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Newly commissioned from composer and librettistCarla Lucero, The Three Women of Jerusalem (Las tres mujeres de Jerusalén),will be performed by a cast of hundreds in a monumental staging at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, with hundreds of additional performers joining in virtually from around the world.
Sung in Spanish, the opera is based on the Passion narrative of the Eighth Station of the Cross, depicting the women who weep for Jesus as He is forced toward the crucifixion. The opera imagines who these unnamed women were, showing the experiences of ordinary people sharing their compassion when confronted with evil.
Important COVID-19 Audience Policy Update: LA Opera has adopted a temporary vaccination-only policy in addition to requiring masks. These guidelines will be in effect beginning September 1, 2021, and will end as soon as they are deemed no longer necessary. Please click here to review all protocols.
Upon her 2015 LA Opera debut as Susana in ¡Figaro! (90210), Opera News called Maria Elena Altany "delightfully smart and quicksilver." Most recently she starred in Mark Grey’s Birds in The Moon, which premiered at the New York Philharmonic’s Bandwagon 2 Festival, and then traveled to The Broad Stage in Santa Monica. She is a Company Member of the groundbreaking opera company The Industry, led by MacArthur Fellow Yuval Sharon. With The Industry, she has performed featured roles in Anne LeBaron's Crescent City, Chris Cerrone's Invisible Cities, an adaptation of Brecht’s Galileo, and Hopscotch: An Opera for 24 Cars, for which she was featured in The New Yorker. Recent appearances include the John Cage’s Europeras 1 & 2 with the LA Philharmonic and The Industry, the workshop of Esperanza Spalding and Wayne Shorter’s opera …(Iphigenia), and Susanna in Ragnar Kjartansson’s BLISS with wild Up!, as part of the LA Philharmonic’s Fluxus festival. Maria Elena appears in The Industry’s Sweet Land, which is available for streaming purchase. Upcoming performances include LA Opera Connects’ digital production of Mozart’s Opera Tales. She maintains a private voice studio in Long Beach.
From: Xalapa, Mexico. LA Opera: Aurora and Calliope in The Death of Orpheus (2020); Jeannette in The Anonymous Lover (2020); Tisbe in Cinderella (2021); Love in The Three Women of Jerusalem (2022). She is an alumna of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program (2019-22).
In September 2019, Mexican mezzo-soprano Gabriela Flores sang the title role in Carmen with Universidad de Xalapa and Armado Mora Producciones in Xalapa.
She studied at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia with Bill Schuman. There she made her debut as Azucena in Il Trovatore under the baton of Christofer Macatsoris. At AVA she has also performed such roles as Erda in Das Rheingold, Dryad in Ariadne auf Naxos, Annina in La Traviata, the Mistress of Novices in Suor Angelica, the Third Wood Sprite in Rusalka, Dorabella in Così fan tutte and Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette.
Prior to her performances in Philadelphia, she performed in renowned theaters in Mexico including the Palacio de Bellas Artes, where she sang Giannetta in L’elisir d’amore, Maddalena in Il viaggio a Reims, and Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor. Other roles she has performed include Amastre in Xerxes with Oberlin in Italy, Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana with Mexico’s National Conservatory, the Monitor in Suor Angelica with Artescenica, Carmelita in Jimenez Mabarak’s Misa de seis with the Oaxaca Symphony Orchestra, Baucis in Haydn’s Philemon und Baucis, and Rosita in Derbez’s La Creciente in its world premiere at the Festival Internacional Cervantino, both with Estudio Ópera de Bellas Artes.
Ms. Flores’ concert appearances include Handel’s Messiah with the Politecnico Nacional Symphony Orchestra, Mozart’s Requiem with Celaya Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Yucatán Symphony Orchestra, Haydn’s Die sieben letzten worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze with Mexico’s National Symphony Orchestra and Dvořák’s Stabat Mater with Xalapa Symphony Orchestra, and the opera gala “Voces del Siglo XXI” conducted by Srba Dinic at the Palacio de Bellas Artes.
She was a finalist in the renowned Mexican competition “Concurso Nacional de Canto Carlo Morelli” in 2012, also she is an encouragement award winner in the Middle Atlantic Regional Auditions of Metropolitan Opera National Council.
