As part of the Shepherd School of Music’s 50th anniversary season, the opera studies program is mounting an ambitious production of John Corigliano’s “The Ghosts of Versailles” — a time-warping, genre-defying masterwork that blends ghosts, revolutionaries and beloved operatic characters into a dazzling operatic multiverse. Even more remarkable? Every single vocalist in the Shepherd School’s opera program has a named role in the performances scheduled for April 11 and 13.
“It is a really ambitious show, especially for a school of music of our size,” said Joshua Winograde, director of opera studies. “We have 32 singers in the department and all of them are on stage virtually the entire opera. But the piece is an excellent vehicle for a group of world class students like ours. It allows them to explore every aspect of their dramatic, musical and vocal training to date and in a way that does not put undue stress on the young singers’ voices. But make no mistake … it is enormous.”
Directing the production is opera star Patricia Racette, who won a Grammy for her performance as Marie Antoinette in LA Opera’s production of “Ghosts.” At the Shepherd School, she’s swapped her powdered wig for a director’s chair.
Three worlds collide in “Ghosts”: the ghostly court of Louis XVI, a play within a play written by Pierre Beaumarchais and the real history of Marie Antoinette’s tragic end.
“You’ve heard the expression ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ — [‘Ghosts’] is everything and the kitchen sink,” Racette said. “One could say it’s just shy of overwhelming, but I thrive on that sort of challenge and on that sort of fantastical undertaking.”
“This piece really pushes the boundaries of what you thought opera might be in a very enjoyable, very accessible way,” Winograde said. “It is at times both very funny and very sad, fast-paced and time-stopping, massive and intimate.”
“There’s not another piece like this,” Racette said.
For Winograde, who has worked with Racette since their days together at Houston Grand Opera and LA Opera, the choice to bring her in was both artistic and sentimental.
“To have the artist who received such acclaim for singing Marie Antoinette come back to direct this show — what an amazing way for us to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Shepherd School of Music,” Winograde said.
partially inspired by the Royal Opera of Versailles. “Ghosts” takes place in Marie Antoinette’s private theater in the palace.
As grand as the production is visually and dramatically, it’s also a musical Mount Everest. The Shepherd School Chamber Orchestra will take on Corigliano’s complex, virtuosic score under the baton of Rice alumnus Benjamin Manis.
“We are beyond lucky to have Ben Manis leading the orchestra for the second time in two years,” Winograde said. “We needed somebody with that kind of musical command for such a difficult score and also an established deep relationship with both our singers and our orchestra.”
Adding to the rarity of the experience, Corigliano himself will attend both performances and offer preshow talks an hour before curtain.
“I have always heard about the high quality of the Shepherd School and in particular their superb opera program,” Corigliano said. “I am thrilled that they are doing my opera ‘The Ghosts of Versailles’ and equally thrilled that I will be there for the event. I can’t wait!”
During his time in Houston, Corigliano will also work directly with Shepherd School composition and instrumental students in a master class of his own works.
Tickets are now available for the April 11 and 13 performances.