Mahogany Opera Presents World Premiere of Nwando Ebizie’s ‘Ecstasy of the Virtues’
By Afton Markay(Photo credit: Claire Shovelton)
Nwando Ebizie’s new opera “Ecstasy of the Virtues” will get its world premiere at Mahogany Opera on Sept. 25 in London.
“Ecstasy of the Virtues” is inspired by Hildegard’s “Ordo Virtutum.” Ebizie reframes the cast of allegorical Virtues and places them in 21st-century guises.
The opera which consists of singing, instruments, dance, multisensory ritual and projections features 12 performers including Deaf performance artist Chisato Minamimura, composer and vocalist Laura Bowler, Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian, Grace Nyandoro, Sara Amini, and Yfat Soul Zisso. Chisara Agor, Jaydn Arriola Bagayas, Yu Chinen, Michelle Cornelius, Felicia Jackson, and Maria da Luz make up the chorus. Composer and lead artist Ebizie directs. The performance runs 90 minutes and includes theatrical British Sign Language and creative captions embedded into the piece.
Jennifer Muteteli White is the associate director, along with Giulia Cristescu as assistant director. Tom Richards is the technical director, Tzung-Hui Lee is the set and video/projection designer Krystal Lowe is the choreographer and Polly Simon is the costume designer. Louis Gulliver King serves as production manager. Steph Singer is the artistic advisor and Kelsie Acton is the access consultant. Bridget Rennie is the executive producer alongside Emily Moore who is a producer.
Mahogany Opera has supported the project since 2020, through its Various Stages Festival, a co-produced installation at East Street Arts in 2021, a full commission the following year, a R&D residency with Britten Pears Arts in 2023, and a presentation of the installation Extreme Unction Vol. 2 at Artsadmin’s festival of art, climate and community the same year.
The world premiere will take place at Stone Nest on Sept. 25, with further performances on 26 and 27. Performances follow at the Howard Assembly Room in Leeds in partnership with Opera North on Oct. 3, and in Barrow Town Hall, in partnership with Full of Noises on Oct. 7.
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