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Waking the Witch: An Immersive Chamber Opera

  • Washington National Opera Studio 6925 Willow Street Northwest, 3rd Floor Washington, DC, 20012 United States (map)

You have been accused of various and sundry acts of witchcraft, most maliciously and feloniously enacted. 
Present yourself before authority. 

WAKING THE WITCH is a one-act, immersive chamber opera in which you, the audience, assume the role of an accused witch, ready to be interrogated by a Witchfinder from Early Modern Europe. The text is derived from the words of historical Witchfinders as well as modern-day figures whose rhetoric is eerily similar. Possibly real animal familiars lurk in the background. Will you resist? Give in? How long can you walk? 

CONFESS
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In this workshop performance, audiences will help the artistic team develop this work from concept into a full production. Audiences get an exclusive first glimpse of the opera in draft form with limited staging and will have an opportunity to provide feedback after the event. This step is vital in discovering how full productions could be possible in the future. Thank you for helping us bring this opera to life! 

WITCHFINDER: Min Sang Kim
ENSEMBLE and ANIMAL FAMILIARS: Balance Campaign

COMPOSER AND LIBRETTIST: Ashi Day
DIRECTOR: Lee Cromwell
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Kareem Mack

The development of Waking the Witch received funding from
OPERA America’s Opera Grants for Women Composers: Discovery Grants program, supported by
the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.

ANIMAL

Our EP is available for purchase on Bandcamp!