Pike Opera commissions an original chamber opera for 2025

In addition to the fifth annual performance of Opera! Pike! Park! at the Ann Street Park on August 25 at 4 p.m., Pike Opera has just announced that it has commissioned an original chamber opera, inspired by the conservation legacies of Gifford Pinchot and the Lenni Lenape, the people who inhabited the Delaware River Valley for 10,000 years before the European settlers. The opera will debut in 2025 and the announcement of such a bold endeavor added quite a bit of buzz to the annual garden party at the home of Javier Morales and Milford Mayor Sean Strub.

Morales, Pike Opera’s founder and artistic director, said, “This new opera links our deep local history to the timely, urgent, and universal imperative to protect our planet. Our hope is that the opera will also find audiences far beyond Pike County.”

Jim Pedranti, chair of the Pike Opera Board, expressed real excitement about this new work. “Celebrating Gifford Pinchot and the history of the region, we hope it can be performed regularly, perhaps every few years to celebrate and perpetuate Milford’s pioneering conservation legacy and ethos.”

The opera is a celebration of the local culture and environment, and many local people are involved in making it happen. Matt Winkler proposed the idea. “What better way to celebrate what has been created here and what is still being created here than an original work.” Winkler and his wife Lisa provided the seed money to initiate the support, in addition to support from more than 100 donors.

Eileen Smith, president of Grey Towers Heritage Association, said she is “delighted” to play a role in hosting the opening performance in 2025 in the outdoor amphitheater at Grey Towers. And, of course, Nancy Pinchot is involved as historical advisor on the project. It takes a village, indeed.

The opera is all about the environment, the woods, trees, even the air. It features a Greek chorus and a percussion section (sandboxpercussion.com) which will play instruments carved from wood. The working title for the opera is “Touching Leaves and the Womb of Time.” Touching Leaves is a translation for the Lenape name of Nora Thompson Dean, an iconic teacher and herbalist who was a member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians.

The creative team is first rate. The libretto was written by Julian Crouch (juliancrouch.com), acclaimed director, designer, writer, and puppeteer. Paola Prestini (paolaprestini.com) is the composer, known for her work intersecting art and social impact, as well as conservation. Mary Birnbaum (marybirnbaum.com), long time director at Julliard, is the director of the opera.

Morales says he’s proud of the group he has assembled. “They are breathtakingly talented with decades of experience.”

The Ann Street performance

This annual event features performers from the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) in Philadelphia. The AVA has been bringing its vocal stars to the area since 2019 and each year this free concert gets larger and larger. Last year there were at least 575 attendees. This year, the accompanist and vocal coach will be Luke Housner, who has been on the coaching staff at AVA for about 25 years. The performers include Ethel Trujillo, an award-winning soprano from Morelos, Mexico; mezzo soprano Julianna Smith, who will be a resident artist this year at AVA; tenor Luke Norvell, who is entering his final year at AVA; and on bass, Cumhur Görgön, from Istanbul, Turkey, will be entering his third year at AVA.

The program is quite varied and will include arias from Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia,” Bizet’s “Carmen,”and Mozart’s “Le nozze di Figaro,” among other pieces. More modern pieces will include “If I were a rich man” from “Fiddler on the Roof.” As in years past, there will be a special surprise with the children in the audience.

People are encouraged to bring their own chairs or blankets as well as snacks and beverages. While most of the seating will be on the lawn, a limited number of seats under the tent will be available for a nominal fee. These seats can be reserved at bit.ly/3SbPWF3.

“Pike Opera brings people together as a community to enjoy great music in our lovely town and the level of talent we have seen in past years is really remarkable,” added Morales.