Holiday Program Features Local Singers Victory Brinker and Anqwenique Kinsel
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 16-18, 2022
Resonance Works’ 2019 production of Amahl & the Night Visitors • Photo by Alisa Innocenti
Resonance Works’ tenth anniversary season continues with an inspiring program this December, including holiday classics and a world premiere. Amahl and the Night Visitors returns after a two-year hiatus, and Resonance Works is thrilled to present Margaret Bonds’ The Ballad of the Brown King for the first time.
Victory Brinker, a dynamic young opera singer from Latrobe, PA, who recently melted hearts on America’s Got Talent, makes her Resonance Works debut with the role of Amahl on December 16 and 17.
“Every year that we return to Amahl, we find new ways this story can teach us about the life-changing power of generosity,” says Maria Sensi Sellner, Resonance Works’ Artistic & General Director. “We are honored to work with Victory Brinker, a talented and charismatic performer who embodies the spirit of strength and compassion that is at the heart of this story.”
Victory Brinker and Anqwenique Kinsel
Amahl and the Night Visitors is a beloved tale of hope and generosity that tells the story of a young boy, Amahl, his Mother, and their life-changing encounter with three mysterious strangers on their way to Bethlehem. The cast from Resonance Works’ inaugural production of this holiday favorite returns, with alum Barbara LeMay, “a brilliant musician, a sensitive and compelling actress with a most beautiful voice,” playing the Mother, and Robert Frankenberry, Daniel Teadt, and Jonathan Stuckey performing as the Three Kings. Evangeline Sereno, a local singer from the Pittsburgh Youth Chorus, will play Amahl during the December 18 performance of this new production directed by Kelly Trumbull.
Resonance Works pairs the beloved Amahl with The Ballad of the Brown King, a concert cantata for chorus, soloists, and chamber orchestra by celebrated 20th-century composer Margaret Bonds, with a libretto by the poet Langston Hughes. Featuring the versatile vocal talents of Pittsburgh-based opera, classical, and jazz singer Anqwenique Kinsel, Ballad uplifts the role of the African king Balthazar in the Christmas story through a unique blend of classical, spiritual, calypso, and blues music.
“We are so grateful to renew our holiday tradition of producing Amahl and to pair it with such a vibrant and musically rich piece like The Ballad of the Brown King,” says Sensi Sellner. “This program invites our audience to connect with the magic of the holiday season and find inspiration in the passionate performances of our artistic family.”
Jonathan Stuckey, Barbara LeMay, and Daniel Teadt in Resonance Works’ 2015 production of Amahl & the Night Visitors • Photo by Alisa Innocenti
The program also features the live world premiere of Resonance Works’ contribution to the Decameron Opera Coalition’s Holiday Songbook, DOC the Halls, a video streaming collection of new holiday songs commissioned by coalition partners from around the country. Composer Nancy Galbraith set Sara Stock Mayo’s original poem “Rededication” to music, creating a moving piece about the universal holiday theme of finding light amidst the darkness. DOC the Halls will be released on December 2 on the AÏRIS on-demand video platform and as an audio album.
Composer Nancy Galbraith and librettist Sara Stock Mayo
Holiday performances take place at the New Hazlett Theater in Pittsburgh’s North Side neighborhood on Friday & Saturday December 16 & 17, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday December 18, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. | Tickets at https://www.resonanceworks.org/amahl-ballad-22
Run time: 1.5 hours, including one 15-minute intermission.
For the health and safety of artists and audiences, masks are strongly encouraged.
Categories: Show Previews
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