Bielawa: Vireo

Composed and conceived by Lisa Bielawa with a libretto by Erik Ehn, Vireo – The Spiritual Biography of a Witch’s Accuser is an opera in twelve episodes, created for television and online viewing. The eponymous heroine Vireo, played by Rowen Sabala, is a fourteen-year-old girl genius entangled in the historic obsession with female visionaries as they are defined by witch-hunters, early psychiatrists, and modern artists. Directed by Charles Otte, the opera removes the set limitations of a staged opera by shooting on location across the country in places such as Alcatraz, a monastery on the Hudson River, an abandoned train station in Oakland and the California Redwoods. The traditional pit orchestra is replaced by a cast of over 350 world-class musicians, on camera and inside the action. Featured artists include vocalists Deborah Voigt, Laurie Rubin, Gregory Purnhagen and Ryan Glover along with the Kronos Quartet, the San Francisco Girls Chorus, Alarm Will Sound, and more.

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