Eastman Opera Theatre (EOT) presents composer Paola Prestini’s evocative foley opera Silent Light (2019), with a libretto by Royce Vavrek, on Friday, October 31 – Sunday, November 3, 2024, in Kilbourn Hall. This marks the first collegiate production of the opera, which premiered at National Sawdust in Brooklyn, NY on September 26, 2024. The premiere featured Eastman Professor of Voice Anthony Dean Griffey, tenor, as Zacarias, and alumnus Jeffrey Zeigler ’95E played cello. Pat Diamond directs Eastman’s production alongside conductor Timothy Long. “Our students have the great fortune to live inside the minds of two prominent creators and current ‘opera influencers,’ Paola Prestini and Royce Vavrek,” states Long, who is the Artistic and Music Director of EOT.
Prestini finds it meaningful to have Eastman present Silent Light, sharing that “there’s a way in which it feels my music has reached the next phase of my career: it’s in the hands of the next generation and I can’t be prouder and more humbled.” She continues, “Eastman is the alma mater of my husband, cellist Jeffrey Zeigler, and he speaks so highly of his experience there; so, between him, the amazing Tim Long, and the brilliant Anthony Dean Griffey — who just starred in the world premiere — I feel like I’m in excellent hands.”
Facing themes of infidelity, crisis of conscience and self-destruction, this opera delves into the emotional landscape of a Mennonite community in northern Mexico. Based on the film Stellet Licht by Carlos Reygadas, it includes explicit content and is therefore recommended for audiences aged 18+ only.
Johan, a devoted husband and father to his wife Esther and their seven children, faces a profound challenge when he develops feelings for Marianne, another woman within his conservative community. The writers share that Silent Light is “a story of people trying to do their best,” while maneuvering the delicate balance between natural desire and societal duty.
This opera is incredibly immersive, relying on sounds, costumes and light to tell the story almost as prominently as the sung and spoken words. Costumes, for example, represent Johan and Marianne’s deep ties to their community; but as their affair unfolds, that part of their identities is stripped away as gradually as is their clothing.
In a foley opera, sound effects are integral to the plot, serving to enhance an audience’s experience by using objects and tools (as opposed to instruments) to create realistic sounds that correspond to the actions on stage. From the milking of cows, simulated by aiming squirt guns at a metal bowl, to the crunch of snow — or Styrofoam — underfoot, the chamber orchestra often utilizes improvisation to reflect the characters’ physical and emotional states.
Diamond says that the key relationships between Johan, Marianne and Esther “pull you out of the cliché ‘love triangle’ scenario, which is common in opera, and shows love and caring that is deeply felt by three people who are truly good at heart.” He echoes the questions that are contemplated onstage: “When the pain that arises from this situation reaches a climax, can people who feel so deeply choose to value peace over love? Can they live with the choices that they have made, knowing that the resulting grief can never be erased?” Audiences should not expect clear answers to these queries, as Silent Light leaves ample room for interpretation.
Eastman Opera Theatre’s performances of Silent Light are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 31; Friday, November 1 and Saturday, November 2; with a matinee at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday November 3. This production will be sung in English with supertitles. It is double-cast and runs for 90 minutes without intermission.
Tickets are $20.00 for general admission. Internally, students, faculty and staff may present their URID to receive one free ticket. Tickets can be purchased at the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 433 East Main St., or online at EastmanTheatre.org.
Production Credits
Music by Paola Prestini
Libretto by Royce Vivrek
Conducted by Timothy Long
Directed by Pat Diamond
Scenic & Lighting Designer: Seth Reiser
Costume Designer: Nicole LaClair
Projection Designer: John Horzen
Sound Designer: Gregory Thompson
Foley Designer: Sxip Shirey
Intimacy Coordinator: Lindsay Warren Baker
Props Designer. Mary Reiser
Technical Director: Mark Houser
Production Stage Manager: Josh Lau
Media only: Lauren Sageer, Assistant Director of Public Relations and Digital Content,
(585) 451-8492, lsageer@esm.rochester.edu
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About Eastman Opera Theatre:
Eastman Opera Theatre offers a comprehensive program of training and performance opportunities for the modern singer-actor. Each year, productions feature a wide range of musical styles, unusual lyric forms, and both traditional and contemporary repertoire that prepare the motivated student for the professional lyric theater world of tomorrow.
Most productions have two complete principal casts (given an equal number of performances), are fully designed, performed in the original language, and depending on the venue, use full orchestral accompaniment. Studio productions, scenes programs, and outreach events are also offered to further enhance the variety of performance opportunities. Eastman Opera Theatre utilizes both undergraduate and graduate students in all roles for all productions.
Recent and past productions include Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas; Davis’ Lear on the 2nd Floor; Sondheim’s Into the Woods; Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea; Glass’ Hydrogen Jukebox and Les Enfants Terribles; Guettel’s The Light in the Piazza; Gordon’s The Tibetan Book of the Dead; Mozart’s Don Giovanni; and Puts’ Elizabeth Cree. EOT is committed to working with living composers and librettists. Recent production collaborators have included Anthony Davis, Adam Guettel, Jake Heggie, Gene Scheer, Ricky Ian Gordon, Kevin Puts, and Mark Campbell.
About Eastman School of Music:
The Eastman School of Music was founded in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman (1854-1932), founder of Eastman Kodak Company. It was the first professional school of the University of Rochester. Mr. Eastman’s dream was that his school would provide a broad education in the liberal arts as well as superb musical training.
More than 900 students are enrolled in the Collegiate Division of the Eastman School of Music—about 500 undergraduates and 400 graduate students. They come from almost every state, and approximately 23 percent are from other countries. They are taught by a faculty comprised of more than 130 highly regarded performers, composers, conductors, scholars, and educators. They are Pulitzer Prize winners, Grammy winners, Emmy winners, Guggenheim fellows, ASCAP Award recipients, published authors, recording artists, and acclaimed musicians who have performed in the world’s greatest concert halls. Each year, Eastman’s students, faculty members, and guest artists present more than 900 concerts to the Rochester community. Additionally, more than 1,700 members of the Rochester community, from young children through senior citizens, are enrolled in the Eastman Community Music School.
About the University of Rochester:
The University of Rochester is one of the nation’s leading private research universities, one of only 62-member institutions in the Association of American Universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University gives undergraduates exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College, School of Arts and Sciences, and Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Nursing, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, and the Memorial Art Gallery.