Victoria Lawal, Jonathan Pierce Rhodes, and Denyce Graves in the world premiere of The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson (Photo by Karli Cadel)
EMERGING ARTIST RECITAL
BOSTON COURT PASADENA
OCTOBER 7
PRIMA VOCE EMERGING ARTIST
SOLO RECITAL
SOLOIST
OCTOBER 7
2021
Victoria debuts in recital as a Prima Voce Emerging Artist with pianist Mark Robson as part of their 2021 concert series. This recital features works by Ottorino Respighi, Emmanuel Chabrier, Samuel Barber, Juliana Hall, and a new commission by composer Theodosia Roussos with original text by Victoria Lawal.
THE KNOCK
THE GLIMMERGLASS FESTIVAL
DATES TBA
THE GLIMMERGLASS FESTIVAL
THE KNOCK
SOPRANO #2
NOVEMBER 7
2021
Commissioned by the Glimmerglass Opera Festival, this World Premiere Film features stage direction Alison Moritz and music direction Lidiya Yankovskaya. Ryan Mckinny, Director of Photography, brings this story from stage to screen.
A group of military wives, whose husbands are fighting in Fallujah, gather together because of rumors about a possible incident on the war front. As the women await word about what has taken place, a young Army officer drives across the western plains to deliver them the news. A one-act opera for three soloists and a chorus, The Knock takes the audience into the lives of America’s military spouses, a group not yet seen on the opera stage.
FIDELIO
HEARTBEAT OPERA
FEBRUARY 10- 27
HEARTBEAT OPERA
FIDELIO
MARZELLINE
FEBRUARY 10-27
2022
Dubbed “singularly unconventional” by Opera News, “a radical endeavor” by Alex Ross in The New Yorker, and “pioneers” by The Wall Street Journal—Heartbeat Opera is a young company intent upon reimagining opera in intimate spaces for a new generation.
Victoria debuts the role of Marzelline (Marcy) in this touring production of Beethoven's Fidelio. This production will be seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, NY), The Scottsdale Performing Arts Center (Scottsdale, AZ) The Mondavi Centre (Davis, CA), The Broad (Santa Monica, CA),
Adapted & Directed by Ethan Heard
Arranged & Music Directed by Daniel Schlosberg
Sung in German with New English Dialogue Co-Written by Marcus Scott & Ethan Heard
LA BOHÈME
OPERA BIRMINGHAM
APRIL 29 & MARCH 1
OPERA BIRMINGHAM
LA BOHÈME
MUSETTA
APRIL 29 & MARCH 1
2022
Puccini’s La Bohème tells the romantic tale of a group of friends in Paris as they search for love in the City of Lights. A perennial favorite, the opera features instantly recognizable and soaring melodies, elevating the emotional impact of the tragic love story. The production will feature a cast of top emerging talent in a new production at the Dorothy Jemison Day Theater. Sung in Italian with projected English translations. Performance length is approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.
CARMEN
THE GLIMMERGLASS FESTIVAL
JULY 15 - AUGUST 26
THE GLIMMERGLASS FESTIVAL
CARMEN
MICAËLA (COVER)
JULY 15- AUGUST 26
2022
Bizet’s Carmen takes the Alice Busch Theatre stage for 10 performances in a new production directed by 2022 Artist in Residence Denyce Graves. Victoria covers the role of Micaëla, excerpts of which can be heard in performances of The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson.
THE PASSION OF
MARY CARDWELL DAWSON
THE GLIMMERGLASS FESTIVAL
AUGUST 15 & 16, 2022
THE GLIMMERGLASS FESTIVAL
THE PASSION OF MARY CARDWELL DAWSON
ISABELLE/MICAËLA
AUGUST 15 & 16
2022
Denyce Graves will reprise her role in an extended version of The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson in a two-night-only presentation in August. The play by Sandra Seaton with music contributed by Carlos Simon celebrates the founder of the historic and groundbreaking National Negro Opera Company and premiered in 2021 at Glimmerglass on the Grass. Victoria performs as (Isabelle/Micaëla).
