Funding Appeal: GOOD COUNTRY, opera by Keith Allegreti and Cecilia Raker, sponsored by Local Opera Local Artists (LOLA)

(video produced by LOLA)

 

We are Keith Allegretti and Cecelia Raker, a composer/librettist team based in Austin, Texas. Last year, we partnered with Liz Cass and Rebecca Herman, founders of Local Opera Local Artists (LOLA) to present our new chamber opera Good Country in Austin, Texas. Unfortunately,  that production was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, after over a year of patiently waiting, we are eager to share this work with you again! In partnership with LOLA, we will present a workshop production of Good Country in October. There will be a video/audio recording session, a staged excerpt from the opera, and a full, unstaged performance in accordance with local health guidelines.

 

Good Country is the story of a fateful night in the lives of a brave barmaid and the stagecoach driver who tumbles into her saloon after shooting his way out of a holdup on the road. Based on true accounts of Charley Parkhurst, a stagecoach driver during the California Gold Rush who was assigned female at birth and lived life as a man, the opera calls specifically for a trans or non-binary vocalist. We are beyond thrilled to have Melina Jaharis sing the role of Charley, along with a cast of local and regional vocalists including Janani Sridhar as the Barmaid, Scott Clark, and Siwei Zhang.

We are seeking funds of $5000 to support the artists involved in this project. Your contribution goes entirely toward paying our team of collaborators. None of this would be possible without the talent and hard work from our cast and orchestra, and we are grateful beyond measure to have so many people in our corner.

 

 

You can view our previous (now cancelled) campaign here: https://igg.me/at/good-country.

Thank you for your support!

 

 

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Good Country
by Keith Allegretti, Cecelia Raker
Local Opera Local Artists - LOLA

Announced for Octobe 17, 2021.  Venue to be announced.

Tickets will be available  in advance via the LOLA website.