Organization

Conductor

Lidiya Yankovskaya

Stage director

Alison Moritz

Director

Robert Ainsley

Singer

Tenor

Wes Hunter

Bus Driver

Soprano

Laura Intravia

Queer Kid

Bass-baritone

David Kravitz

Daddy

Mezzo-soprano

Rebecca Krouner

Nelda

Thea Lobo

Reba

Dana Varga

Kayla

MassOpera

Taking Up Serpents

Boston

United States

Taking Up Serpents Sankaram

Public

Approved

MassOpera (formerly MetroWest Opera) is thrilled to present its first ever New Opera Workshop of composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Jerre Dye's Taking Up Serpents.  This one-hour opera is an exploration of faith both as it relates to religion and family, told through the lens of three family members in a snake-handling Pentecostal church.  This workshop performance is in collaboration with Washington National Opera in preparation for their world premiere performance at the Kennedy Center in January 2019. 

Taking Up Serpents is an exploration of faith, both as it relates to religion and family, told through the lens of three family members in a snake-handling Pentecostal church. The story centers around Kayla, who is the estranged daughter of a fire-and-brimstone preacher who is dangerously bitten by one of his own snakes. Kayla’s journey home forces her to confront her troubled upbringing. This story is operatic in that the characters’ faith imbues the world with meaning that is larger than life.

“This piece is something of a homecoming for both me and Jerre.” says composer Kamala Sankaram. While I’m not a Southerner (like Jerre is), I grew up in a small town in the desert in Southern California. I knew girls like Kayla- they were my classmates, they invited me to their churches, and they never would have seen themselves as worthy subjects of an opera. So, this piece is really for them.”

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