UVA Faculty and Alumni are featured center stage in the world premier of Drugsong a play by Jennifer Hoyt Tidwell, featuring Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde.

Victory Hall Opera, in its first commission, has partnered with Jennifer Hoyt Tidwell (CLAW, NO WAKE, BA in English Literature from UVa) to create a new form of work: an opera within a play. Inspiration came from Thomas Mann’s novella Tristan, that tells the story of a man and woman left alone one afternoon in a sanitorium, where they discover a score of Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde. Transcendence and tragedy ensue.

Who will make it out alive?

Miriam Gordon-Stewart and Corey Bix star in their role debuts as the epic Wagner hero and heroine. McIntire Department of Music Faculty member Brenda Patterson sings the haunting role of “Brangäne”. The stellar acting cast includes Kara McLane Burke and Siân Richards (PEP, The Convolution of Pip and Twig), Thadd McQuade (Foolery, Make Trouble), Jen Downey (NO WAKE) and Will Campbell.

Following on from the success of Someone Younger (Der Rosenkavalier), Brenda Patterson has created a new chamber orchestration for Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde love duet scene. Forming the vibrant new chamber ensemble for this project are McIntire Department of Music faculty Daniel Sender (violin) and Adam Carter (cello) (Charlottesville Symphony, Rivanna Quartet) along with Isaac Selya, Chelsea Starbuck Smith and Nora Krohn.

Designing the additional electronic sound/ musical effects in Drugsong will be UVa Associate Professor and highly acclaimed composer Ted Coffey.

Drugsong’s resident pianist John Mayhood is another central member of the McIntire Department of Music Faculty.

“Brooks Hall will be the ideal venue for this production”, says Artistic Director Miriam Gordon-Stewart. “The Victorian ambience will contribute greatly to the telling of this surreal story, a Gothic tale set in the near future.”

The production is supported by the Community Endowment Fund in the CACF, and by The Office of the Vice-Provost for the Arts at UVA.

When: June 16 (7:30pm) , 18 (5pm), 22 (7:30pm) and 24 (7:30pm), 2017
Where: Brooks Hall at UVA (Anthropology Building)
Tickets: $12- $75 (A limited number of $20 adult tickets will be released for sale at the door, pending availability)

Purchase through our website: www.victoryhallopera.org/drugsong Or by calling (434) 227-9978.

The Artists:

Jennifer Hoyt Tidwell – Playwright and Director
Tidwell is an interdisciplinary performance artist who draws from a background in physical theater to create new forms, rituals and spectacle. She produced iconic Charlottesville projects such as A Charlottesville Wunderkammer and Shentai. In October of 2016 she completed a year-long Public Artist residency at the Bridge Progressive Arts initiative to create the production NO WAKE. She is a member of the theatre collective PEP and creator of the theatrical ladies arm wrestling league CLAW, which has spread to 25 cities worldwide. She graduated with a BA in English Literature from UVa.

Corey Bix – Tenor
Bix is a rising star of the Wagnerian operatic repertoire, having sung leading Wagner roles at the San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Washington National Opera, L.A. Opera, and internationally at such houses as the Vienna Volksoper and the Hungarian National Opera, among many others. Mr. Bix is the 2008 winner of the Robert Lauch Memorial Grant from the Wagner Society of New York and the 2007 winner of the George London/Kirsten Flagstad Award for a singer with potential for a Wagnerian career as well as the foundation’s prestigious Vienna Prize.

Miriam Gordon-Stewart – Soprano
Australian soprano Miriam Gordon-Stewart has gained recognition across four continents for her powerful instrument and dramatic vulnerability, specializing in the repertoire of Wagner and Strauss. Described in the French press as “a genuine singer-actress”, she has performed over 40 leading roles at major opera houses including the Sydney Opera House, Hamburg State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Châtelet (Paris), Korean National Opera and the Bayreuth Festival. She has also performed in concert with the Dresden Philharmonic, the Gulbenkian Orchestra, Lisbon and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Brenda Patterson – Mezzo-Soprano
Virginia-raised mezzo -soprano Brenda Patterson has been at the forefront of contemporary vocal music for over 15 years, recognized as much for her artistic bravery as for the beauty and warmth of her voice. A graduate of The Juilliard School and Barnard College, Brenda was at the Hamburg State Opera before continuing to La Scala in Milan and the Metropolitan Opera, where she was on the roster for seven seasons, and at Opera Colorado, Glimmerglass Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Florida Grand Opera, among others. Brenda is a member of the voice faculty at UVa’s McIntire Department of Music.

Daniel Sender – Violin
Daniel Sender enjoys a diverse musical career and has appeared in concerts throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and China. A frequent guest principal artist with chamber and symphony orchestras throughout the region, Dr. Sender currently serves as concertmaster of the Charlottesville Symphony and Charlottesville Opera. Dr. Sender has recorded for the Centaur and Sono Luminus labels. He is a faculty member of the McIntire Department of Music.

Adam Carter – Cello
Cellist Adam Carter maintains an active career as a recitalist, chamber and orchestral musician, and teacher. Recent engagements include recitals and chamber music performances at UNC-Chapel Hill, Wake Forest University, the University of Virginia, Randolph College, Bridgewater College and Hampden-Sydney College. Dr. Carter is currently the principal cellist of the Charlottesville Symphony and has performed with the Richmond Symphony, Madison Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, Erie Philharmonic and Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. He is a faculty member of the McIntire Department of Music.

Ted Coffey- Sound Design
Ted Coffey makes acoustic and electronic chamber music, interactive installations, and songs. His work has been presented in concerts and festivals across North America, Europe and Asia, at such venues as Judson Church, The Knitting Factory, Symphony Space, and Lincoln Center (NYC), The Lab, New Langton Arts, Southern Exposure, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (SF), the Walker Arts Center (MN), Wolf Trap (D.C.), Art Basel Miami, the Korean National University of the Arts (Seoul), Tiatro Eliseo (Rome), Carre Theatre (Amsterdam), and ZKM (Karlsruhe, Germany). Most recently, Coffey has collaborated with celebrated dancer-choreographer Bill T. Jones in the creation of Story / Time. He is a faculty member of the McIntire Department of Music.

John Mayhood – Pianist
Mayhood has performed as soloist and chamber musician throughout North America, as well as in Germany and Austria. He has frequently appeared on CBC and SRC radio as well as on various NPR affiliates, and his performances have been televised in both the USA and Canada. In constant demand as a collaborator, John has appeared with musicians from the Montreal and Toronto Symphonies, the New York Philharmonic, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, among many others.

For press enquiries contact Miriam at (434) 227-9978 or [email protected]