The Lady from the Sea
an opera in 4 acts
The Lady from the Sea
by Ray Luedeke
14 March 2025 - 7:00pm
The National Opera Center
16 March 2025 - 3:00pm
Symphony Space
When a mysterious sailor returns to fulfill his promise, a lighthouse keeper's daughter must choose between her conventional marriage and the mesmerizing allure of the sea.
The Lady from the Sea is adapted from Henrik Ibsen's startlingly modern 19th Century masterpiece. With humour and raw emotion, The Lady from the Sea vibrantly dissects issues of choice, marriage, responsibility and freedom.
Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian playwright and poet (1828-1906), is regarded as one of the founders of the modern theater and is the most frequently performed dramatist in the world, after Shakespeare. The Lady from the Sea was inspired by a Danish folksong. This folk song is the musical springboard and reference point for the opera. Agnete and the Merman tells of a woman wooed by a merman to leave this surface world and come live with him, under the sea.
The Cast:
Julie Liston Johnson - Ellida Wangel- “One soloist after another sang beautifully, but the standouts were soprano Julie Liston Johnson and ...” Dallas Morning News https://www.jljsoprano.com/about
Julie has been a featured soloist at Carnegie Hall, Teatro Communiale di Bologna, Alice Tully Hall, Moody Performance Hall, Trinity Church Wall Street, and Durham Cathedral in northern England where in 2019 she sang the soprano solos in Verdi's Requiem. A frequent soloist in the Dallas metroplex, highlights include the soprano solo in Brahms' Requiem at the Meyerson Symphony Center, a recital sponsored by the Dallas Puccini Society, solos in Handel's Messiah with the Broadway Baptist and Highland Park Presbyterian choir, Mozart's Mass in C Minor, Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem, and John Rutter's Requiem with the composer conducting.
Colin Levin - Doctor Wangel- "Colin Levin in the title role was the most natural actor...vocally strong from top to bottom."
The Washington Post https://www.colinlevinbaritone.com
American Baritone Colin Levin continues to explore a diverse array of vocal literature in both North American and Europe, ranging from the very physical character roles of opera to the ambitious vocal writing of the concert repertoire. He specializes in the performance of Nordic vocal literature, with a focus on Icelandic repertory. Recent seasons have additionally witnessed him performing the lyric baritone roles of Mozart, Rossini, Puccini, and Britten while also participating in the creation of new works. The 2024-2025 season includes a return to Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall in Mozart Coronation Mass with the New York City Chamber Orchestra and Masterwork Festival Chorus presented by Manhattan Concert Productions.
Abigail Wright - Bolette Wangel- "the mellifluous mezzo-soprano Abigail Wright. . . has a rich and resonant instrument that retains its power all the way to the bottom of the register." Voce di Meche
http://www.abigailwright.com
Abby made her Carnegie Hall debut as Marghareta in The Song of Norway and appeared in both Carousel with Live from Lincoln Center and in several of the Metropolitan Opera's Live in HD series. In one of the highlights of her career thus far, she also collaborated with composer Mark Adamo to portray Meg in the Israeli premiere of his opera Little Women. Other roles include Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Nellie in South Pacific, Concepción in L'Heure Espagnole, Rosita in the puppet opera Don Cristóbal, Cheri in the film Wolfy's Journey, and the Mezzo Soprano in Conrad Susa's Transformations. Recently, she premiered the role of Chirstina Linde in Ray Luedeke's A Doll's House, sang in and recorded for the Center for Contemporary Opera's world premiere of Louis Karchin's opera Jane Eyre, and performed the role of Herself with Opera Collective in Milton Granger's The Proposal. Abigail is grateful beyond measure to be working with Opera Noire International in the role of Roanne Taylor in Mary D. Watkin's and Clare Coss's contemporary opera Emmett Till.The
Sejin Park - Arnholm - "Sejin Park portrayed a charming and intentional Prince Yamadori, with a formidable baritone voice that gave a unique perspective into this character."
