(Credit: Bearded Lens)

Opera Orlando will once again partner with WUCF TV to broadcast a second performance of “The Secret River.” The event will take place on Jan. 30, 2022, at 4:30 pm EST.

“The Secret River” was the company’s first commissioned opera that premiered on Dec. 2021. Composer Stella Sung and librettist Mark Campbell’s opera is based on Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’ children’s book of the same title.

The one-act chamber opera stars soprano Kyaunnee Richardson in the leading role of Calpurnia. The cast also includes soprano NaGuanda Nobles playing Calpurnia’s mother and baritone Geoffrey Peter playing the father. Mezzo-soprano Kimberly Milton sings the role of Mother Albirtha, and soprano Emily Pulley sings the role of the author, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.

The story follows the young Calpurnia, who longs to find the secret river and catch fish to help her starving family and town. In the Orlando Sentinel review of the show, Matt Palm says “Kyaunnee Richardson…succeeds marvelously in capturing childlike inquisitiveness and determination without overplaying” and calls the show “a production bubbling with warmth and heart.”

The opera can be viewed on television or online on the WUCF website.