Ms. Flores started her vocal studies under Professor Armando Mora and earned a Bachelor of Music Education Degree from the University of Veracruz. She was also a resident artist at Estudio Ópera de Bellas Artes (2014-2016) and at SIVAM (2016-2017).
Peabody Southwell most recently appeared with LA Opera as Paquette in Candide.
Peabody Southwell has established herself as a multifaceted artist in a range of creative endeavors. As a Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano recognized for her “stylistic mastery and ripe, sensual sound” (Opera magazine, UK), she has performed principal roles for LA Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Carnegie Hall, Seattle Symphony, LA Philharmonic, New World Symphony and San Francisco Symphony and has been conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, James Conlon, John Adams and Robert Spano.
She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2018 in Nico Muhly's Marnie.
A champion of new music, she is slated to premiere works for composers Ashley Fure, Ted Hearne, Laura Kaminsky and Jodie Landau. A native of Los Angeles, she frequently appears with LA Opera. Most notably, she performed the central role in the world premiere of David Lang's anatomy theater, in an "electrifying" (Wall Street Journal) performance, leading Musical America to note, "Southwell gave another demonstration as to why she has become one of the most fearless, versatile young singing actresses on the stage today." As a director, designer and dramaturg she prioritizes bold collaboration across the arts in productions, installations and experimental events described by the Los Angeles Times as "the future of classical music."
From: New York City, New York. LA Opera: Maenad in The Death of Orpheus (2020); Dorothée in The Anonymous Lover (2020); Priestess in Aida (2022, mainstage debut). She joined the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program in 2019.
Engagements for the 2021/22 season include the leading role of Giorgetta in Il Tabarro with Opera Santa Barbara. In the summer of 2021, she was an Apprentice Artist with Santa Fe Opera, where she performed the role of a Bridesmaid in The Marriage of Figaro. She was recently seen as the First Maiden in Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen with the LA Philharmonic.
Some previous credits include Camelot with the Lincoln Center Theater, Kathleen Battle’s Underground Railroad recital, the First Lady in The Magic Flute, Lady Macbeth in Bloch's Macbeth, the Female Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia, and the title role of Penelope. She was a featured artist in Lee Mingwei’s exhibit Sonic Blossom with MetLiveArts.
Ms. Fox has been honored with several awards including grand finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, first place winner of the Joan Taub Ades Vocal competition, semi-finalist in the Elizabeth Connell dramatic soprano competition, and the Lotte Lenya emerging artist award.
An alumna of the Chautauqua Opera and Opera Saratoga young artist programs, Ms. Fox holds Bachelor and Master degrees from the Manhattan School of Music.
From: Minneapolis, Minnesota. LA Opera: Mercury in The Death of Orpheus (2020); Colin in The Anonymous Lover (2020); soloist in the Digital Short The Five Moons of Lorca (2020); Angel in The Three Women of Jerusalem. He is an alumnus of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program (2020-22).
American countertenor Jacob Ingbar made his professional debut at age ten as a soloist with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and has performed throughout North America and Europe ever since.
In 2023, he will make his San Francisco Opera debut as Leonardo in El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego by Gabriela Lena Frank and Nilo Cruz.
In 2020, Jacob was slated to debut at the Glimmerglass Festival as Il mago cristiano in Handel’s Rinaldo and with the NDR Radiophilharmonie as Tolomeo in Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Hanover, Germany. Recently, he was the alto soloist in Bach’s Magnificat with the Capella Regio Polona in Warsaw.
Jacob has performed at the Aldebugh Festival, Minnesota Opera, Aspen Music Festival, Guthrie Theatre, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Polish National Opera, among other venues. He can be heard as the alto soloist in Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms on the album Psalms and Songs featuring the Exultate Choir and Orchestra.
He is an alumnus of the Juilliard School, the Britten-Pears Young Artist Program, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ Gerdine Young Artist Program, the Glimmerglass Opera Young Artist Program and Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artists Vocal Academy. He pursued his graduate studies at Rice University under the tutelage of Dr. Stephen King and previously received scholarship support from the George London and Gerda Lissner Foundations.
Tenor Ashley Faatoalia is a versatile, young artist born and raised in Los Angeles. Ashley studied vocal performance at Chapman University and has been singing professionally since that time. Opera News calls his singing “hauntingly beautiful” crediting him with “a voice of winning purity and variety of expression” and The San Francisco Chronicle calls him “Sweet-toned.” Ashley's recent engagements include performances as: Bobby McCray in the world premiere of the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera The Central Park Five with Long Beach Opera, The Crab Man in Porgy & Bess with Seattle Opera, Lyric Tenor in EUROPERAS with LAPhil, and his debut as Marco Polo in the Emmy-Award-winning, Pulitzer Prize-nominated Invisible Cities with The Industry. For the last ten years, Ashley has also had the fortune of working with LA Opera Connects going into the community and sharing music with all who wish to enjoy. (AshleyFaatoalia.com - follow him @ashthetenor)
From: Fredonia, New York. LA Opera: Prince Arjuna in Satyagraha (2018, debut); title role in Moses (2019); Caireles in El Gato Montés (2019); Schaunard in La Bohème (2019); Speaker in The Magic Flute (2019); Hebros/Fury/Charon in The Death of Orpheus (2020); Sir Walter Raleigh in Roberto Devereux (2020); Ophémon in The Anonymous Lover (2020); Pontius Pilate/Pharisee in The Three Women of Jerusalem (2022); soloist in St. Matthew Passion (2022). He is an alumnus of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program (2018-22).
He is the 2021 Los Angeles District Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
In the summer of 2022, he performs the title role of Don Giovanni and Ford in Falstaff (opposite Bryn Terfel in the title role) with Aspen Opera Theater. His engagements for the 2022/23 season include a recital with pianist Sandra Leary at SUNY at Fredonia's Rosch Recital Hall, a role debut as Dr. Buchanan in Lee Hoiby's Summer and Smoke at Hillman Opera, and a role debut as Papageno in The Magic Flute with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by JoAnn Falletta.
In the summer of 2021, he returned to Santa Fe Opera as Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream. In 2019, he made his role debut as Escamillo in Carmen with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. He also appeared in Zemlinsky's Lyric Symphony and in the U.S. premiere of Korngold's Das Wunder der Heliane with the Bard Music Festival.
Other recent appearances include the First Officer and Croupier in Candide at Santa Fe Opera; the Cobbler in Philip Glass's The Juniper Tree at Wolf Trap Opera; Nardo in La Finta Giardiniera, Professor Bhaer in Mark Adamo's Little Women, Curio in Giulio Cesare and Betto in Gianni Schicchi with the Shepherd School Opera; the Reverend Olin Blitch in Susannah and Dandini in La Cenerentola with the Hillman Opera; the title role in Don Giovanni and Sam in Trouble in Tahiti with the WNY Chamber Orchestra.
He received his master’s degree in May 2018 from Rice University, where he studied with Stephen King. In 2018, he was a finalist in Houston Grand Opera's Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias; in the summer of 2018, he joined the Apprentice Singer Program at Santa Fe Opera, where he covered the title role of J. Robert Oppenheimer in the new production John Adams' Doctor Atomic, directed by the librettist Peter Sellars. In the summer of 2017, he joined the Wolf Trap Opera Studio, covering the role of Pacuvio in Rossini's La Pietra del Paragone and singing in Four of a Kind, a recital with Steven Blier and Joseph Li.
From: Los Angeles, California. LA Opera: The Three Women of Jerusalem (2022, debut).
Carla Lucero, originally from Los Angeles, studied composition at CalArts with Rand Steiger, Morton Subotnick and Leonard Rosenman.
She later moved to San Francisco where Wuornos, her opera about the tragic life of Aileen Wuornos, infamously known in the media as “America’s First Female Serial Killer,”premiered at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, winning “10 Best of Stage” from Advocate and Out magazines.
Her second opera, Juana, with co-librettist Alicia Gaspar de Alba, premiered in 2019 with Opera UCLA. A Spanish language opera about 17th-century genius poet and Mexican feminist icon Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Juana received critical acclaim from the Los Angeles Times, as well as from other regional and national publications. Its New York City premiere will take place in October 2021 with dell’Arte Opera. Lucero received Opera America’s Discovery Grant for Juana in 2019.
Her third opera, The Three Women of Jerusalem,a Spanish language one-act opera commissioned by LA Opera, will premiere in March 2022, commissioned by LA Opera Connects for performances at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Lucero is writing both the music and libretto for this project.
Lucero’s fourth opera (in development), touch, is about blind/deaf American author and activist Helen Keller. The libretto isco-written by Marianna Mott Newirth.It premieresin 2024 with Opera Birmingham.
Currently in the early stages of development is an international (USA-Mexico) project , the two-woman chamber opera Luz, with creative collaborators Roxie Perkins and Ragnar Conde.
Lucero recently completed two dance commissions: in San Francisco, House of Names(Marika Brussel Dance)and in Los Angeles, Reckoning Ramona (Heidi Duckler Dance). In the summer of 2021, her song cycle El Castillo Interiorwill have its UK premiere during the London Festival of American Music, and excerpts from Wuornos will be performed and recorded at Carnegie Hall by pianist Anna Kislitsyna in May 2021.
Carla Lucero’s work has been performed internationally by orchestras, chamber ensembles and soloists in Mexico, Chile, Cuba, Canada, Germany, Spain and Italy. She has also received awards and commissions from the The Creative Work Fund, San Francisco Arts Commission, California Arts Council, The Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation, Bill Graham Foundation, ComuArte International, Charles Schwab, Wells Fargo, Meet the Composer, Horizons Foundation, Festival du Soleil, Festival de Música Contemporánea de Musicaen Habana, Jon Sims Center for the Performing Arts and Astraea, as well as the previously mentioned companies and institutions as commissioners of current projects.
James Conlon has been LA Opera's Richard Seaver Music Director since 2006.
Since his debut that year with La Traviata, he has conducted 66 different operas and more than 420 performances to date with the company. Highlights of recent seasons include the 2020 company premiere of The Anonymous Lover (L'Amant Anonyme) by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, and the 2021 company premiere of Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex.
(Click here to visit James Conlon's Corner, where you can find essays, videos and conversations he has created especially for LA Opera.)
One of today’s most versatile and respected conductors, James Conlon has cultivated a vast symphonic, operatic and choral repertoire. He has conducted virtually every major American and European symphony orchestra since his debut with the New York Philharmonic in 1974. He has conducted more than 270 performances at the Metropolitan Opera. Through worldwide touring, an extensive discography and videography, numerous essays and commentaries, frequent television appearances and guest speaking engagements, Mr. Conlon is one of classical music’s most recognized interpreters.
In September 2021, he became Artistic Advisor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
He has been Principal Conductor of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra in Torino, Italy (2016–20); Principal Conductor of the Paris Opera (1995–2004); General Music Director of the City of Cologne, Germany (1989–2003), simultaneously leading the Gürzenich Orchestra and the Cologne Opera; and Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (1983–91).
Mr. Conlon has served as the Music Director of the Ravinia Festival, summer home of the Chicago Symphony (2005–15), and is now Music Director Laureate of the Cincinnati May Festival―the oldest choral festival in the United States―where he was Music Director for 37 years (1979–2016), marking one of the longest tenures of any director of an American classical music institution. As a guest conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, he has led more than 270 performances since his 1976 debut. He has also conducted at leading opera houses and festivals including the Vienna State Opera, Salzburg Festival, La Scala, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Mariinsky Theatre, Covent Garden, Chicago Lyric Opera, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, and Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.
