Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents:

Representation & Responsibility: Perspectives on Equity, Casting, and the Performing Arts in the 21st Century

Friday, October 26, 2018
7:00 pm
Haertter Performing Arts Center
John Burroughs School
755 S. Price Road
St. Louis MO 63124

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis launches a four-part series this fall exploring questions of representation and equity in the arts, entertainment, and media. Events continue through June 2019, including conversations about casting, film and television, the music industry, and the media. At each program, OTSL artists join other leaders in the field for a meaningful dialogue and Q&A with the audience to expand our collective understanding of these important issues – and to examine what role we play in creating a more equitable world in which to live and create art.

For the first program in the series, we explore the question of casting in opera and theatre, both locally and nationally. The conversation will be moderated by Adrienne Davis, Vice Provost and William M. Van Cleve Professor of Law at Washington University. Panelists include:

• Soprano Julia Bullock, who returns to St. Louis in 2019 as one of the stars of the world premiere Fire Shut Up in My Bones. A former member of OTSL’s Monsanto Artists-in-Training Program for high school students, Ms. Bullock has now given critically-acclaimed performances at Carnegie Hall, the San Francisco Opera, The Santa Fe Opera, the English National Opera, the Berlin Philharmoniker, and The Bolshoi.
• Actor and educator Duane Foster made his Broadway debut in the original cast of Ragtime in 1998 and enjoyed an extensive national career before returning to St. Louis and his alma mater in the Normandy School District to revive their drama program and chair the district’s fine arts program.
• Christina Rios, Artistic Director of R-S Theatrics, a St. Louis non-profit theatre company in its tenth year of producing St. Louis premieres of thought-provoking works that demand conversation. As a performer, she has appeared in numerous St. Louis productions, including The Threepenny Opera, Jerry Springer: The Opera, First Lady Suite, and Into the Woods.
• Opera Theatre’s General Director Andrew Jorgensen, who assumed leadership of OTSL in July 2019 after serving as Director of Artistic Operations at the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center, where he also acted as Interim Executive Director during the company’s 2018 season.

After the 75-minute panel discussion, audiences are encouraged to stay for an informal reception. The Representation and Responsibility series will continue with three more events in 2019, with further details to be announced in the weeks to come.

Admission is free, but registration through the OTSL box office is heavily encouraged.

Register Here

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis presents the world premiere of the new two-act opera:

An American Soldier
Composed by Huang Ruo
Libretto by David Henry Hwang
Directed by Matthew Ozawa
Conducted by Michael Christie

Danny Chen is the son of Chinese immigrants, and a proud American. He enlists in the US Army in 2011, eager to serve his country. In boot camp, Danny is welcomed by his band of brothers. But in Afghanistan, his own base becomes enemy territory as military hazing turns deadly. Based on a true story, this opera asks powerful questions about what it means to be an American.

Please be advised: This performance contains strong language, violence, and adult content.

For tickets and June 2018 showtimes call (314) 961-0644, or click here.