in the park.
https://brentmordenmusic.com/

04/27/2021

Bass Baritone Bryan Dahl makes his Transgressive Theatre-Opera debut as Don Bartolo in "Le Nozze di Figaro" on Thursday, May 6 and Friday, May 7 at 7:00, Saturday, May 8 at 6:00, and Sunday, May 9 at 3:00, all PM CST. Bryan was based in Chicago for some time, but sings this role from sunny California. One of the benefits of this dreadful mess is that many of us have found new ways to make art, and using the technology at hand means that while we sadly can't be in the room together, we can also take hands across counties and continents.

Tickets for this, our final production in our streaming season, can be had at this link:
www.eventbrite.com/e/le-nozze-di-figaro-tickets-150624815879

Read more about Bryan below. We hope you will join us!

Bass-Baritone Bryan Dahl completed his MM at The Chicago College of Performing Arts. Before singing in Chicago, he began his operatic training in Los Angeles performing with Center Stage Opera and Pacific Opera Project. He has sung with The Hyde Park Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company, Du Page Opera, South Shore Opera, Thompson Street Opera, the University of Chicago Heritage Chorale, and is delighted to be making his debut with Transgressive Theatre-Opera.

04/26/2021

Erich Buchholz returns to Transgressive Theatre-Opera as Don Basilio in The Millennial Version of "Le Nozze di Figaro," playing in your living room, dining room, or kitchen on our YouTube station on Thursday, May 6 and Friday, May 7 at 7:00 PM, Saturday, May 8 at 6:00 PM, and Sunday, May 9 at 3:00 PM, all CST.

Erich first appeared with TT-O in our "Letter of Love and Subterfuge" Concert, and we are thrilled to have him back. His Don Basilio is already, as we say in the film business, "in the can," and he is as funny as can be while still singing beautifully. Contrary to some popular opinions, it isn't necessary to make a "character voice" to create a character.

Tickets are $10 a pop for as many people as you have in your current social bubble for inside venues. It's a great time for pizza, popcorn, or steak tartare, whatever fits the bill, as you take in TT-O's Resident Music Director Sarah Jenks' zany, fresh adaptation of this classic, sung in Italian, but with hysterical English narration taking the place of all those never ending recitatives that were quite the thing in Mozart's time, although millennials as a group eschew them. Here' a link to the tickets:
www.eventbrite.com/e/le-nozze-di-figaro-tickets-150624815879

And wine. It's just a thought. You could have wine as well. You can do the "family pour" that they never give you in bars and restaurants, you know, the one where you use the entire glass so you don't have to bother the bottle as often?

Read more about Erich below, pull up an app on that cell phone that is always in your hand you know it is and get in your wine order, and click on the link above to get that ticket!

Erich Buchholz, tenor, has performed the title roles in Handel’s Acis and Galatea and Monteverdi’s Orfeo with period instruments. With Chicago Folks Operetta he has performed in the American premieres of Lehar’s Mitislav the Modern and Cloclo, Fall’s Girl in the Train, Rose of Stambul and Madame Pompadour, and Kalman’s Arizona Lady. With the comedy sextet Hudson Shad he has toured extensively in the United States and Japan. He has sung in concert works by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Britten, Mozart, and Debussy. He can be heard on the Naxos recording of Fall’s Rose of Stamboul with Chicago Folks Operetta. Recent debuts include Calgary Philharmonic with Fall of the House of Usher (Glass), Louisville Orchestra and Detroit Symphony in Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins with Storm Large, and Cincinnati Pops in Music Man. He sings with the Grant Park Chorus, where he recently performed the tenor solo in Britten’s Hymn to St. Cecilia.