Silent Night @ Michigan Opera Theatre

Dear Readers,

I feel particularly unqualified to address the current unrest, and contentious Zeitgeist present in our lives as Americans (and felt globally). Others are far mor eloquent, sensitive, and galvanized by this milieu than I. I will say: in the aftermath of a tumultuous week, at the culmination of a tenuous 18th month period - one filled with pride for some and heartbreak for other - I am honored to share with you an update and invitation...

Michigan Opera Theatre opens its second production of the 2016-2017 DiChiera legacy season tonight, Saturday, November 12th with composer Kevin Puts' Pulitzer Prize winning opera Silent Night. Please accept this "invitation" to hear the opera live streamed, tonight only, from Detroit's own classical/jazz radio station WRCJ. For those of you not in the Detroit Metro area please tune in at the WRCJ website: at 7:30 P.M. EST www.wrcjfm.org/listen-live/

If you've been keeping up with my posts, you will know that I am singing the some-what manipulated and mischaracterized, sinister role of Kronprinz Wilhelm, the last Crown Prince of Prussia, whose full name was Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Augustus Ernst, eldest son of Kaiser Wilhelm II. According to some sources he was referred to jokingly as "Little Willy." Enough with the multi-claused history lesson! He is characterized in the opera as a herald of the archetypical German-Nazi, a character trope which I believe is well now quite common - however anachronistic.

I will share the stage with a team of fantastic singers, who are equally effective actors. Though I've identified them in my previous post I would like to explicitly restate this cast of tremendous colleagues:
Erin Wall (Anna Sorensen);
Chad Johnson (Nikolaus Sprink);
Phillip Addis (Lt. Audebert);
Kristopher Irmiter (Lt. Horstmayer);
Gabriel Preisser (Lt. Gordon);
John Robert Lindsey (Johnathan Dale);
Yours Truly JOSEPH MICHAEL BRENT as the Kronprinz;
Jeff Byrnes (William Dale);
Daniel Belcher (Father Palmer);
Alexandre Sylvester (Ponchel);
Ricardo Lugo (French General);
Brent Michael Smith (British Major);
Briana Hunter (Madeleine Audebert);
The unduplicatable David Charles Abell conducting
Mr. Eric Simonson directs

I am proud to be a part of this revival of Eric Simonson's original production from 2012. It's a pleasure to work with Eric and Maestro David Abell to recreate this brilliant work. This opera, like Weinberg's The Passenger, which we performed last year at Michigan Opera Theatre, is gaining quite a bit of currency.

Pictures to come.

Thank you for reading,
With a warm embrace in mind
Joe