Powder Her Face
- Spring 2020
- TBD
- Age Restriction: 16+
Powder Her Face is inspired by the real-life sex scandal that rocked Britain in the early 60s. Thomas Adès‘ 1995 chamber opera plays off the public’s obsession with the tabloid controversy surrounding a series of Polaroid photos of Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, dubbed the “Dirty Duchess.” Through the prism of Campbell’s life story, Powder Her Face explores the intersection of gender, politics, and power. Libretto by Philip Hensher.
CAST
LAUREN PEARL EBERWEIN, Duchess
LARA SECORD-HAID, Maid / Confidante / Waitress / Mistress / Rubbernecker / Society Journalist
TBA, Electrician / Lounge Lizard / Waiter / Priest / Rubbernecker / Delivery Boy
CLARENCE FRAZER, Hotel Manager / Duke / Laundryman / Other Guest / Judge
PRODUCTION
RUTH LAWRENCE, Director
DANA FRADKIN, Assistant Director
JUDITH YAN, Conductor
KEITH ROBERTS, Costume Designer
AMANDA KLEIN, Stage Manager
KATE STENSON, Production Manager
STÉPHANIE GOUIN, Rehearsal Pianist
Inclusion Statement
As an organization, we must now look at how we have operated in the past, how our values have evolved with our growing understanding of racial injustice, and how we can do our part in making the future – both within and outside of the arts – a better and safer place.
We must use our platform to tell new and relevant stories about and by those who have been historically underrepresented and excluded from the opera community.
We encourage artists and community members to please reach out and share ideas about how we can effectively create change in our organization and the performing arts sector. All voices are welcome on this journey to create a fully inclusive environment and demolish oppression in the arts.
Land Acknowledgement
We respectfully acknowledge the land on which we gather as the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk [bee-oth-uck], whose culture has now been erased forever. We also acknowledge the island of Ktaqmkuk [dah-gmm-gook] (Newfoundland) as the unceded, traditional territory of the Beothuk and the Mi’kmaq [mig-maw]. And we acknowledge Labrador as the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Innu [in-ew] of Nitassinan [ne-tass-eh-nen], the Inuit [in-yoo-eet] of Nunatsiavut [nu-nat-see-ah-vut], and the Inuit of NunatuKavut [nu-nah-tuhk-ah-vut]. We recognize all First Peoples who were here before us, those who live with us now, and the seven generations to come. As First Peoples have done since time immemorial, we strive to be responsible stewards of the land and to respect the cultures, ceremonies, and traditions of all who call it home. As we open our hearts and minds to the past, we commit ourselves to working in a spirit of truth and reconciliation to make a better future for all.
Opera on the Avalon is funded in part by The Government of Canada, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the City of St. John’s, Canada Council for the Arts, and the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council.