Name: Sophia’s Forest
Start: 2022-02-24T00:00:00.000Z
End: 2022-02-26T00:00:00.000Z
Location: Grace Cathedral

Organization

Conductor

Nicole Paiement

Stage director

Brian Staufenbiel

Soprano

Maggie Finnegan

Sophia

Mezzo-soprano

Kindra Scharich

Anna

Baritone

Bradley Kynard

Victoria Ko

Emma

Samantha Fung-Lee

Opera Parallèle

Sophia’s Forest

San Francisco

United States

Grace Cathedral

Sophia’s Forest Beecher

Public

Approved

Bass

Instrumentalist

Pianist

Violinist

Cellist

Violist

Flutist

Clarinetist

Guitarist

Organist

Percussionist

Oboist

hornist

Bassoonist

Trumpeter

Contrabassist

Harper

Saxophonist

Trombonist

Harpsichordist

Accordionist

Bassist

Tuba Player

Recorder Player

Lutenist

Tenor Violinist

Timpani

Mandoline Player

Baroque Flutist

Baroque Oboist

Baroque Trumpetist

Violino Piccolo Player

Viola da gamba

Musette de cour Player

Viola Pomposa Player

Archlutenist

Vibraphonist

Cornettist

Viola d’amore Player

Theorbist

Composer

Librettist

Set designer

Costume designer

Choreographer

Lighting designer

Dancer

Actor

Chorus master

Video designer

Dramaturge

Translator

Sound designer

Repetiteur

Makeup artist

Executive producer

Hairstylist

Other

Stage Manager

Choir

Orchestra

Poet

Vocal coach

Teacher

Photographer

Broadcasting

Writer

Writing and performance

Chorus Director

Wig & Makeup Designer

Orchestra Operations

Illustrator

Extra

Singer

Bass-baritone

Countertenor

Contralto

Tenor

Spoken

Child vocalist

Silent

Alto

Continuo

I.  Dream Nr. 1
II. Dream Nr. 2 (5:43)

Written for string quartet, custom music box, and electronically-controlled sound sculptures, “Sophia’s Wide Awake Dreams” (2017) was adapted from Lembit Beecher’s opera “Sophia’s Forest.” These two movements suggest the inner imaginative world of the protagonist, a 9-year old recent immigrant to the United States named Sophia. In the opera, Sophia confides in a music box that gradually comes alive in her mind, a mechanical creature both comforting and dangerous, who shields her from the outside world.

The sound sculptures used in the recording were built in collaboration with the ExCITe Center at Drexel University. The music box is a vintage Thorens music box modified by Jonathan Herz of the Herz Music Box Company to play a melody Lembit composed.

Recorded and produced by Ryan Streber at Oktaven Audio. Video by Four/Ten Media. From the Aizuri Quartet’s GRAMMY-nominated debut album Blueprinting (New Amsterdam Records, 2018).

Sophia’s Forest explores the lasting effects of the immigrant experience on families and the ways children use their imaginations to cope with trauma and find healing. The innovative opera tells the story of a nine-year-old recent immigrant to the US who, through a traumatic journey, escaped the chaos of a civil war in her homeland.
Nine electronically-controlled sound sculptures, designed and operated by composer Lembit Beecher, placed across the stage are a direct outgrowth of Sophia’s memories: bike wheels recall Sophia’s youthful adventures with her sister Emma, and wine glasses become a central part of her mother Anna’s coping once the family moves to America.

English

Sophia’s Forest by Beecher, Thu 24 Feb 2022, From (2022/2022), Directed by Brian Staufenbiel,, Conductor Nicole Paiement, Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, United States

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Programme, About & Synopsis

Videos

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues