Faust et Hélène and L’heure espagnole

Presented at
Irondale Center

85 S Oxford St, Brooklyn, NY 11217

New Camerata Opera will present a double bill of French one-act operas, conducted by Music Director Kamal Khan. For the first time ever, New Camerata Opera brings its unique blend of fun and immersiveness to Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Stage Director John de los Santos conjures a gorgeous world where clockwork photography by NYC-based artist Atom Moore creates a striking backdrop to this timeless story.

Faust et Hélène

Boulanger was a contemporary of Ravel’s and his influences can be heard in this piece that won her the Prix de Rome composition prize at the age of 19. With just three voices, this opera offers a generous glimpse into the genius of Boulanger’s compositional skill and deserves to be featured more frequently in the operatic canon. Taken from Goethe’s retelling of the story of Faust, Boulanger’s opera focuses on the moment when Faust is persuaded by Méphistophélès to sign over his soul to eternal damnation in return for being shown one moment of true happiness. The theme of time connects the two operas and provides a framework for Moore’s unique displays.

L’heure espagnole

First performed in Paris in 1911, L’heure espagnole is set in a clock shop in central Spain. It follows the fortunes of Torquemada, the hardworking clockmaker, as his young wife Concepción negotiates her way through her collection of ridiculous lovers. Ravel’s music is bursting with hummable melodies, lively habanera dances and other Spanish folk song elements that will defy audience’s preconceived notions of opera.

*contains adult content/partial nudity

ESTIMATED RUN TIME
1 HR 30 MINS

COVID policy


CAST (Faust et Hélène)

Helene: Tesia Kwarteng (9/16, 9/24), Eva Parr (9/17, 9/23)
Faust: Victor Khodadad (9/16, 9/24), Chris Carr (9/17, 9/23)
Méphistophélès: Kyle Oliver (9/16, 9/24), Markel Reed (9/17, 9/23)

CAST (L’heure espagnole)

Torquemada: Gabriel Hernandez
Concepción: Tesia Kwarteng (9/16, 9/24), Eva Parr (9/17, 9/23)
Gonzalve: Victor Khodadad (9/16, 9/24), Chris Carr (9/17, 9/23)
Ramiro: Kyle Oliver (9/16, 9/24), Markel Reed (9/17, 9/23)
Don Iñigo Gomez: Andy Dwan


  • Andrew Dwan is a versatile performer known for his magnetic stage presence, whose previous roles include the title role in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, Collatinus in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, Dandini in Rossini's Cenerentola, and Dulcamara in Donizetti’s L'Elisir d'Amore. He recently completed his second summer at the San Francisco Merola Opera Program, where his Mephistopheles was praised for “rich, flexible tone and convincing acting” (Bay Area Reporter) and whose “constantly secure voice knew how to shape every phrase with dramatic significance” (Rehearsal Studio), as well as providing “comic delight out of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’” (San Francisco Chronicle). Next year he looks forward to premiering Aaron Zigman's oratorio Emigre, making his lead role debut with the Shanghai Symphony and New York Philharmonic.

  • Baritone Markel Reed, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, has been featured in various concerts, recitals and performances throughout North America and Europe. As a passionate conveyor of the operatic repertoire, Mr. Reed is a wonderful interpreter of both classic and contemporary works. In Spring 2022, Markel premiered the title role of Terence Blanchard’s Champion with Boston Lyric Opera as Young Emile Griffith. Markel returns to New York following a successful debut as Marcello in La Bohème with Opera Steamboat. In the Summer of 2019, he originated the role of “Chester” in the premiere of Blanchard’s acclaimed opera Fire Shut up in my Bones with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis going on to cover Adult James in The Metropolitan Opera’s production this past season. Mr. Reed had the pleasure of singing in The Met’s grammy winning production of Porgy and Bess, in which he covered the role of Lawyer Frazier. Summer of 2021 saw him return to OTSL to create the role of James Baldwin in The Tongue & the Lash composed by Damien Sneed, original script by Karen Chilton. Markel Reed pursued his Bachelors of Music Performance at Oakwood University and is an alumnus of the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre program.

  • Chris Carr has performed roles at Arizona Opera, Washington National Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Austin Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, The Merola Opera Program, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Central City Opera, among others. Known as a ‘confident and energetic’ performer, he has received awards from the Met National Council Auditions, The Sullivan Foundation and CFSA’s Igor Gorin Award.

    Chris has recently performed in NYC as Canio in Pagliacci with New Camerata Opera, the title role in The Verdi Project production of Don Carlos, as well as recording a filmed version of Schumann’s Dichterliebe with Cedar Rapids Opera Theater.

  • Tesia Kwarteng is a Ghanaian-American multi-faceted artist equally at home on the operatic stage, on screen and in the studio. She recently made her principal debut at The Metropolitan Opera as a Pit Singer in Brett Dean’s Hamlet. Tesia also made her Off Broadway debut at Lincoln Center Theater in Ricky Ian Gordon and Lynn Nottage's new opera Intimate Apparel where she was seen as Mayme and in the ensemble. Tesia covered the role of Ruby/Sinner Woman in Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up In My Bones at The Metropolitan Opera. Other performances include Woman 5 in Letters That You Will Not Get with American Opera Projects, Maurya in What Lies Beneath with On Site Opera and the Written in Stone workshop at Washington National Opera where she sang the role of Laurel in Carlos Simon’s It All Falls Down and the role of Victoria Wilson in Kamala Sankaram’s Rise. Ms. Kwarteng made her Austin Opera debut featured in recital as a part of their Live from Indy Terrace Broadcast. She has also participated in the young artist programs at Tri-Cities Opera, Opera Theater of Saint Louis, The Glimmerglass Festival, Virginia Opera and Chautauqua Opera. Tesia has been seen in concert at 54 Below, as Consuelo in West Side Story at The Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra and as a soloist in Laura Karpman's Grammy Award winning Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz at the Apollo Theater with Jessye Norman. She was a finalist in the 2020 George London Foundation Competition where she received an encouragement award. She was selected as a 2019 Top 30 under 30 pioneer by the Future of Ghana publication, has received a Career Grant from the Bagby Foundation for Musical Arts, was an Encouragement Award winner at the Houston district Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, is a 2016 recipient of an Encouragement Grant from the Career Bridges Foundation, was a fellow at the CoOPERAtive Program in 2015 and received the 2013 Legacy Award in the National Opera Association competition. Tesia holds a master’s degree from Manhattan School of Music and bachelor’s degrees in Voice Performance and Journalism from The University of Texas at Arlington.

    www. tesiakwarteng.com

  • Puerto Rican-American tenor Gabriel Hernandez has been performing since childhood and believes in the power of community and collaboration to create meaningful art. They have been in collaboration with queer community members in the NYC area working on projects that speak to towards community experience, both through locational and personal experience. In the fall of 2021 Gabriel premiered his new project Taking Up Space: Queer Identity in Opera, a photo series dedicated to documenting queer experience in opera from the perspective of juxtaposing the past and present.

    This season Gabriel joins the Spoleto Festival for the world premiere of Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels’ Omar, an opera which narrates Omar Ibn Said’s 1831 autobiography. They will be featured in a concert of Nico Muhly and Parker Ramsay’s Stations of the Cross and will join the festival chorus to sing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. After Gabriel’s residency with the Spoleto Festival, in their second world premiere of the season Gabriel will portray Abraham Lincoln in Quarry Theater’s Yours Forever, Lincoln; a story highlighting Lincoln’s romantic relationships with several men. Gabriel is currently in collaboration to premiere the second part of his photo series in Taking Up Space: Queer Identity in Opera.

  • Heralded as a “ripe baritone that makes one sit up and wish for more,” Kyle Oliver has enchanted listeners time and again over the course of his career. Recent performances include singing the role of Zurga in Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers with Sarasota Opera as well as a concert preview of American one act operas with Little Opera Theater of New York in Merkin Hall.

    Previous operatic roles include Junius in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia with Loft Opera in New York City and Lincoln Center’s reopening as Fiorello in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia with Teatro Nuovo. Oliver has also frequently performed with Pittsburgh Opera most recently creating the role of Dave Hoskins in the world premiere of The Summer King, a story detailing the life of legendary Negro League baseball star Josh Gibson.

    Kyle has been honored as a recipient of the Jeanette Rohatyn “Great Promise” Award by the Metropolitan Opera National Council, a Career Development Award from the Sullivan Foundation and the Grand prize from the Bel Canto Foundation competition in Chicago, Illinois. He holds a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School and Bachelor of Music from

    Northwestern University.

  • Victor Khodadad was born in Shiraz, Iran of an Iranian father and a Cuban mother, and shortly after his birth the entire family moved to the U.S. His mother, a classically trained pianist and conductor, provided a childhood full of music and performing opportunities. Playing the role of Jesus in “Jesus Christ Superstar” at Swine Palace Productions in Baton Rouge, LA, directed by Barry Kyle, former Associate Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, was a turning point in Mr. Khodadad’s career. The fusion of music and drama prompted him to shift his focus and he began formal vocal studies with Jerome Pruett, Associate Professor of Voice at The Hartt School of Music. Upon graduating from The Hartt School in 2005, Mr. Khodadad began working regularly in regional opera companies such as Amarillo Opera, Commonwealth Opera, Connecticut Lyric Opera, Hot Springs Music Festival, Mississippi Opera, Natchez Opera Festival, Opera Santa Barbara, Opera Theater of Connecticut and Philadelphia Concert Opera. Roles include Tamino, Don Ottavio, Ferrando, Gérald, Roméo, Des Grieux, Nadir, Rodolfo, Nemorino, Alfredo, The Duke, and many others. A co-founder of New Camerata Opera, Mr. Khodadad has worked as the Outreach Director for Camerata Piccola. This branch of the organization produces children’s operas for students from pre-school through High School. Camerata Piccola’s productions of Party At The Opera, Peter Rabbit and Rumpelstiltskin have delighted thousands of children and parents throughout the tri-state area. For information on how to book a performance in your community, please visit www.newcamerataopera.org. From 2006 to 2009, Mr. Khodadad had formative private lessons with legendary tenor Nicolai Gedda.

    Recent roles with New Camerata Opera include Turridu in “Cav + Pag” and Willam Lovelace in Kamala Sankaram's “The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace

  • Mezzo-soprano Eva Parr is a Co-Founder of New Camerata Opera. Most recently Eva performed the role of Lola in New Camerata Opera’s original production of Cav+Pag, Bianca in Benjamin Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, and Ada Lovelace in Kamala Sankaram's Enchantress. Earlier appearances with NCO also include Lesley Dill & Richard Marriott's Divide Light, Mrs. Nolan in Menotti’s The Medium as featured in the production Triskaidekaphilia, and as Countess Stasa Kokozow in The Count of Luxembourg and Other Tales. Favorite past roles include Dorabella in Mozart’s Così fan Tutte, Tisbe in La Cenerentola, La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi, Meg Page in Falstaff, and Hansel in Hansel und Gretel. Additionally, Eva serves as Art Director for New Camerata Opera. As Art Director, Eva creates, designs, and oversees the coordination of marketing materials and campaigns for all three branches of NCO, in digital and print format. She also assists in planning and scheduling social media campaigns as Marketing Chair.


Orchestra

Violin I – Julia Birnbaum, Chloe Kim
Violin II –
Shawn Barnett, Glenna Cureton
Viola – Luke Quintanilla
Cello – Katie Chambers
Bass – John-Paul Norpoth
Flute/Piccolo – Jessica Schmitz
Oboe/English Horn – Slava Znatchenii
Clarinet/Bass Clarinet – David Valbuena
French Horn – Meredith Moore
Trumpet – Malcolm Shier
Harp – Kate Sloat
Accordion – Melissa Elledge
Piano/Celeste – Peiwen Chen
Percussion – Stella Perlic, Tamika Gorski

