CCM OPERA SERIES PRESENTS
An Opera by Gregory Spears
Libretto by Greg Pierce
Based on the 2007 novel “Fellow Travelers” by Thomas Mallon
March 30-April 2, 2023, Patricia Corbett Theater
*CCM Student
Fellow Travelers Act I will run approximately 55 minutes, followed by a 15-minute intermission. Act II will run approximately 55 minutes.
Cincinnati Opera and CCM foster the development of new operatic works in their joint program: Opera Fusion: New Works.
Two new operas—Robeson by Scott Davenport Richards and David Cote and The Righteous by Gregory Spears and Tracy K. Smith—will receive workshops this spring, and the public is invited to attend a sneak peek! Learn more.
By Greg Eldridge and Daria Zholnerova
Fellow Travelers has a special connection to Cincinnati and, indeed, to CCM. Many CCM students have been involved throughout the years in workshopping new productions through the Opera Fusion: New Works program and in partnership with Cincinnati Opera. Fellow Travelers is a clear example of the value of these workshops, and several cohorts of CCM singers have been involved at various stages of its development. Now regarded as a modern classic, a return to CCM of this beautiful music had been in the cards during the pandemic, and it is a huge thrill to welcome home this stunning opera in an entirely new production.
Fellow Travelers is many things — a social critique, an alarming portrait of a world in which multiple bigotries influence all aspects of governance, a questioning of the compatibility between religion and lived experience, but it is, above all else, a love story. In a world in which relationships of all types are often reduced to mere physical expressions or a showcase of sexuality in place of intimacy, we have sought to explore with Timmy and Hawk what happens when two people in love can carve out their own bubble in space and time and be with each other — even if ‘only for an hour.'
INTERMISSION
Tim writes to Hawk and Mary after 2 years in France. Hawk is now married to a woman he met at the Christmas party, but confesses to Tim that he misses him and would like to see him when he returns to America.
CCM wishes to thank composer Gregory Spears and librettist Greg Pierce for giving their time so generously to coach, consult and converse with our production. A grateful student body gives thanks.
With heartfelt thanks to the supporting staff, coaches, voice teachers, acting coaches and supervisors who have made this complex undertaking possible.
* Performs Thursday
^ Performs Friday
# Performs Saturday
+ Performs Sunday
William R. Langley, guest conductor
Hannah Schendel, assistant conductor (conductor on April 2)
© Simon Pauly (Berlin)
Founding Music Director of the Memphis Repertory Orchestra, William R. Langley, began his career as an orchestral conductor at age 16. In 2009 he founded the Wolf River Chamber Orchestra and in 2011 the MRO. The MRO served as the Orchestra in Residence at the Buckman Performing Arts Center where he has given over 45 performances in the Memphis area. Langley also serves as conductor of the Blueshift Ensemble and frequent guest conductor with All of the Above Ensemble, contemporary ensembles dedicated to programming and promoting new and existing chamber works while incorporating multi-genre collaborations.
An avid performer, the young Maestro has appeared as guest conductor with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Starling Chamber Orchestra, Blueshift Ensemble, Concert:Nova, and All of the Above ensemble. In 2017 he made his opera debut with the CCM Opera Theatre where he conducted a performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide as a part of their "Bernstein at 100" centennial celebration and has since gone on to work with the opera companies of Cincinnati (as the John L. Magro Resident Conductor 2021-2022) workshopping, covering, and performing various operas since 2018 and in Naples (Florida) covering Ramon Tebar and making his debut (2022) in Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied. Langley has recorded albums with the Memphis Repertory Orchestra (Dvorak + Tchaikovsky, “Voyagers : Scheherazade + Mitton”) and All of the Above Ensemble (Double Portrait), the latter of which led to his conducting debut at Carnegie Hall in the fall of 2018. Next season (2022-2023) will feature a return to Cincinnati Opera, his debuts with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, cover weeks with the ASO and Opera Naples, and a return to CCM to conduct their spring production of Fellow Travelers.
In demand as a cover conductor, Langley has been a frequent cover with both the Atlanta and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras covering such conductors as Sir Donald Runnicles, Louis Langrée, Carlos Kalmar, Juanjo Mena, Ramón Tebar, Peter Oundjian, Nathalie Stutzmann, Nicola Luisotti, Xian Zhang, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, and Han-Na Chang, to name a few.
Langley holds a Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting from the UC College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) in Cincinnati where he studied under the tutelage of Maestro Mark Gibson. He was selected by members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the American Austrian Foundation to be awarded one of two esteemed Ansbacher Fellowships for Young Conductors with the opportunity to study in Austria at the 2019 Salzburger Festspiele.
Langley, who “conducts with considerable theatricality, elicited a dramatic performance from the orchestra.” (Jon Sparks/Commercial Appeal), was the subject of a featured article entitled “Young Conductor Realizing Dreams” in the Commercial Appeal as well as the Memphis Flyer’s cover story “20 < 30” as one of “20 young Memphians shaping the city’s future”.
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November 18, 2024
Experience world-class performances by the next generation of performing and media artists at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM)! The college’s spring 2025 schedule of major events is now available; tickets are on sale now through the CCM Box Office.
