Opera Ithaca is proud to co-present the world premiere of Lucidity, by composer Laura Kaminsky and librettist David Cote. This cutting-edge new opera explores the mind of a woman experiencing dementia and the effects of her cognitive decline on those around her. The opera sweeps the audience with its compellingly human take on music, memory, and finding joy in life. Laura Kaminsky, whose previous opera, As One, made her the most-performed contemporary opera composer in the United States, is a landmark artist who has delivered a piece that is thrillingly befitting of Opera Ithaca’s tenth anniversary season.
CAST & CREATIVE TEAM
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Lucy Shelton as Lili
Dawn Pierce as Dr. Klugman
Geoffrey Peterson as Dante
Celeste Morales as Sonny
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Olivia Gacka, Director
Mila Henry, Conductor
​This project, the fourth world premiere in our company’s decade of existence, is part of a consortium commission between On Site Opera, Seattle Opera, Portland Opera, Tri-Cities Opera, and Opera in the Heights. Opera Ithaca is continuing its trajectory as the only professional company in North America to have presented a work penned by a woman on every season since its founding. Our company’s focus on gender equity in composition has put us in the national conversation about the future of opera as an art form.
Opera Ithaca will partner with the Cornell University student group Alzheimer’s Buddies, faculty mentor Nozomi Nishimura, and students and faculty from the Gerontology Institute at Ithaca College to identify community members affected by dementia who can attend the performance. These students and faculty mentors will also participate in post-performance panels with the artists involved in the production.