Linfield University is making world-class opera accessible to its local communities for a special viewing of “Working Women: Songs of Suffering and Suffrage” at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29. The event, performed by the American Opera Project (AOP), is offered for free courtesy of Linfield’s Department of Music. Tickets to watch the performance online are available on Eventbrite, using promo code WILDCAT.
The one-hour performance features three “Songs of Suffrage,” featuring a newly commissioned piece by Emmy-nominated composer Kathryn Bostic, and is presented alongside excerpts from the chamber opera “Letters That You Will Not Get: Women’s Voices from the Great War.” The opera connects the women of World War I, the women who fought for suffrage, and the women of today through the power of song, using archival footage alongside documentary-style music videos by filmmaker Lesley Steele.
Following the presentation, AOP artistic director and project music director Mila Henry will host a post-event discussion with the creative team of “Letters That You Will Not Get,” including composer Kirsten Volness, librettist and director Kate Holland, and librettist Susan Werbe.
“Just as in politics, women’s voices are vastly underrepresented in the world of music. Our history books are all but void of female composers, and their works are still rare on concert or operatic stages,” said Anton Belov, associate professor of music at Linfield University. “We hope viewers will enjoy this stunning presentation of their work.”
Ticket reservations may be made here.
Founded in 1988, the AOP has been at the forefront of contemporary opera for over 30 years. “Working Women: Songs of Suffering and Suffrage” is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
For more information, contact the Department of Music at 503-883-2275 or visit linfield.edu/arts.
Linfield is an independent, nonprofit university with campuses in McMinnville and Portland, Oregon. Since 1858, Linfield has connected a traditional liberal arts experience with practical education through 56 majors, including wine studies, sport management and nursing. Linfield has been recognized four years running for having the Best Ethnic Diversity in the Pacific Northwest by U.S. News and World Report. Thirty-two percent of Linfield students are first-generation college students, and more than one-third are U.S. students of color. Linfield competes in the NCAA Division III Northwest Conference. Learn more at www.linfield.edu.
