Voices From the Other Side
“Wandering in This Place,” Cavendish, arr. Warlock
“Dance Little Baby,” traditional, arr. Mitchell
“Hush You Bye,” traditional, arr. Ashbaker
“The Frost Scene,” King Arthur, Purcell
The Medium
Gian Carlo Menotti, composer and librettist
Opera Titles by: Susan Shiplett Ashbaker
PowerPoint and Title Score by: Lucas Heredia and Alexa Farah
WESTMINSTER OPERA THEATRE
Susan Shiplett Ashbaker, director
Susan Shiplett Ashbaker, music director
James Kenon Mitchell, stage director
Nikolay Verevkin, performance pianist
Friday, April 11, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 12, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
The Spitz Theater
Rider University
2083 Lawrenceville Road
Lawrenceville, N.J.
Rider University gratefully acknowledges the generous support of: The Herbert B. Mayo Performance Endowment
The Martinson Family Foundation for its support of theater technology equipment. Richard and Heather Frye-Ginsberg & Michael T. '89 and Susana Santaguida '89 Gummel for their support of our Rider Friend of the Arts patron program.
PLEASE NOTE:
The unauthorized use of any recording device, either audio or video, and the taking of photographs, either with or without flash, is strictly prohibited. Out of courtesy to the performers and everyone in the audience, please refrain from using cell phones and electronic devices during the performance.
Please note that during the production there will be strobe effect lighting, a theatrical non-firing pistol, simulated gunshot sound effects and the appearance of physical violence.
Special Thanks
A special thank you to all the wonderful and supportive voice teachers that provide the base of learning for all we do. A special thanks also to our colleagues in the Music Theater and Dance departments for the rich collaboration that benefits our students and productions. And a hearty shout out and thank you to Professor Scott Alboum and his students for our archival recordings.
Director’s Note
After its premiere production in 1946, The Medium enjoyed success with a 1947 Broadway production and a series of revivals and filmed productions that would cement its place in the contemporary American repertoire, especially in schools and community groups. In addition to the standard operatic repertoire and the numerous plotless diversions on offer in the vicinity of 47th Street that year (such as a 22 year old Elaine Stritch’s first success singing the song “Civilization” in the revue Angel in the Wings), the musical comedies presented that year included Finian’s Rainbow and Brigadoonboth tales that rely heavily on plot devices featuring the supernatural and more specifically characters passing between the veil of one world (ours) and another (the mystical).
The first page of Gian Carlo Menotti’s score states “The action takes place in Madame Flora’s parlor in our time.” The present moment that Menotti referred to in 1946 was a time rife with uncertainty and grief sandwiched
delicately between the “end” of the conflicts that would eventually be known as World Wars I and II and the beginning of the Cold War. Where lighter entertainments approached the subject of death with comic flair, songs in standard pop formats, and a reliable pair of lovers who could be counted on to end up together, Menotti’s tightly drawn living room drama focused its lens on the more sinister implications of “what lies beyond.”
In that spirit, (see what I did there?) this evening’s companion piece, rather than a pairing with another one act, further pulls at the strings of reality, asking us to consider the viewpoint of the dead themselves and whether or not they consent to being brought back.
In 2025, recovering from a global pandemic with an enormous death toll, continued conflict in the Middle East, war in Ukraine, political upheaval and uncertainty in our own country and the conclusion of the final season of Stranger Things, I can’t imagine a single reason this opera might be relevant. Not one. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Let me know if you come up with any!
Synopsis
ACT 1
The opera takes place in the dilapidated home of fraud-Medium, swindler, and alcoholic Baba who lives with her young daughter Monica and with Toby, a mute vagrant rescued from the streets of Budapest. As the opera begins Monica and Toby are playing make-believe when they are interrupted by Baba’s arrival home. She admonishes Toby for being a dreamer and sets him and Monica to work preparing for the fake séance to be held that evening.
Baba disguises herself as “Madame Flora” as three guests arrive for the séance; Mrs. Nolan, a woman who has lost her teenage daughter, Doodly, and Mr. and Mrs. Gobineau, a couple who have been visiting Madame Flora’s seances for two years after the tragic death of their toddler son, Mickey years ago. The faux-séance is interrupted when Baba feels a ghostly hand on her throat and panics, sending the grieving parents away. Monica attempts to comfort Baba, who accuses Toby of trickery and prays to God for mercy.
ACT 2
A week later, Monica and Toby are interrupted at play again by Baba’s return home. Baba attempts to bate Toby into admitting to having touched her at the séance, but grows frustrated and beats him in a rage. The grieving parents arrive for another séance but Baba shows them the tricks used to fake the
séance and sends them away never to return. She sends Toby out into the street and locks Monica in her room. Alone, Baba drinks and is tortured by doubts, guilt, and memories of the past. She passes out in a drunken stupor but is awakened by the sound of Toby sneaking back into the apartment and fatally shoots him. Monica flees the apartment calling for help.
Voices From the Other Side
“Wandering In This Place,” Cavendish, arr. Warlock Annie McCasland
“Dance Little Baby,” traditional, arr. Mitchell Abi Culkin
“Hush You Bye,” traditional, arr. Ashbaker Abi Culkin
“The Frost Scene,” King Arthur, Purcell Abi Culkin and Annie McCasland
Cast
The Medium Menotti
Friday, April 11
Monica Sarah Ounsworth
Baba Grace Comeau
Toby Connor Bowden
Mrs. Gobineau Jessica Bella
Mr. Gobineau Nathan Anderson
Mrs. Nolan Kenzie Ahlman
A Voice Sela McMullen
Saturday, April 12
Monica Alexa Farah
Baba Emma Clark
Toby Connor Bowden
Mrs. Gobineau Abi Culkin
Mr. Gobineau Lucas Heredia
Mrs. Nolan Kianna Mitchner
A Voice Sela McMullen
Covers
Monica Annie McCasland
Mrs. Nolan Jessica D. Diley
