Guerilla Opera will be on the UMaine campus March 4-5, preparing for a Boston premiere of Beth Wiemann’s work I Give You My Home in June. This residency is a collaboration between Guerilla Opera, UMaine’s School of Performing Arts and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies units, and the Nichols House Museum of Boston. The opera is based on the life of suffragette and peace activist Rose Standish Nichols.
This residency includes a presentation by Artistic Director Aliana De La Guardia on contemporary opera (March 4, 1:00 pm), a vocal masterclass open to the public by Ms. De La Guardia (March 4, 4PM) and a public performance of Wiemann’s piece (March 5, 7:30PM). These public events will follow current UMaine COVID protocols, and are presented free of charge.
There will also be masterclasses with saxophonist Philipp Stäudlin on extended techniques and percussionist Mike Williams (March 4, 4:00 pm – see rooms below).
You can find out more about Guerilla Opera and its performers at its website: https://guerillaopera.org
In addition to the Guerilla Opera events, the Division of Music will also host composer Jessica Meyer in a panel presentation (with Laura Artesani and Beth Wiemann) on campus on March 3rd at 11:00 am, in a collaboration with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. Both the Guerilla Opera and BSO events are part of the division’s Women’s History month offerings.
Timeline for all events described here:
March 3, 11:00 am: panel discussion with composer Jessica Meyer, Minsky Recital Hall
March 4, 1:00 pm: Aliana De La Guardia, artistic director of Guerilla Opera – Minsky Recital Hall
March 4, 4:00 pm: Masterclasses with Guerilla performers: vocalists in Minsky, woodwinds in Black Box Theatre, percussion with Dr. Marrs in percussion studio.
March 5, 7:30 pm: Performance of Wiemann’s chamber opera, Minsky Recital Hall
March 6, 3:00 pm: Bangor Symphony with Jessica Meyer and Conni Elison works, CCA
April 11: guest lecture by Mona Siegel on Women’s Peace Movement
The Guerilla Opera events and Prof. Siegel’s visit are being funded by UMaine’s Cultural Affairs Fund, the McGillicuddy Humanities Center, the UMaine Arts Initiative, and the Hamm Campus Fund.
In a collaboration with UMaine’s WGS program, a related lecture by guest scholar Mona Siegel on the Women’s Peace Movement will take place after the residency, on April 11th. This talk will describe that WWI era movement that was a passion of Rose Standish Nichols. As an introduction to the movement, Prof. Siegel has provided us with a short video about Rose Nichols’s work in it, which can be found here:
https://csus.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=28d0f98c-458d-436e-9bc6-ae43011d27f7
Please note: Visitors — along with students, staff, and faculty — are currently required to wear face coverings at all times indoors at this time, regardless of vaccination status. Visitors who are medically able and age eligible are encouraged to be vaccinated. Anyone attending indoor events of more than 250 people at the University of Maine must provide proof of vaccination or an acceptable negative test from within a 72-hour window to enter. Please visit the University of Maine COVID-19 Health and Safety page for the most recent updates to the campus vaccination and masking policies.