2025/26 Season & Calendar Coming Soon. Stay tuned!

SEASON 13: LOVE IS LOVE!

OVERVIEW OF ORFEO ED EURIDICE:

Orfeo ed Euridice composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de’ Calzabigi

June 13 & 14, 2024 at 7:30pm
Dante Alighieri Society of Massachusetts
41 Hampshire St, Cambridge, MA 02139

TICKETS!

By celebrating ALL LOVE and JOY; join us as we shine light into the dark, with no looking back! In our first ever Pride Month celebration, Orfeo ed Euridice inspires the LOVE IS LOVE theme for our season, in a modern take on this enduring classic that transcends gender.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW DIGITAL PROGRAM!

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION:

Get out your glow sticks and body glitter this June! NEMPAC Opera Project returns to the Dante Alighieri Society of Massachusetts in East Cambridge, MA for an intimate, wildly fun, and whimsical production of Gluck’s beloved opera about courage, grief, and love. Set in the 90’s gay club scene; we journey to the underworld with Orfeo as she processes her grief of the loss of her wife, Euridice. Remembering that Gay Marriage was not legalized in Massachussetts until 2004, we explore the story of these lovers from the Queer community in a place where self expression and sexuality are unencumbered by politics or other oppressive ideologies. With the embodiment of Love at her side, Orfeo bravely traverses to the land of the dead to save Euridice from death. A demi-god herself, Orfeo is a brilliant musician who shows us the power of music and community to heal and help us overcome our deepest heart aches. Love is love, until they can be together again.

ARTISTIC PARTNERS:

We are thrilled to continue our partnership with the Boston Festival Orchestra, featuring a nine piece chamber orchestra (including a harp!) Joining us for the first time this season are vocalists from the Nightingale Vocal Ensemble.

Join us before the show each night to enjoy a curated art exhibit by artists from the Creature House, a collective of local queer artists featuring works exploring the theme of community and healing.

TICKETING INFORMATION:

With a focus on inclusion and access, the NEMPAC Opera project will offer a “Pay what you can” ticket price this June. Group bookings are encouraged. Email opera@nempacboston.org for more info.

$35 General Admission (suggested ticket price)
$75 Enthusiast (average actual cost of ticket – includes pre-show reception starting at 6:30 PM each night and reserved seating)
$0 + Pay-What-You-Can (You decide how much to pay for a ticket)

TICKETS!

2024 ARTISTIC TEAM:

Stage Director: NEMPAC Opera Project Artistic Director, Brenda Huggins
Music Director and Conductor: Boston Festival Orchestra Music Director & Principal Conductor, Alyssa Wang
Artistic Associate: NEMPAC Opera Project, Leo Balkovetz

CAST:

Orfeo: Mary Kray,
Euridice: Madeleine Lew
Amore: Abbey Diana Engelmann

Orfeo Cover/Chorus: Rebekah Daly
Euridice Cover/Chorus: Dasom (Julia) Kim
Amore Cover/Chorus: Sydney Pérez

Chorus: Vocalists from the Nightingale Vocal Ensemble, including: Kartik Ayysola (tenor), Darby Clinard (alto), Nick Fahrenkrug (bass), Michael Gonzalez (tenor), and Juan Suarez (bass)

ORCHESTRA:

Kurt Munstedt, violin I
Kay Rooney, violin II
Noriko Futagami, viola
Aron Zelkowicz, cello
Bebo Shiu, bass
Allison Parramore, flute
Catherine Weinfield-Zell, oboe & english horn
Sepehr Davalloukhoungar, keyboard
Amanda Romano, harp

Mary Kray (she/her) is a mezzo-soprano and voice teacher based in Boston, MA, with a performance background spanning opera, oratorio, musical theater, neo-soul, and pop. Notably, Mary has performed as Marcellina in NEMPAC’s production of Le Nozze di Figaro and in the chorus of Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Madama Butterfly. She has performed as the alto soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria, Bach’s Magnificat, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, and Handel’s Messiah. Mary covered the role of Mother in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors at Church on the Hill, and she eagerly anticipates covering Carmen with Boston Opera Collaborative in their upcoming production of La Tragédie de Carmen. Alongside her private teaching studio, Mary has taught music and voice at Arlington Children’s Theater, Boston Conservatory’s Vocal Choral Intensive, and Beverly Music Academy.

California native Madeleine Lew (she/her) is a young soprano in her second season at the BU Opera Institute, where this season she portrayed La Fée in Massenet’s Cendrillon, Servilia in La Clemenza di Tito, and Quinn in Melissa Dunphy’s new opera Alice Tierney. Madeleine received her Masters at the University of Southern California and is a recent graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Madeleine made her European debut in Helsinki, Finland in March 2022, creating the leading role of the Bear in Uljas Pulkiss’s world premiere of All the Truths We Cannot See. Madeleine is a winner of the prolific 2023 Frank Huntington Beebe Fund grant, the 2023 Boston District of the Laffont Metropolitan Opera Competition, 2019 East Bay Opera League Competition, and 2019 Bell Encouragement Award winner of the James Toland Vocal Arts competition.

