IDEAS Guest Artists
BWVP Guest Artists enrich student educational, developmental, and network-building experiences through connections with world-class guest artists and industry professionals.
IDEAS Guest Artists include internationally acclaimed Performers, Stage Directors, Conductors, Agents, and Administrators.
IDEAS Guests bring a diverse perspective from many facets of the industry ranging from on-stage performance, to audition technique, interpretation, entrepreneurship, marketing, social media, young artist and resident artist program expectations, the business of opera, and more.
The IDEAS Guest Artists are underwritten in part by Bella Voce, the BWVP student organization and advocacy group.
IDEAS Guest Artists
BWVP Guest Artists enrich student educational, developmental, and network-building experiences through connections with world-class guest artists and industry professionals.
IDEAS Guest Artists include internationally acclaimed Performers, Stage Directors, Conductors, Agents, and Administrators.
IDEAS Guests bring a diverse perspective from many facets of the industry ranging from on-stage performance, to audition technique, interpretation, entrepreneurship, marketing, social media, young artist and resident artist program expectations, the business of opera, and more.
The IDEAS Guest Artists are underwritten in part by Bella Voce, the BWVP student organization and advocacy group.
IDEAS Guest Artists
BWVP Guest Artists enrich student educational, developmental, and network-building experiences through connections with world-class guest artists and industry professionals.
IDEAS Guest Artists include internationally acclaimed Performers, Stage Directors, Conductors, Agents, and Administrators.
IDEAS Guests bring a diverse perspective from many facets of the industry ranging from on-stage performance, to audition technique, interpretation, entrepreneurship, marketing, social media, young artist and resident artist program expectations, the business of opera, and more.
The IDEAS Guest Artists are underwritten in part by Bella Voce, the BWVP student organization and advocacy group.
Innovation
Cutting-Edge Real-World Focused Curriculum
Wholistic Total-Body Instrument Training to Develop Complete Artistry
Voice Lessons, Coaching, Diction & Literature, and Conservatory Core
8-Semester Performance Workshop Sequence
Comprehensive Preparation to win Top Graduate School Placement
Build and Develop Your Foundation for life-long success
Unique Partnerships with Professional Companies and Organizations
+
Opportunity
for ALL BWVP Majors:
Cast in at least one Main Stage Opera production each year
Perform in two Workshop productions every semester
Participate in at least one master class each year
Work with Guest artists in professional residencies
Connect with top Grad Programs through Grad School EXPOs
Develop Professional Network through collaborations
Prepared
PREMIERE: Feb. 18, 9:00p ET
The video premiere will go live here
ABOUT the OPERA
Characters:
Lila, 20s, female
Cam, 20s, female
The Neighbor, 20s, male
Setting:
A living room in a small house
Cam is concerned about her wife, Lila's mental state after loosing her job and falling into reclusive behavior patterns. Their nosey neighbor appears to ask for a cup of sugar, a ruse so that he can snoop around. The neighbor is convinced that Lila is preparing for some big event and fails at his attempt to bond with Lila over conspiracy theories. Shortly after Lila chases off her neighbor Cam returns home. She's concerned that there might be someone else stealing Lila's attention. When Lila confesses that it a something rather than a someone, Cam is prompted to call Lila's Doctor for assistance. What happens next is unexpected... or is it?
COMPOSER & LIBRETTIST
Griffin Candey
Griffin Candey is an American composer whose works have been praised for their "charming and elaborate complexity" and their "lyricism and emotional depth."
Recent outings include songs for soprano Tamara Wilson (Thundercloud Over Half Dome,) a TTBB song cycle (Protocol) for Cantus Vocal Ensemble, and new viola and violin works (No Half Measures and It's Lighter Than You Think) for consortiums in the US and abroad. Upcoming premieres include a work for saxophonist Timothy McAllister and pianist Liz Ames for their forthcoming album, a chamber cello concerto (Facsimile,) co-commissioned by New Music Detroit, Chicago's CHAI Collaborative Ensemble, and Sacramento's Citywater, a viola concerto (Plein Air) for the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra, a chamber quartet (Sugar) for the American Wild Ensemble, and a second string quartet (City Body) for the Michigan-based Tuuli Quartet.
A tireless advocate for American opera, Candey currently serves as composer-in-residence with Cleveland Opera Theatre, who will premiere his adaptation of Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba (with librettist Caridad Svich) in February 2021. His previous operas—especially Sweets by Kate—have been performed with theaters and universities across the country, including Boston University's 2017 Fringe Fest, Fort Worth Opera's Frontiers Festival, and at New York's iconic Stonewall Inn.
Candey is currently earning his DMA in Composition at the University of Michigan, studying with Dr. Kristin Kuster. www.griffincandey.com
Caroline V. McGraw
Caroline V. McGraw's plays include 1983, I Get Restless, Believeland, Ultimate Beauty Bible, The Bachelors, Tall Skinny Cruel Cruel Boys, The Vaults, Debut Track One Chord One Verse One (or, The Shed), and The King is Dead. Her work has been produced and workshopped by Page 73, Lesser America, New Georges, Washington Ensemble Theatre, Theater Ninjas/Maelstrom Collective Arts, Cole Theatre, and the Yale Cabaret; South Coast Rep's Pacific Playwrights Festival, The Lark Playwrights’ Week, Abingdon Theater Company, Naked Angels, Washington National Opera/The Kennedy Center, Intiman Theater Festival/One Coast Collaboration, NYU/Tisch School of the Arts, Second Stage, Rattlestick, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Studio 42, 24 Hour Plays, City Theatre, Fault Line Theater, IAMA Theater Company, Colorado New Play Festival, and Ars Nova, among others. Ultimate Beauty Bible is published by Dramatists Play Service.
Caroline has been comissioned by Yale Rep, and is writing new play commissions for Manhattan Theatre Club/The Sloan Foundation and South Coast Rep. As a librettist, she has been commissioned for opera pieces by Washington National Opera and On-site Opera/Cleveland Opera Theater. Caroline was the 2013 Page 73 Playwriting Fellow, and was their 2016/17 Tow Foundation Playwright-in-Residence. She has been in residence at Portland Center Stage’s JAW Festival, Wordbridge Playwrights’ Lab, and SPACE on Ryder Farm. Caroline is the winner of Young Playwrights Inc.’s National Festival, where her first play was produced, and the AracaWorks Graduate Playwriting Award. She has written two short films, Friendly Neighborhood Coven and Ladies Lounge (both directed by Michelle Bossy and produced by Oscar-winner Mara Kassin), which have played film festivals around the country, including HollyShorts and the St. Louis International Festival. Ladies Lounge received Best Drama at Los Angeles Cinefest 2020.
She is an alum of the New Georges Jam, the Civilians R&D Group, Interstate 73, the Primary Stages Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, and the Working Farm. She is a New Georges Affiliate Artist, and was a 2018 Audrey Resident. She is a member of The Kilroys, a grassroots collective advocating for women+ writers on American stages. She is a graduate of the Playwriting MFA program at the Yale School of Drama, where she studied under Paula Vogel. www.carolinevmcgraw.com