In Our Own Voices is a chamber opera with libretto by Sarah Carleton and music composed by Eliane Aberdam which will premier in Rhode Island.
The performance explores the story of two transracial adoptees, Brooke and Olivia, as they search for their birth parents. A story not so much about answers but about the questions that many adoptees face, this story steps into the complex questions that many transracial adoptees wrestle with - questions of identity, race, loss, and belonging.
2PM at the Westerly Library in Rhode Island
8PM Music Department, Recital Hall, URI
Featuring
Norma Caiazza, Soprano
Joyll Smith Lamphere, Soprano
Yuiko Nonaka, Soprano
Devon Russo, Baritone
Consuelo Sherba, Viola
Jane Murray, Oboe
Manabu Takasawa, Piano
There will be two performances on November 2nd
2PM Westerly Library - Free and open to the Public
44 Broad Street, Westerly, RI 02891
The concert in the library will be followed by a short Q & A led by the librettist –Carleton herself the sibling of five transracial adoptees. Through her own experiences, she has found music and storytelling to be a source of healing and a powerful way to help us listen to one another’s stories with greater compassion. Refreshments will be served following the Westerly show.
https://www.westerlylibrary.org/events/2019/01/22/our-own-voices-opera
8PM Performance at the University of Rhode Island Fine Arts Center
Tickets are sold for this performance.
105 Upper College Rd., Kingston, Rhode Island 02881
More info can be found on the Facebook Event page including links to purchasing tickets.
https://www.facebook.com/events/502827130540093/
University Artist Series: "In Our Own Voices", an Opera by Eliane Aberdam Dr. Eliane Aberdam, director of the URI Music composition program, presents her chamber opera "In Our Own Voices" after a libretto by Sarah Carleton. Her work intends to create awareness about adoption and identity, and the difficulties that both adoptees and adoptive parents encounter. Themes of interracial adoption, search of identity, racism, loss and struggle are explored. The instruments–oboe, viola, and piano– lend poignancy to the struggles and sorrow inherent in the opera, and electronics are employed to transform the sound of the instruments and voices to reveal inner conflicts. One show only, don't miss this unforgettable musical experience. **The URI Box Office opens one hour prior to showtime. Tickets purchased at the Box Office are $7 for Students/Seniors & $12 for Adults. Box Office purchases will not have processing fees**
The production of In Our Own Voices is made possible thanks to the generosity of the Music Department at the University of Rhode Island, the Westerly Credit Union, the Westerly Library, and the Cercle Bernard Lazare of Grenoble. Incidentally, November is Adoption Awareness Month.