“Madame Dawson was an arts pioneer, a woman of many firsts, whose remarkable story had been all but forgotten until recently. Mary Cardwell Dawson broke through incredible barriers to give voice to singers of color, creating opportunities that eventually brought them to major American opera house stages for the first time. It is an honor to champion her story — and that of the National Negro Opera Company she founded in 1941.” — Denyce Graves
PAST ENGAGEMENTS
OPERA IN THE 21ST CENTURY
THE BANFF CENTRE FOR ARTS AND CREATIVITY
2020 - 2021
THE BANFF CENTRE FOR ARTS AND CREATIVITY
OPERA IN THE 21ST CENTURY
ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE
2020-2021
Victoria joins the prestigious Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity as a member of the Opera in the 21st Century Program. Through one-on-one lessons, masterclasses, discussions, and lectures participants will explore special topics such as de-colonizing methodologies of opera creation, representation on stage, and accountability structures.
Artistic Director, Joel Ivany
Karen Slack, Co-Director
Ian Cusson, Co- Director
THE GLIMMERGLASS FESTIVAL
DIE
ZAUBERFLÖTE
SOPRANO #2
JULY 15, 17, 29
AUGUST 2, 7, 12, 15, 17
2021
Mozart’s The Magic Flute, a whimsical tale with an original libretto from Emanuel Schikaneder, is directed by NJ Agwuna and conducted by Music Director Joseph Colaneri with costume design by Christelle Matou.
“The Magic Flute is a fairytale about finding your own way in the world. This production will be explored through storytelling. We take a look at the classical ways of storytelling, through narration, imagination, and performative action. We are quite literally going from the page to the stage. This story is important to tell in 2021 because we are so inundated with information and opinions influencing our own thoughts and morales. It is time for all of us to seek out our own paths and figure out who we want to be in this world.” — NJ Agwuna.
In this new storybook English adaptation by Kelley Rourke, Eric Owens stars in an expanded role of Sarastro, guiding audiences through the story with wisdom and wit.
DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE
THE GLIMMERGLASS FESTIVAL
JULY 15, 17, 29 | AUGUST 2, 7, 12, 15, 17
TO THE WORLD
THE GLIMMERGLASS FESTIVAL
JULY 15, 17, 29 | AUGUST 2, 7, 12, 15, 17
THE GLIMMERGLASS FESTIVAL
TO THE WORLD
SOLOIST
JULY 16, 17, 31
AUGUST 8
2021
Featured as Ermengarde (Hello, Dolly!) and Sarah (Ragtime), Victoria joins Isabel Leonard, William Burden, Alexandria Shiner, and Michael Mayes in this journey around the globe through popular musical theater hits. Eric Sean Fogel directs and James Lowe conducts.
THE PASSION OF
MARY CARDWELL DAWSON
THE GLIMMERGLASS FESTIVAL
JULY 15, 17, 29 | AUGUST 2, 7, 12, 15, 17
THE GLIMMERGLASS FESTIVAL
THE PASSION OF MARY CARDWELL DAWSON
ISABELLE/MICAËLA
AUGUST 5, 9, 13
2021
The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson is a new play with music, celebrating the founder of the historic and groundbreaking National Negro Opera Company and starring acclaimed mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves in the title role. The work includes selections from the repertory of the National Negro Opera Company, as well as original music by Carlos Simon to a text by playwright Sandra Seaton.
“Madame Dawson was an arts pioneer, a woman of many firsts, whose remarkable story had been all but forgotten until recently. Mary Cardwell Dawson broke through incredible barriers to give voice to singers of color, creating opportunities that eventually brought them to major American opera house stages for the first time. It is an honor to champion her story — and that of the National Negro Opera Company she founded in 1941.” — Denyce Graves