As LA Opera's Music Director since 2006, Mr. Conlon has led more performances than any other conductor in the company’s history—to date, over 420 performances of more than 60 different operas by over 20 composers. Highlights of his LA Opera tenure include conducting the company’s first Ring cycle, recently re-aired in a marathon webcast celebrating the performances’ tenth anniversary; initiating the groundbreaking Recovered Voices series, an ongoing commitment to staging masterpieces of 20th-century European opera that were suppressed by the Third Reich; and spearheading Britten 100/LA, a city-wide celebration honoring the centennial of that composer’s birth. During the period in which Dorothy Chandler Pavilion was closed due to the pandemic, Mr. Conlon conducted LA Opera’s live-streamed, socially distanced production—staged at the Colburn School—of The Anonymous Loverby Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a prominent Black composer in 18th-century France. The performance was presented as an online-only event in fall 2020 and marked the work’s West Coast premiere. The Pavilion reopened in June 2021 with Mr. Conlon conducting the company premiere of Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex, with which LA Opera became the first major American opera company to perform live in its own theater since the coronavirus outbreak. The performance was subsequently released online for at-home viewing. During LA Opera’s 2021/22 season, Mr. Conlon conducts three operas long absent from the company’s repertory: Verdi’s Il Trovatore, which opens the season; Wagner’s Tannhäuser; and Verdi’s Aida. He also conducts John Neumeier’s ballet adaptation of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, performed at LA Opera for the first time.
Mr. Conlon’s first season as Artistic Advisor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra includes three weeks of concerts, starting with an October 2021 program of music by historically marginalized composers. The featured works are Alexander Zemlinsky’sDie Seejungfrau (The Mermaid), which is the piece that sparked Mr. Conlon’s interest in suppressed music from the early 20thcentury, and William Levi Dawson’sNegro Folk Symphony, which reflects a theme that will recur throughout Mr. Conlon’s advisorship—the bringing of attention to works by American composers neglected due to their race. He returns in February 2022 for performances including Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony and the final scene of Wagner’sDie Walküre, with guest artists Christine Goerke and Greer Grimsley. The BSO season concludes in June 2022 with Mr. Conlon conducting an orchestra co-commission from Wynton Marsalis, Rachmaninoff’sRhapsody on a Theme of Paganiniwith Beatrice Rana, and Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony (“Leningrad”). As Artistic Advisor, in addition to leading these performances, Mr. Conlon will help ensure the continued artistic quality of the orchestra and fill many duties off the podium, including those related to artistic personnel—such as filling important vacancies and attracting exceptional musicians.
Additional highlights of Mr. Conlon’s season include Bach’sSt. Matthew Passionat Rome Opera, Wagner’sThe Flying Dutchmanat New National Theatre, Tokyo, the Paris Opera’s Gala lyrique with Renée Fleming, and concerts with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (Dawson’sNegro Folk Symphonyand works by Beethoven and Bernstein), Gürzenich Orchester Köln (Sinfoniettas by Zemlinsky and Korngold), Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra (works by Shostakovich and Zemlinsky), and at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Mr. Conlon’s 2021/22 season follows a spring and summer in which he was highly active amidst the re-opening of many venues to live performance. These engagements included concerts with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, and RAI National Symphony Orchestra. He also led a series of performances in Spain scheduled around World Music Day (June 21). In Madrid, over a period of two days, he conducted the complete symphonies of Schumann and Brahms in collaboration with four different Spanish orchestras: the Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, and Joven Orquesta Nacional de España (JONDE). He subsequently conducted JONDE at the Festival de Granada and Seville’s Teatro de la Maestranza. Additional summer 2021 engagements included the Aspen, Napa, Ravello, and Ravinia Festivals.
In an effort to call attention to lesser-known works of composers silenced by the Nazi regime, Mr. Conlon has devoted himself to extensive programming of this music throughout Europe and North America. In 1999 he received the Vienna-based Zemlinsky Prize for his efforts in bringing that composer’s music to international attention; in 2013 he was awarded the Roger E. Joseph Prize at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion for his extraordinary efforts to eradicate racial and religious prejudice and discrimination; and in 2007 he received the Crystal Globe Award from the Anti-Defamation League. His work on behalf of suppressed composers led to the creation of The OREL Foundation, an invaluable resource on the topic for music lovers, students, musicians, and scholars; the Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices at the Colburn School; and a recent virtual TEDx Talk titled “Resurrecting Forbidden Music.”
Mr. Conlon is an enthusiastic advocate of public scholarship and cultural institutions as forums for the exchange of ideas and inquiry into the role music plays in our shared humanity and civic life. At LA Opera, he leads pre-performance talks, drawing upon musicology, literary studies, history, and social sciences to contemplate—together with his audience—the enduring power and relevance of opera and classical music in general. Additionally, he frequently collaborates with universities, museums, and other cultural institutions, and works with scholars, practitioners, and community members across disciplines. His appearances throughout the country as a speaker on a variety of cultural and educational topics are widely praised.
