Today : world première of 'Mr. Burke and Mr. Hare' by Julian Grant in Boston (MA)

Today, the Boston Lyric Opera presents the world première performance of The Nefarious, Immoral but Highly Profitable Enterprise of Mr. Burke and Mr. Hare, a chamber opera composed by Julian Grant, with a libretto by Mark Campbell based on real events.

Since 1986 and the chamber opera King's Children, Julian Grant has composed several works for the stage, including dance operas, chamber operas, children's operas and community operas.

Edinburgh, 1828. The city’s world-renowned anatomy schools suffer from a cadaver shortage. Two industrious men — William Burke and William Hare — find lucrative work by murdering disenfranchised citizens and selling their corpses to Dr. Knox’s academy. (reproduced from the BLO website)

The cast includes tenor William Burden (Dr. Robert Knox), baritone Jesse Blumberg (William Burke), bass-baritone Craig Colclough (William Hare), soprano Michelle Trainor (Helen McDougal), soprano Marie McLaughlin (Abigail Simpson) and baritone David Cushing (Donald). David Angus conducts the Chamber Ensemble from the Boston Lyric Opera Orchestra. David Schweizer directs.

The venue is the Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts. The performance should last about 90 minutes.

Today : world première of 'The Property' by Wlad Marhulets in Chicago (IL)

Today, the new chamber opera composed by Wlad Marhulets, The Property, with a libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann adapted from Rutu Modan's graphic novel, will be performed in Chicago at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts.

The libretto tells the story of Regina Segal and her granddaughter Mica, who travel to modern Warsaw to try to regain family property lost during World War II. As their journey unfolds, Regina is forced to confront painful truths about her past, including her history with Roman Gorski. Meanwhile, Mica navigates a relationship with their Polish tour guide, Tomasz, and realizes their reasons for coming might not be all that they seemed. (reproduced from the Lyric Opera of Chicago website)

The cast includes  mezzo-soprano Jill Grove (Regina Segal), soprano Anne Slovin (Mica), baritone James Maddalena (Roman Gorski) and baritone Nathaniel Olson (Tomas). They are joined by an instrumental ensemble of six players, including members of Chicago's Maxwell Street Klezmer Band. Eric Einhorn directs.