The School for Girls Who Lost Everything in the Fire
a full-length opera (in progress)
West Edge Opera: Julia Hathaway & Molly Mahoney, feat. Earplay Ensemble conducted by Mary Chun
“Fríes and Suleiman boast a shared theatrical approach — expressive, insinuating, full of enigmatic fervor — that draws a listener immediately under their spell. I can’t wait to hear the completed opera.”
music by Ryan Suleiman; story/libretto by Cristina Fríes
Overview
In this surrealist drama, a group of girls living in a make-shift school run by nuns are all orphans that survived a fire that destroyed their town. As we learn about the girls, their trauma and the relationships that are formed, we find out that one of them started the fire. A mysterious spectre named “The Barn Man” haunts them every night. The story focuses on how the girls struggle to rebuild their lives.
Based on an original story by Fríes, this work has been in development with support from West Edge Opera via its Aperture program and Snapshot Call for Scores.