Abbey Diana Engelmann is an operatic soprano and graduate student at Longy School of Music of Bard College under the tutelage of Dr. Corrine Byrne. Engelmann holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and certificate in dance from Millikin University. She is extremely excited to be performing Amore in NEMPAC’s Orfeo ed Euridice. This season she will additionally be performing The Water in Portman’s The Little Prince (Longy), Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte, Dew Fairy in Hänsel und Gretel (MOS) and making her Lincoln Center debut. Her recent credits include Flora in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw (CSO)—which received Broadway World Chicago 2023 Best Production of an Opera Award—Nella in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, and Despina in Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte (Millikin).

Rebekah Daly is a mezzo-soprano originally from the greater Boston area. Daly is currently a fellow at Boston University’s Opera Institute, where she performed Zandra in Alice Tierney, and Madame de La Haltiére in Cendrillon. Last season, Daly was an apprentice artist at Santa Fe Opera and performed outreach with ‘Opera for the Young’ in a touring production of The Barber of Seville. Daly holds a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University and completed her undergraduate training at Rutgers University in New Jersey. At Northwestern, Daly sang Baba (The Medium), and Proserpina (L’Orfeo). Other role highlights include Third Wood Sprite (Rusalka), Zita (Gianni Schicchi), Mrs. Lovett (Sweeney Todd), and Mére Marie (Dialogues of the Carmelites).

Dasom (Julia) Kim obtained hers Bachelor’s degree from Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul, South Korea. She studied under Professor Yunja Kim, Kiyoung Yang, and Sunghee Park. She studied under Professor Yunja Kim, Kiyoung Yang, and Sunghee Park. After graduation from university, she played an important role in church choir, performed throughout the religious music field, and as a soloist and opera singer. Having only a Bachelor’s degree, she felt limited in the professional music field and desired to become an opera singer and gain deeper understanding of music and education methods, so she decided to further hers studies abroad. Currently, she is pursuing a master’s degree at the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Boston, USA, starting in 2023.

Sydney Pérez is is pursuing a Master’s in Vocal Performance at the Longy School of Music. An avid performer, her highlighted operatic roles include the title role in Princess Ida, Gertrud in Hansel und Gretel, El Duende in Maria de Buenos Aires, Belinda in Dido and Æneas, and Aline in The Sorcerer, with covers of Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito, Diana in Orpheus in the Underworld, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Zerlina in Don Giovanni. Sydney has premiered four roles in new compositions, including Alma Menckenberg in The Audition Fever, COMPUTER in XOR, and the title role in Lori: A Micro-Opera for our Stolen Sisters, a new opera of which she is the librettist.

We believe that opera takes the human experience and amplifies it.

NEMPAC Opera is North End Music & Performing Arts Center’s critically-acclaimed opera company that opens doors for composers, artists, and audience members by producing creative works that are global in scope.

We represent composers of diverse backgrounds and identities to elevate their contributions to an art form that too often erases the history of their works.
We create opportunity for the next generation of opera singers to launch their careers, bridging the experience gap between recent college graduates and professional artists.
We tell stories that represent the communities and cultures of Boston, ensuring this art form is approachable and relevant to all audience members.

We exist to propel professional musicians forward in their continued growth in artistry.

NEMPAC Opera transforms amateur artists into budding opera singers prepared for independent, professional careers.

The opera company intentionally schedules offseason performances to attract and nurture the best of Boston’s budding opera talent.
NEMPAC Opera offers performers an extended rehearsal schedule to foster trust among cast members and create space for real-life practical assessments.
The opera company provides staging, music, and character development coaching to emerging artists who go on to pursue lead roles at professional companies, participate in prestigious young artist programs, and compete at the art form’s highest levels.

We believe in affordable, accessible opera for all Bostonians.

NEMPAC Opera’s power resides in honest storytelling that speaks to the shared experiences of audience members through sound, rather than words.

We believe that opera is as relevant today as when the art form was founded.
Our ticket prices and free community outreach reflect our belief that opera should be affordable and accessible to all.

Production Chronology

2023 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro at Dante Alighieri Society
2022 – Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods at the Boston Center for the Arts
2021 – Juneteenth Celebration, In the Key of Freedom at the Museum of African American History
2020 – Gioachino Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia – Mainstage production canceled due to COVID-19 and replaced with Pop-Up Opera: The Barber of Seville
2019 – Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince
2018 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Don Giovanni
2017 – Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fidelio
2016 – Gioachino Rossini’s La Cenerentola
2015 – Giacomo Puccini’s La boheme
2014 – Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus
2013 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Così fan tutte
2012 – Georges Bizet’s Carmen