Ghost variations
First Workshop
Presented in English with Piano
1 hour music, 20 min talkback
Talkback and Reception Following
Clara Schumann’s life falls out from beneath her when her genius composer husband, Robert Schumann, experiences a mental health crisis. As Robert battles the hallucinations and dementia brought on by his illness, Clara must find a way to remain strong for her family, her friends, and herself. Ghost Variations re-imagines the real story of the Schumanns and their closest friend, Johannes Brahms, in the final years of Robert’s life.
Ghost Variations was commissioned by OperaRox Productions and marks Tony Manfredonia’s first full-length opera. It will receive its full production World Premiere in August 2019.
Presented in English with Piano
1 hour music, 20 min talkback
Talkback and Reception Following
Clara Schumann’s life falls out from beneath her when her genius composer husband, Robert Schumann, experiences a mental health crisis. As Robert battles the hallucinations and dementia brought on by his illness, Clara must find a way to remain strong for her family, her friends, and herself. Ghost Variations re-imagines the real story of the Schumanns and their closest friend, Johannes Brahms, in the final years of Robert’s life.
Ghost Variations was commissioned by OperaRox Productions and marks Tony Manfredonia’s first full-length opera. It will receive its full production World Premiere in August 2019.
Be Part of the Process
For an exclusive peek into the creation of Ghost Variations, attend the workshop or watch our livestream!
Every donation gets you access to the professional livestream.
Donors who contribute $100 or more receive 2 VIP Invitations to the performance at the National Opera Center, which includes a Q&A with the composer, creative team, and cast and an afterparty with the artists.
For more details and a full list of donor rewards, see here.
All donations are tax-deductible through Fractured Atlas.
Every donation gets you access to the professional livestream.
Donors who contribute $100 or more receive 2 VIP Invitations to the performance at the National Opera Center, which includes a Q&A with the composer, creative team, and cast and an afterparty with the artists.
For more details and a full list of donor rewards, see here.
All donations are tax-deductible through Fractured Atlas.
August 19, 2018
Doors at 7:00pm, Performance at 7:30pm
Exclusive Talkback with Composer Tony Manfredonia, the Creative Team, and the Cast
Champagne Reception
The National Opera Center
Marc A. Scorca Hall
330 7th Avenue, 7th Floor
New York, NY
Cover Performance: August 18 @ 7:30pm (MacKay Studio)
Tony Manfredonia is a composer and orchestrator living in Petoskey, MI, providing a multi-layered and sensory experience through expressive, colorful orchestration and warm melodies. With performances and readings from chamber ensembles and orchestras, such as Apollo Chamber Players and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Tony's music has been played across the nationand is now published through MusicSpoke. Most recently, Love Awakens: for concert band was commissioned by the Mackinac Arts Council and premiered by the Straits Area Concert Band, celebrating Henry David Thoreau's bicentennial birthday. Additionally, growing up alongside video games, he lives the life of a video game composer, creating sonic spaces and emotionally-driven tracks to enliven each game's world. Ever since mental health awareness was the spark for his marriage to his wife, he continually advocates those who suffer from mental illness. Through music, he expresses the inexpressible for those who don’t have a voice.
Librettist Aiden Kim Feltkamp is a performer, producer, and writer based in NYC. They founded OperaRox Productions in 2015 and are best known for their recent portrayal of Elizabeth in Griffin Candey’s Sweets by Kate at OperaRox’s sold-out run at the historic Stonewall Inn. They have studied under mentors Dawn Upshaw (M.M. Bard College Conservatory of Music), Drew Minter (Baroque gesture, Queens College), Edda Moser (Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria), and the late diction guru, Nico Castel (Delaware Valley Opera). Their poetry was most recently published in AADOREE literary magazine’s Summer 2017 issue and their short story, In Absentia, won the 1000words Flash Fiction Day contest in 2012. They identify as trans nonbinary.
Cast
Clara - Aumna Iqbal
Brahms - Kathryn Parsley
Robert - Nicholas Wiggins
Florestan - Zoe Marie Hart
Eusebius - Liz Bouk
Marie - Allie Altieri
Doctor - David Charles Tay
Covers
Brahms - Melina Jaharis
Eusebius - Alexa Rosenberg
Marie - Rachel Weinstock
Doctor - Geddy Warner
Creative Team
Composer - Tony Manfredonia
Librettist - Aiden K. Feltkamp
Pianist - Peiharn Chen
Music Director - Alicia Lieu
Assistant Music Director - Candice Shaughnessy
Dramaturg - Brenda Huggins
Clara - Aumna Iqbal
Brahms - Kathryn Parsley
Robert - Nicholas Wiggins
Florestan - Zoe Marie Hart
Eusebius - Liz Bouk
Marie - Allie Altieri
Doctor - David Charles Tay
Covers
Brahms - Melina Jaharis
Eusebius - Alexa Rosenberg
Marie - Rachel Weinstock
Doctor - Geddy Warner
Creative Team
Composer - Tony Manfredonia
Librettist - Aiden K. Feltkamp
Pianist - Peiharn Chen
Music Director - Alicia Lieu
Assistant Music Director - Candice Shaughnessy
Dramaturg - Brenda Huggins
Full Opera Statistics
Length: 2 hours
Orchestration:
String Quartet
Piano
Roles:
Clara Schumann - lyric mezzo
Johannes Brahms - dramatic soprano
Robert Schumann - baritone
Florestan - lyric soprano
Eusebius - lyric mezzo
Marie Schumann - high lyric soprano
Doctor Franz Richarz - tenor
Length: 2 hours
Orchestration:
String Quartet
Piano
Roles:
Clara Schumann - lyric mezzo
Johannes Brahms - dramatic soprano
Robert Schumann - baritone
Florestan - lyric soprano
Eusebius - lyric mezzo
Marie Schumann - high lyric soprano
Doctor Franz Richarz - tenor