Watch On-Demand
Through Aug. 31, 2020
Sky on Swings
Digital Premiere on Friday, May 22, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.
World Premiere during Festival O18
Music by Lembit Beecher
Libretto by Hannah Moscovitch
Performed in English with English subtitles
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Opera Philadelphia's first-ever Digital Festival continues with Sky on Swings. The stream will premiere on Friday, May 22 at 8:00 p.m. and will be available for viewing through Monday, August 31. Discover more about the Digital Festival.
Is there any grace in forgetting? This chamber opera finds fleeting beauty in memory loss through an unflinching yet uplifting exploration of living with Alzheimer’s disease. Frederica von Stade and Marietta Simpson embody this fantastical world premiere from composer Lembit Beecher, librettist Hannah Moscovitch, and director Joanna Settle.
MapYouTube
Dates are May 2020.
| Fri, May 22 | 8:00 p.m. |
The running time is approximately one hour and 32 minutes.
Digital Festival O is generously funded, in part, by the John S. & James L. Knight Foundation.
Festival O18 presented in partnership with the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.
Aurora productions in the Perelman Theater are underwritten, in part, by the Wyncote Foundation at the recommendation of Frederick R. Haas, and Mr. Allen D. Black and Mr. R. Randolph Apgar. Additional production support received by the Allen R. and Judy Brick Freedman Venture Fund for New Opera.
The Composer in Residence Program is made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon foundation.
Cast & Creative Team
- Andrew Lieberman Set Design
- Tilly Grimes * Costume Design
- Jorge Cousineau Projection Design
- Pat Collins Lighting Design
- Daniel Perelstein Sound Design
- Kate Bergstrom * Assistant Director
- Lisa Anderson Production Stage Manager
- Brandon Ehrenreich Assistant Stage Manager
- Tracy Hofmann Assistant Stage Manager
- *Opera Philadelphia debut
Composer & Librettist
Lembit Beecher & Hannah Moscovitch
Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as “hauntingly lovely and deeply personal,” Lembit Beecher’s music combines alluring textures and vividly imaginative instrumental colors with a striking emotional immediacy. Learn more about Lembit Beecher.
Hannah Moscovitch is considered one of the strongest playwriting voices in Canada. Her work has won multiple awards, most recently the prestigious Windham-Campbell Prize for Literature. Learn more about Hannah Moscovitch.