CREATIVE TEAM

Composer – Lili Boulanger (Faust et Hélène) & Maurice Ravel (L’heure espagnole)
Director –
John de los Santos
Music Director – Kamal Khan
Projections and Stage Designer – Atom Moore
Costume Designer – Ashley Soliman
Lighting Designer Joshua Rose
Stage Manager Geoffrey Kinsey
Assistant Stage Manager
Dayvis Ferreras
Set Construction
Richard Evans
Rehearsal Pianist Peiwen Chen
Intimacy Direction Katherine M. Carter

  • Indian-American conductor and pianist Kamal Khan combines an active performing career with a passionate commitment to the globalization of operatic training, He has performed with many opera companies around the world including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Dallas Opera, Baltimore Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo in Brazil, Teatro de las Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Oper der Stadt Bonn and the Staatstheater Schwerin, Germany, Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, Osaka festival Hall and Aichi Prefectural Arts Theater , Nagoya, Japan; Cape Town Opera, Opera South Africa, Opera de Puerto Rico, Seoul Arts Center and Asian Cultural Center, Korea; Beijing Hall; Jiangsu Center for the Performing Arts, Nanjing and Suzhou Culture & Arts Center, China and the International Festivals of Cervantino in Mexico and Santander, Mérida, La Coruña, Tenerife and Málaga in Spain. Additionally he has conducted the Jerusalem Symphony, Buenos Aires Philharmonic, Beijing Symphony, Shanghai Symphony, São Paulo Philharmonic, Balearic Islands Philharmonic, Oviedo Philharmonic, the Spanish Radio and Television Orchestra, Cape Town Philharmonic, Kwazulu-Natal Philharmonic and the Orchestra of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields

    As a recitalist and accompanist Kamal Khan has appeared in venues such as Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall and Weill Hall in New York, The Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Gran Teatro Liceu and the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, Palais Garnier in Paris, Suntory Hall and Casals Hall in Tokyo, the Palau de Congressos in Andorra and the Baxter Concert Hall and Montecasino in South Africa with singers such as Marcelo Alvarez, Nadine Benjamin, Harolyn Blackwell, Nico Castel, Justino Diaz, Placido Domingo, Michael Fabiano, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Larisa Martinez, Angela Meade, Juan Pons, Herman Prey, Nadine Sierra, Sir Bryn Terfel, Veronica Villarroel. Pretty Yende and violinist Joshua Bell.

    Prof. Khan is Visiting Extraordinary Professor at North West University in South Africa, he is a founding member of Opera for Peace, Artistic Director of Classical Vocal Arts International and Director of the Taller para Cantantes in Santo Domingo DR. He is Affiliate Faculty at the Royal Opera Covent Garden Jette Parker Young Artists Program, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, the Metropolitan Opera Lindeman Young Artists Program and the Voices of South Africa Festival and Competition, He was the Director of the Opera School at the University of Cape Town and Resident Conductor and Chorus Master of the Palm Beach Opera where he founded the Resident Artist Program. He was also Resident Conductor of the Opera Festival in Tenerife, Head of Faculty of the International School of Vocal Study of the Balearic Islands and Artistic Director of the Mediterranean Opera Studio and Festival. Additionally, he has worked with the Juilliard School. Mannes College of Music, Manhattan School of Music in New York, the International Vocal Arts Institute, European Center for Vocal Arts, Chautauqua School of Music, Opera Theatre of St Louis, Ravinia Festival and Glimmerglass Opera. He has given masterclasses at the Opera Hogskolan, the University of the Arts in Stockholm, the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin, the University of Michigan, and Georgia State University in Atlanta.

    A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music Kamal Khan was the youngest Assistant Conductor at the Metropolitan Opera and during hos ten year position he collaborated with such conductors as James Levine, Nello Santi, James Conlon, Julius Rudel, Christian Thielemann, Carlo Rizzi and Marco Armiliato and singers Teresa Stratas, Plácido Domingo, Renata Scotto, Sherrill Milnes, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Mirella Freni, Luciano Pavarotti, Marilyn Horne, Renée Fleming, Carlo Bergonzi, Mariella Devia, Tatiana Troyanos. Ghena Dimitrova, Nicolai Ghiaurov, and Bonaldo Giaiotti to name a few. While at the MET he was responsible for the musical preparation of many new productions including the telecasts of Schenk / Schneider-Siemssen’s complete Ring Cycle, del Monaco’s La Fanciulla del West and Simon Boccanegra, Zeffielli’s Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci , the company premiere of I Lombardi and the world premieres of Glass’ The Voyage and Corgliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles.

