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Proving Up
“…Born out of a spirit of inquiry, Proving Up is mysterious, mesmerizing, startling in moments, and highly atmospheric.”
Susan Galbraith, DC Theatre Scene
22nd January 2018
Proving Up
Composed by Missy Mazzoli
Libretto by Royce Vavrek
August 24th, 27th, 28th and 30th @ 7:30pm
West Village Theatre, Calgary
Proving Up is an opera about the American Dream, told through the story of Nebraskan homesteaders in the 1870s. A family dreams of "proving up" and obtaining the deed to the land they've settled. They obsessively list the requirements of the Homestead Act: five years of harvest, a sod house dwelling, and perhaps the most elusive element — a glass window. With their eldest son incapacitated, Ma and Pa Zegner send their youngest living child Miles on a mission to share the valuable commodity with their distant neighbors who are expecting a visit from a government inspector. Miles mounts his gray mare with the window wrapped in burlap and gallops across the land. The elements, natural and otherwise, have other plans, and Miles comes face to face with a strange man who turns out to be the ghost of a neighboring farmer, driven mad by the requirements of "proving up." The willowy figure knows all too well the cost of the American Dream, and the window soon becomes a broken mirror reflecting great tragedy.
Meet the Cast and Creatives
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Sydney Baedke
Soprano (Ma Zegner)
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Mishael Eusebio
Tenor (Miles)
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Geoffrey Schellenberg
Baritone (Pa Zegner)
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Brittany Rae
Soprano (Littler Sister)
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Stephania Romaniuk
Mezzo Soprano (Taller Sister)
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Adam Brousseau
Bass Baritone (Sodbuster)
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Bronwyn Schuman
Pianist / Répétiteur
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Maria Fuller
Conductor
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Tayte Mitchell
Stage Director
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Sarah Austin
Stage Manager
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Graeme Janzen
Lighting Designer
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Hanne Loosen
Set and Costume Designer
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Missy Mazzoli
Composer
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Royce Vavrek
Librettist
Join us for the AO Preshow Pregame at Two House Brewing Co. Enjoy a beer or pizza, or both! It’s a show before the show!
August 24th, 27th, 28th and 30th
6pm-6:30pm
Two House Brewing Co.