November 13, 2024
This year, four UC College-Conservatory of Music alumni and one current faculty member are among the nominees named for the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, which will be held in February of 2025. Represented across four categories, the Bearcats specifically named in the Grammy's published list of nominees include CCM Associate Professor of Voice Elliot Madore along with alumni Kevin McCollum (BFA Musical Theatre ’84, HonDoc ’05), Fotina Naumenko (MM Voice ‘12, DMA Voice ‘18), Jeannette Sorrell (MM Orchestral Conducting) and Donald Nally (BM Music Education ‘82).
November 13, 2024
CCM's collegiate and preparatory ensembles celebrate the winter holidays with a variety of upcoming performances!
CCMpower is a volunteer group of fans, advocates and alumni dedicated to empowering students and fueling the future of the arts through scholarship opportunities and more.
The competitive scholarships CCMpower provides help attract and retain the best and brightest students, nurture professional development opportunities and – in turn – continue CCM’s tradition of excellence for the next generation of student-artists. Join or renew your CCMpower membership today to help provide critical scholarship funds.
Join or renew your CCMpower member today to help provide critical scholarship funds. Visit foundation.uc.edu/ccmpower to learn more.
Louise Dieterle Nippert Trust
Scholarship and Resident Artist Sponsor
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship Sponsor
The Corbett Endowment at CCM
Dance Department Sponsor
All-Steinway School Sponsor
Louise H. & David S. Ingalls Foundation, Inc.
Community Partners
The Joseph and Frances Jones Poetker Fund of the Cambridge Charitable Foundation, Ritter & Randolph, LLC, Corporate Counsel
Visiting Artists & Thinking About Music Sponsor
ArtsWave: Funding Arts, Fueling Community
CCMpower: Friends and Alumni Fueling the Future of the Arts
The Strader Fund at the Greater Cincinnati Foundation
CCMONSTAGE ONLINE Broadcast Sponsors
Dr. & Mrs. Carl G. Fischer
Musical Theatre Department Sponsor
Genevieve Smith
Opera Production Sponsor
Rafael and Kimberly de Acha
Opera D’Arte Sponsor
An Anonymous Donor
Estate of Mr. William A. Friedlander
Mrs. William A. Friedlander
Dr. Randolph L. Wadsworth
Judith Schonbach Landgren and Peter Landgren
Mr. & Mrs. Harry H. Santen
Elizabeth C.B. & Paul G. Sittenfeld+
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas E. Stegman
Dr. & Mrs. Theodore W. Striker+
Mrs. Harry M. Hoffheimer
Ariel Quartet Sponsors
Jan Rogers
Willard and Jean Mulford Charitable Fund of the Cambridge Charitable Foundation
Choral Studies Sponsors
Mr. & Mrs. Joseph W. Hirschhorn
Orchestral Sponsor
Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation
Starling Pre-Collegiate Sponsor
Starling Strings Sponsor
Dr. Timothy E. and Janet L. Johnson
Thom Miles and Roberta Gary
Organ Department Sponsors
Louis and Susan Meisel
Piano Department Sponsor
Richard E. Thornburgh
Edward Donovan and Cheryl Carter
Jeff Thomas Catering
The Castleberry Family
KMK Law
Sandra & Stephen Joffe
Paula Boggs Muething & Brian Muething
Patti Myers & Alan Flaherty
Trish & Rick Bryan
Prestige AV & Creative Services
Graeter’s Ice Cream
Rhinegeist Brewery
CCMpower
The CCM Harmony Fund: Challenging Hate & Prejudice through the Performing Arts
Event Sponsors
Buddy Rogers Music
LINKS Sponsor
Sponsors listed as of August 30, 2021
The Cincinnati area and the land that the University of Cincinnati has been built on is the native homeland of the Indigenous Algonquian speaking tribes, including the Delaware, Miami, and Shawnee tribes.
Located in the CCM Atrium, the Box Office is open Monday through Friday, 1-5 p.m.; and one hour prior to curtain for all ticketed performances. MasterCard, Visa and Discover cards are accepted.
Convenient parking is available in the CCM Garage at the base of Corry Boulevard off of Jefferson Avenue. Additional parking is available in garages throughout the UC campus. Any questions concerning on-campus parking should be directed to UC Parking Services at 513-556-2283.
If you find that you cannot attend your performance, your tickets may be donated for tax credit as a charitable contribution. Simply notify the Box Office prior to the performance to release your seats, and give your name and address. A tax donation receipt will be mailed to you.
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The House Manager has been instructed to minimize the disturbance to patrons already seated when accommodating latecomers. The director and producer of each production select times that are least likely to interrupt the performance, and latecomers will be seated only during these times. Latecomers who miss these opportunities will not be admitted until intermission. Children under the age of 6 will not be admitted.
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Wheelchair seating is available in both Corbett Auditorium and Patricia Corbett Theater. Seating is limited, so reservations should be made with the Box Office when ordering tickets. These seats are subject to availability.
The Box Office can accommodate groups for major productions and concerts. Preview and benefit performances are also available for some productions. For more information, call the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183.
CCM's faculty and staff and its state-of-the-art facilities make possible the professional training and exceptional education on which CCM believes the future of the arts relies. The school's roster of eminent faculty regularly receives distinguished honors for creative and scholarly work, and its alumni have achieved notable success in the performing and media arts. More than 150 internationally recognized faculty members work with students from around the world, specializing in eight areas of study.
Performance dates and repertoire are subject to change. View CCM's current calendar of events.
The purpose of these performances is educational, and they are part of a University of Cincinnati academic program.