    Some of the works he has conducted include Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro, Cosi fan tutte, Die Zauberflöte, Norma, I Puritani, La Sonnambula, Maria Stuarda, Lucia di Lammermoor, La Favorita, L’Elisir d’amore, Tosca, Rigoletto, La Boheme, Il Tritico, Turandot, La Traviata, Nabucco, Un Ballo in Maschera, Carmen, Don Carlo, Werther, Mefistofele, Cavalleria Rusticana, I Pagliacci, Die Fliegende Holländer, Ariadne auf Naxos, Porgy and Bess, Die Fledermaus, The Rake’s Progress, The Merry Widow and the African premieres of Il Viaggio a Reims and Dead Man Walking and the world premieres of Five:20 Operas Made in South Africa and Four:30 Operas Made in South Africa.

    A native of Washington DC, Kamal Khan was the recipient from the first National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts prize, he is also received prizes and grants from the National Association of Music Teachers and the National Symphony Orchestra . The PBS- Channel 13 documentary “I Live to Sing” based on his work in South Africa won the 2014 EMMY for best cultural program : http://www.thirteen.org/program-content/i-live-to-sing-full-program/

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  • Atom Moore is a New York City based photographer working in and around the watch industry locally and internationally. A love of watches brought this photographic veteran almost entirely into the sphere of watches. Creating unique art works from watches since 2015 he has had 3 critically acclaimed watch photography exhibitions. Atom works directly with top watch brands and industry publications. His recent clients include Grand Seiko, Vacheron Constantin, J.N. Shapiro Watches, Autodromo, and HODINKEE.

  • Ashley Soliman is a costume designer and visual artist based in New York City.

    Drawing upon a variety of sources to create expressive imagery and objects, her creative practices are anchored by the language of color and the physical manifestation of inner worlds. She is propelled by the collaborative nature of theater and the desire to create garments that resonate with both performer and audience. Ashley’s keen eye, versatile skills, and curiosity guide her through the distinct challenges that each theatrical project brings, resulting in a fresh approach for tales new and old. As a character driven designer, her costumes have been praised for their rewarding use of color, as well as for being “wacky”, “masterful”, and “rich in detail”.

    This year brings her designs to The Alliance Theatre, Juilliard, Fort Worth Opera, New Camerata Opera, and Manhattan School of Music. Selected world premieres include Sweet Potato Kicks The Sun (Santa Fe Opera), Protest (Shuga Pie Supreme), and Astronaut Love Show (Leschen & Sauter.) She was awarded “Best Costumes” for her work on Mind The Art Entertainment’s Fatty Fatty No Friends (NYC Fringe Festival) and Whiskey Pants (Frigid Fest), with the former receiving a NYITA “Best Costumes” nomination during a secondary run. Ashley had the pleasure of assisting costume designer Jessica Jahn on the debut of Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen’s Coal Country at The Public Theater, which opened successfully before the pandemic cut its run short. Later that year, Ashley was commissioned by The American Opera Project to create hand-rendered illustrations for The Christmas Spider animation.

    In addition to designing, Ashley spent four formative years as a painter and artisan at Jeff Fender Studio, where she discovered that she could apply her fine arts background to costume crafts. Under Jeff’s tutelage, she learned how to interpret and actualize concepts brought in by designers such as Gregg Barnes, Gregory Gale, Paul Tazewell, Suzy Benzinger, Sandy Powell, and Ann Roth. Ashley became versed in aging, distressing, embellishing, and fabric painting for projects appearing on Broadway and in opera, dance, film, and television (notably the erstwhile Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.)

    Born and raised in Chino Hills, California, Ashley resides in Astoria with her husband and son. She holds a BFA in Fine Arts & Printmaking from the School of Visual Arts and is an adjunct professor of figure drawing at NYU Tisch.

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