Kathleen Kelly

Hansel and Gretel will be performed in English, featuring a singing adaptation by Kathleen Kelly. 

Kathleen Kelly’s projects and repertoire are wide-ranging and diverse. She is both deeply experienced in the classical vocal canon and engaged in new creation. Recent notable projects include FORCE OF NATURE, a recording and recital tour with soprano Emily Albrink of four world premiere song cycles; leading the world premiere of Matt Bohler’s opera FAT PIG, composed for activist soprano Tracy Cox; and co-starring in the filmed opera INTERSTATE, composed by Kamala Sankaram, directed by Tonya McKinny, and produced by Minnesota Opera and Helio Arts. Kathleen is co-librettist with baritone Michael Kelly for THE HOUSE OF YES, an opera by Kamala Sankaram in development with Wolf Trap Opera.  

Kelly has appeared in recital collaborations with many singers, most recently Jamie Barton, Elena Villalon, Ryan McKinny, and Caitlin Lynch. She has performed internationally including at Wigmore Hall, Weill Hall, Zankel Hall, the Kennedy Center, Spivey Hall, and Vienna’s Musikverein. She is a published poet and essayist and has written several English adaptations of operas as well as several librettos. She has worked with many opera companies including the San Francisco, Metropolitan, Houston Grand, and Vienna State Operas, and she is regularly invited to speak and write on women’s issues in the industry. Recently relocated to Texas, she is the founding artistic director of Lone Star Songs.

Rene Orth

Composer, Love and Longing by the Lake (Love, Loss and the Century Upon Us)

Rene Orth – “a master composer” with a “sophisticated sound world” (Classical Voice North America) – writes music described as “always dramatic, reflective, rarely predictable, and often electronic” (Musical America). She was the inaugural Resident Composer at Opera San José in the 2022-23 season and recently completed a three-year tenure as Composer-In-Residence at Opera Philadelphia.

This season, Opera Philadelphia presented the “triumphant world premiere” (Wall Street Journal) of 10 Day in a Madhouse, co-commissioned by Opera Philadelphia and Tapestry Opera. The New York Times writes, “opera needs works like “10 Days,” which treats the medium with affection and respect while also chafing at its tropes throughout history.” With a libretto by Hannah Moscovitch, this psychological drama follows the trailblazing reporter Nellie Bly through her internment at Blackwell’s Asylum, exposing, as Bly did historically, notions of madness and societal biases against women. The opera, conducted by Daniela Candillari, starred Kiera Duffy, Raehann Bryce-Davis, and Will Liverman.

Other projects include a commission for Vocal Arts DC premiering at The Kennedy Center, composing a song cycle for mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack; writing a new song, A Prayer, for baritone Will Liverman’s next album, which is a duet for him and mezzo-soprano J’nai Bridges, setting a Sara Teasdale poem; and writing an electronics and voice piece for mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis’ forthcoming debut album, Stand the Storm. The Chautauqua Institution also premieres Love, Loss, and the Century Upon Us (libretto by Jerre Dye) with a 13-piece orchestra, part of a larger work called A Summer Place. Distinctions include grants and awards from OPERA America, the American Composers Forum, the Kentucky Foundation for Women, and the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Orth is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. She received her M.M. in Music Composition at the University of Louisville and holds additional degrees from MediaTech Institute and Rhodes College.