- Palm Beach Daily News
http://www.baritonesejinpark.com
Sejin Park's accolades include winning the 1st prize at the 'Citta di Pesaro' competition and 1st prize at the 'Medici International Music Competition. Notable performances with City Lyric Opera in New York and engagements in Korea mark his versatile career.
In 2023, Park performed Schaunard in La Boheme with three different companies in Korea. In 2024, he took on the role of Ping in Turandot with the St. Petersburg Opera Company and reprised Schaunard in La Boheme with the Hawaii Opera Theater. Returning to the Santa Fe Opera for the 2024 season, Park performed as Baron Duphol in La Traviata.
John Des Marais - Hans Lyngstrand- tenor John Des Marais has performed in the New York City area as a soloist and ensemble singer with some of the area's finest vocal ensembles, Some of John's original music can be found at https://soundcloud.com/johnfdm.
including Musica Sacra, Bachworks, and the New York Virtuoso Singers, in venues that include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and 
the Brooklyn Academy of Music, under conductors including James Levine, Sir Charles Mackerras, and Robert Spano. Among the opera roles he has performed are Rinuccio in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Roméo in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette and Tamino in Mozart's The Magic Flute. As a recitalist, he has given performances of such works as Britten's Winter Words, Schumann's Dichterliebe, Fauré's La Bonne Chanson, and various Mélodies of Reynaldo Hahn and Henri Duparc. A soloist and cantor at Saint Patrick's Cathedral since 2001, he has sung solo roles in numerous concert performances including Franck's Les Sept Paroles du Christ sur la Croix, Schubert's Magnificat, and Mozart's Great Mass in C minor, and has served as cantor for numerous nationally and internationally televised Masses, including the Papal Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI at Yankee Stadium.
Brittany Hebel - Hilde Wangel- soprano, has received top awards from the American Opera Society in Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera National Council, and the Chicago Musicians Club of Women.
http://www.brittanyhebelaos.com/about.html
A seasoned recitalist, Ms. Hebel performed with baritone Richard Ollarsaba in the American Opera Society Spring Gala and held her Award Winners in Concert Series recital with Musicians Club of Women at the Chicago Cultural Center. Previously, as a Studio Artist with Sarasota Opera, she performed the role of the Countess of Aremberg in Verdi's Don Carlos and understudied the roles of Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Queen of Shemakhan in The Golden Cockerel, and Thibault in Don Carlos. She holds a Master of Music degree in vocal performance from DePaul University where her portrayals included the title roles in Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen and La Calisto by Cavalli, and Mimì in La Bohème.
With his amazingly high range, it was the voice of Victor Khodadad - The Stranger -, who played the role of Eisenstein, that probably amazed the audience the most. His melt-on-your-ears tenor voice was the kind you could listen to forever.
— Joleen Jansen, The Elkader Review
http://www.victorkhodadad.com/home.php
In February of 2004, playing the role of The Male Chorus in Benjamin Britten's "The Rape of Lucretia" at The Hartt School proved to be a turning point for Mr. Khodadad. This was the beginning of a string of performances including Testo in "Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda", Tamino in "The Magic Flute" conducted by the Met's Steven Crawford, Don Ottavio in "Don Giovanni" and his professional operatic debut singing the role of Lensky in "Eugene Onegin" at Opera Theater of Connecticut. Subsequent performances at Mississippi Opera, Connecticut Lyric Opera, Natchez Festival of Music and Amarillo Opera included Alfredo in "La Traviata" , Rodolfo in "La Bohème", Roméo in "Roméo et Juliette", Belmonte in "Die Entführung aus dem Serail", Count Almaviva in "Il barbiere di Siviglia" and Nanki-poo in "The Mikado"
Bert K. Johnson - Ballested- bass, has performed throughout the country with such opera companies as The Santa Fe Opera, Boston Opera, Greensboro Opera, and Painted Sky Opera, and many years on the stage at New York City Opera, https://www.bertkjohnsonbass.com
where he sang the roles of Figaro/Le Nozze di Figaro, Sarastro/Die Zauberflöte, Don Alfonso/Lucrezia Borgia, and many more. A prolific concert artist, Mr. Johnson has performed concert works on some of the finest stages. He has sung at Trinity Church Wall Street, NY, Marble Collegiate Church, NY, St. Ignatius Loyola, NY, and Carnegie Hall.
