Postcard from Morocco
COLLEGE-CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC, UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI (2009)
National Opera Association Award, 3rd Place for Best Opera Production
photos courtesy of Mark Lyons
POSTCARD FROM MOROCCO by Dominic Argento
Conductor: Karl Shymanovitz
Cast: D. Maimone, S. Rodriguez, C. Mathes, A. Fry, A. Smith, J. Jacobs, M. Lake
Production: B. Ruggaber (scenery), B. Shannon (clothes), R. Bible (lighting), R.M. Navarre (hair/make-up)
Production Description: The production takes place in a contemporary security “holding room” at an airport. The seven travelers are roughly ushered into this facility, luggage and all, where there are cameras and other surveillance devices that create a growing sense of paranoia among and between the travelers. It soon becomes clear that this holding facility is run by some kind of fascistic regime and one by one the travelers are taken out for further questioning. Only Mr. Owen remains. He is then visited by “ghosts” from other eras, all of whom have suffered torture, imprisonment or persecution of one kind or another. Despite this, Mr. Owen refuses to reveal what is in his suitcase as a matter of principle and gets locked into the facility indefinitely, clinging only to a new-found sense of freedom in his mind.