Mr. Conlon’s extensive discography and videography can be found on the Bridge, Capriccio, Decca, EMI, Erato, and Sony Classical labels. His recordings of LA Opera productions have received four Grammy Awards, two respectively for John Corigliano’sThe Ghosts of Versaillesand Kurt Weill’sRise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.Additional highlights include an ECHO Klassik Award-winning recording cycle of operas and orchestral works by Alexander Zemlinsky; a CD/DVD release of works by Viktor Ullmann, which won the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik; and the world-premiere recording of Liszt’s oratorioSt. Stanislaus.
Mr. Conlon holds four honorary doctorates and has received numerous other awards. He was one of the first five recipients of the Opera News Awards, and was honored by the New York Public Library as a Library Lion. He was named Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana by Sergio Mattarella, President of the Italian Republic. He was also named Commandeur de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture and, in 2002, personally accepted France’s highest honor, the Legion d’Honneur, from then-President of the French Republic Jacques Chirac.
Eli Villanueva, a talented and passionate musician, director and educator, brings his magic to every project on which he works. His uniquely energetic and joyful approach draws out consistently remarkable performances from community members and students new to performing, as well as from seasoned professionals. In his 16th season as Resident Stage Director and teaching artist for LA Opera Connects, Eli teaches and directs as many as 2,000 students annually in original productions including, the acclaimed In-School Operas, Opera Camp, and the Community Opera at the Cathedral conducted by Music Director, James Conlon.
Mr. Villanueva’s compositions are praised for their appeal to audiences and performers alike. His commissioned works of One-Act operas include Then I Stood Up which premiered in 2017, The White Bird of Poston, Friedl and The Festival Play of Daniel, an adaptation of the 13th-century liturgical play, Play of Daniel. In addition, music ranging from solo to choral works can be found through publishing companies, Fred Bock Music, Laurendale Associates, and Cherry Lane Music.
People fill a town square in Jerusalem. They are singing happy songs, telling jokes, dancing and bartering withopen airshopkeepers. Out of the crowd, three women emerge. There is a big commotion and a cross is seen being carried through the town square by a group of men. They carry it offstage.
Everybody is suddenly quiet during a somber moment of confusion from the crowds. The Three Women aren’t sure what is happening yet. Curious, they join the crowd moving to follow. (Audience and both choruses sing a hymn.) From a distance the women hear Pontius Pilate sentencing Jesus. The Children’s Choir responds as Jesus. The crowd gasps when Jesus falls (the Children’s Choir sings of struggle) and the Three Women wonder why nobody is helping Him or showing compassion, and yet they too feel helpless and afraid.
Mother Mary enters, following herSon. Simo then appears beside Mary and offers to help Jesus carry the cross. Veronica then enters with the cloth that she wiped Jesus’s face with. It has the imprint of his face on it. The Three Women sing in awe with the Adult Chorus.
Jesus falls again and there is a big choral moment of pain with the organ.Women find their strength, and step forward to offer their help, but instead, Jesus sings tothemabout compassion and sacrifice for the greater good, telling them that the time of his suffering is almost over. The Three Women ask why he is being stripped and the response from the Adult Chorus is symbolic – the stripping of compassion in a modern society, the stripping of one’strue identity, the stripping of faith.
In the distance, Jesus is nailed to the cross and dies. (Audience and both choruses sing a hymn.) As the women witness the crucifixion, it feels to them as if the universe has cracked and broken.
Suddenly there is cold forsaken silence and overwhelming isolation. Quietly, Mother Mary appears again, leading the procession to the tomb. She sings an aria about a mother’s love and sorrow, letting go of a child so that they can discover their own purpose.
The Children’s Chorus hums during the procession as the set is changed for the final scene to reveal the empty tomb.The Three Women, Mother Mary, and the two other Marys are seen at the tomb. They sing a canon, which then turns into a hymn for theaudience to join in.
Performances take place at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (555 W. Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012).
Production made possible with a generous grant from the Dan Murphy Foundation Special support also received from the City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture Mrs. Joseph A. Saunders