Noah Turner -pianist - recently has worked as Associate Music Director on the International Tour of The Sound of Music in Manila, the Music Assistant on Joy the Musical (with Music Supervisor Andy Einhorn), and Music Director/Conductor of the Jersey Boys 2nd National Tour
https://www.noahturnermusic.com/bio.html
He has served as an Associate/Assistant Music Director on NYU Steinhardt productions alongside Joshua Rosenblum, Ana Flavia Zuim, and Ted Sperling. He also Music Directed West 4th Stage Company's production of Darling, a contemporary musical by Ryan Scott Oliver.
Noah worked as a Music Director at the Forestburgh Playhouse for their 2021 season, working on Altar Boyz, The World Goes Round, and You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown. He also played keyboard on Forestburgh Playhouse's Diamond Anniversary Revue and Associate Music Directed Douglas Carter Beane's revival of Babes in Arms.
Emma Luyendijk - synthesizer - currently serves as Associate Music Director at The American Opera Project while maintaining an active performance schedule, and her teaching studio. Over the years, she has been privileged to work with some of the world's greatest musicians in the field: from Elly Ameling and Helmet Deutsch, to Kobie van Rensburg and Yo-Yo Ma
https://www.emmacollaborativepianist.com
In 2017 she served as Community Engagement Coordinator of The Boston Art Song Society, and has participated in the prestigious Franz-Schubert Institut for art song in Vienna.
Her collaborative piano work extends into other artistic fields, such as dance, where she's worked with the New York City Ballet, and dance-first workshops with Grammy award-winning conductor/soprano, Barbara Hannigan.
Ray Luedeke 
- composer - has an output that runs the gamut from entertaining theater pieces for children, through a long list of sophisticated solo and chamber music to colorful, carefully crafted pieces for orchestra.
Ray Luedeke’s music has been recognized by numerous grants and awards, among them prizes from the Manhattan Choral Ensemble, from the Percussive Arts Society, from the International Horn Society, and from Northwestern University. His Toronto Symphony contest winning orchestral Fanfare, opened Toronto’s Thomson Hall and his overture The North Wind’s Gift was performed throughout Europe in the 1991 tour of the Toronto Symphony. Six Canadian orchestras jointly commissioned Tales of the Netsilik for narrator and orchestra.
Recordings of his music include Shadow Music with the Louisville Orchestra, The Transparency of Time with pianist Andre LaPlante and the Winnipeg Symphony, The Moon in the Labyrinth with harpist Judy Loman and the Orford String Quartet, Brass Quintet with the New Mexico Brass Quintet, Circus Music with the Hannaford Street Silver Band, Ah, Matsushima! with violin/marimba duo Jacques and Michael Israelievitch, Fancies and Interludes VI with violinist Jacques Israelievitch and pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico, and Tango Dreams with world champion accordionist Alexander Sevastian. Quartetto Gelato has recorded Ray’s brilliant arrangement of Maurice Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin and has performed it worldwide. http://www.voiceafire.com/Bio_and_Works.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Luedeke
Voice Afire Opera-Cabaret:
In 2010 Ray left his position as Associate Principal Clarinet of the Toronto Symphony, held since 1981, and moved to New York City, 
where he continues to compose and is Director of Voice Afire Opera-Cabaret, a production company specializing in new ways of combining theater with live music. New York productions include A Doll's House, an opera on Ibsen's groundbreraking play, Butterfly’s Trouble, a re-invention for 7 performers of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly; The Art of Love for 2 pianos and actor; Kafka Shorts for string quartet and 2 actors; In Kharms Way, a evening-length music theater piece, also for string quartet and 2 actors; and My Life with Pablo Neruda, an opera-cabaret for 2 singers, 2 actors, and 4 instrumentalists.
http://www.voiceafire.com
