The Opera Theatre of Yale College (OTYC) is proud to announce an upcoming virtual performance of The Basement Among the Stars, a 25-minute chamber opera with music by Benjamin Beckman (’23), directed by Claire Donnellan (‘23). Based on a true story, the show centers on Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Annie Jump Cannon, and Williamina Fleming, three astronomers working at the Harvard Observatory at the turn of the twentieth century. At a time when women were not allowed to publish scientific papers, after making an extraordinary discovery, Henrietta is confronted with the question of whether to go public with her findings, knowing she would receive no acknowledgment for her own work. The Basement Among the Stars is a story of feminist achievement, boldness, daring, and sacrifice.
We are looking to cast all three singing roles for the show: two sopranos (Henrietta and Annie) and one mezzo-soprano (Williamina). Additionally, if you’d like to be involved with the show in some production capacity, we’d love to hear from you! If you’re interested in a role, there is no required repertoire for an audition, but we’d love to hear a recording of you singing! Some suggestions can be found here.
Weekly rehearsals will be held virtually; an online performance is tentatively scheduled for May 14th, 2021. If you are interested in participating, please fill out the interest/audition form at https://forms.gle/1C7gE2XUR5GKsvdz5 by Sunday, March 21st, 2021 at 11:59pm EST. We invite all Yale undergraduates to fill out the form.
A score and libretto are attached to this email for your perusal. If you want to learn more about this project before signing on, please join the production team for a casual information session and brunch this Thursday, March 18th, at 11am EST at: https://yale.zoom.us/j/6951979854 .
If you have any questions, please contact Ben Beckman (ben.beckman@yale.edu) or Nikhil Harle (nikhil.harle@yale.edu). We hope you can join us!