Kickstarter - 36 hours to go!

We're getting down to the wire with our Kickstarter campaign, folks, but we have made a lot of progress!!  Some statistics for you:

Current Pledges:  $1,675
Fundraising Goal: $3,500

Pledges needed to meet the goal:
Total: $1,825
Per Day (1.5 days): $1,217
Per Hour (36 hours): $50.69

Take another look at that last number, and ignore the big scary four digit ones.  We just need a little over fifty dollars per hour over the next 36 hours.

We can do this.

We've been saying it all along, and it's a truth that bears repeating:  Every dollar counts.  $50.69 per hour is a completely achievable goal!  Please encourage anyone and everyone that you know to pledge toward creating this great new work.  How far can we make it by the end of dress rehearsal tonight?

Stay tuned, and thank you for your continued support.  We look forward to seeing you all this weekend!

Preview of Coming Attractions: "Trouble!"

Happy November!  We open one week from tomorrow - here is a little "teaser trailer"for your enjoyment on this beautiful sunny day.  

Soprano Miriam Kushel sings "Trouble,"  Mrs. Joe's aria from Act I, Scene 4.

Notes from the composer/librettist:
"Trouble" is the first place in the libretto where I departed from Dickens' text.  It was a difficult process - I hate when adaptations drastically change characters or outcomes from the original story.  The decision to write this aria was conscious one, made to give the character of Mrs. Joe more dimension.  Dickens' writing alludes to a time in her life when she may have cared more deeply for her brother Pip than her current actions lead one to believe.  There are also hints of regret that she herself is childless.

Trouble, trouble!  

My dear Missus Hubble, you don't know what I go through!

My hands are red and sore with work, my hair an early grey.

Tied down to my apron strings I worry night and day.

Pip is always wand'ring out, and breaking bones and scraping shins,

but Ah! he thinks I don't care for his wellfare.  

But late at night when no one knows and no one hears and sees,

I weep for Mama's guidance, Papa's laugh and warm embrace.

I love!  My brother that I raised by hand,

but Ah! He is trouble, yes indeed!

He is trouble, yes, indeed!

Updates

Check out our new "Cast" and "Photo Gallery" pages!

Despite Hurricane Sandy, Great Expectations is still going strong.  We're back in rehearsal on Friday evening and looking forward to two wonderful performances!

About our Kickstarter campaign: We have 8 days left to raise $3,050.  It's a hefty goal, but we know that we can do it with your help!  Here are a few ways that we can get to our goal:

204 pledges @ $15
122 pledges @ $25
61 pledges @ $50

To look at it differently, that's just under $400 per day.

A few things to remember:

* Minimum pledge is just $1, and every dollar counts!

* If we don't make our funding goal by our deadline, we won't get any of your pledged support.

* There are many different incentives available depending on your pledge amount.  Your name will be listed in the program for a pledge of $15.  Those of you who are in the NYC area (and perhaps craving a night out for relief of hurricane-induced cabin fever) might be interested in the $50 pledge level, which includes a free ticket to the performance of your choice.  Out of Towners and those unable to attend: consider the $75 level, which will get you a high-quality audio CD of the performance!

* Whether you can give or not, please forward the link to your family, your neighbors, your dentists, your pet gerbils... okay, maybe not that last one, but you get the idea.  The more people who know about this, the better!!

There is just one thing left to say:

Thank you!!!

Eureka! (Introductions)

Four years ago, in a Hell’s Kitchen apartment, inspiration struck.

“We should write an opera together,” said the pianist.  “You can write all the vocal parts, and I can do the orchestra.  Actually, you could write the orchestra too.”

“I don’t know about that,” replied the soprano with a smile.  The pianist quietly filled the carafe and measured the coffee grounds. (He always made better coffee, anyway.)  Finally the soprano returned to the subject.  “OK. If we write an opera, what would the story be?”

She paused, her hand on the refrigerator door. “It has to be classic literature.  Those are the best stories.”

The pianist nodded.  “Dickens.”

“Great Expectations.”

Their eyes locked.  The soprano turned away from the coffee pot and ran to the baby grand piano in the dining room.  “How about this?”

They wrote the overture over the phone in two days.  When the pianist moved on to other projects, the soprano kept on, writing the libretto, the orchestral score, and the piano reduction.

Four years of labor, love, frustration, exploration, and fun later, Tanya Crist, soprano and composer, wrote the final notes of Great Expectations: An American Opera in Three Acts. 

Now it is our pleasure to invite everyone to the WORLD PREMIERE of this beautiful and surprising new work.