Following the success of Sotto Voce's The Magic Flute this February, our company is planning to bring Buffalo another new take on a classic show with our production of Giacomo Puccini's Suor Angelica - Friday June 28th at 7pm and Sunday June 30th at 3pm at St. Joseph University Parish in Buffalo NY. To help make this show possible, we are aiming to raise $6,000 through online giving. Help us to keep bringing "opera nouveau" to Buffalo by making your gift today!
 

Arguably one of Puccini's most compelling works, Suor Angelica tells the story of a woman made to feel expendable by both her family and society as a whole. Before the opera begins, Suor (Sister) Angelica is sent to a convent for having a child out of wedlock. In the convent, she lives an ascetic life with harsh strictures, guided by a punitive sense of morality. All the while, she finds solace in her garden, mixing remedies for the other nuns, keeping to herself and her prayers for news of the son who was stripped from her at birth. After waiting for seven years for some news from her family, Angelica's aunt finally arrives, but with selfish motives and the horrific news that Angelica's child has died in her absence. In her despair, Angelica decides to take her own life and join her child in the life hereafter. Not only is this a moving piece of fiction, but it is an exemplary work of “verismo” or “operatic realism” that unveils the gruesome truth of how society throughout the ages attempts to erase those it sees as unnecessary persons, and the horrific consequences of that marginalization. Despite the opera’s dark themes, its miraculous ending demonstrates the power of faith in redemptive love that can transcend humanity’s punitive institutions.

Our production aims to both share a beautiful story and stunning composition from 1918, while also demonstrating how this drama is playing itself out in other guises in our world today. Throughout the show, sonic fragments from interviews with survivors of the Troubled Teen Industry will be played alongside Puccini's music. The Troubled Teen Industry - or TTI - is a complex of highly unregulated and often abusive programs that falsely claim to help "troubled" youth. Through conducting interviews with survivors of the TTI, we have found so many correspondences between their experiences and the experience of Angelica in the opera. By hearing interview fragments in modern English alongside similar sentiments expressed in the original Italian of the opera, our audiences will hear evidence of how Angelica's experience is playing out in the lives of the youth of our world today.

Like all our shows, this production will feature powerful voices - including the role of Suor Angelica sung by our founder Jessie Downs and acclaimed Chicago-based mezzo-soprano Ola Rafalo as her miserly aunt - emotional interpretations, and excellent ensemble singing - with a nun chorus led by Sotto Voce founding member Julia Anne Cordani as Suor Genovieffa. The set of the show will showcase the stunning architecture of St. Joseph University Parish, evoking the convent in which the story takes place. A reception open to all guests after each show will showcase our team's warm and welcoming hospitality - with themed food and drink offerings and a pop-up art gallery featuring photographs, poems, jewelry, and other art work by TTI survivors. 

The large majority of Sotto Voce's budget goes to pay modest stipends to our incredibly talented artists. $6,000 will only cover the cost of our key artists for this production, but having this funding in advance will help ensure that through ticket sales we can support the rest of our cast and cover production costs such as staging elements and costumes.

We can't bring this show to life without the continued support of donors and audience members like you. Thank you in advance for helping us to continue to grow as an organization so that we can keep bringing you bigger and better shows in the years to come. We are so grateful for your support!