Umbra
an opera-theater work on the journey through grief’s inner mythic landscape
Creator/Composer: Elliot Menard
Director/Co-Creator: Héctor Alvarez
About
Umbra is an opera-theater work on the journey through grief’s inner mythic landscape.
Part autobiography, part myth, Umbra weaves my story, after the loss of my childhood best friend, with Orpheus', after emerging from the Underworld without Eurydice.
Instrumentation: five treble voices, cello, flute, and electronics. Libretto: original poetry (English) and adapted excerpts of Ovid’s Metamorphoses (Latin).
Production History
November 2023 Workshop concert for 5 voices with Open Gate Theatre
April 2024 30-minute WIP performance for mezzo, cello, flute, and electronics with Open Gate Theatre
March 2025 75-minute workshop production for full ensemble with Highways Performance Space
*For more info please email elliotmenard425@gmail.com and visit:*
Watch
November 2023 Workshop concert for 5 voices with Open Gate Theatre
April 2024 30-minute WIP performance for mezzo, cello, flute, and electronics with Open Gate Theatre
March 2025 75-minute workshop production for full ensemble with Highways Performance Space
*For more info please email elliotmenard425@gmail.com and visit:*
Watch
Press & Presenter Quotes
“Umbra was something rare: an opera that felt both mythic and urgent, personal and otherworldly…
[It] wasn’t just a promising work-in-progress. It was the birth of something electric.
The music lingered like smoke. The staging cut deep.
This is opera stripped of ornament, driven by instinct and imagination…
Keep your eyes on Umbra—this piece is only just beginning its journey.”
Highways Performance Space
“as far as low-budget opera productions go, it’s hard to imagine it getting much better than this.”
New Classic LA
[It] wasn’t just a promising work-in-progress. It was the birth of something electric.
The music lingered like smoke. The staging cut deep.
This is opera stripped of ornament, driven by instinct and imagination…
Keep your eyes on Umbra—this piece is only just beginning its journey.”
Highways Performance Space
“as far as low-budget opera productions go, it’s hard to imagine it getting much better than this.”
New Classic LA
Artists
Creator/Composer: Elliot Menard
Director/Co-Creator: Héctor Alvarez
Music Director: Daniel Newman-Lessler
Lighting Designer: Claire Chrzan
Costume Designer: Ashley Kae Snyder
Technical Director: Owen Reese
Associate Director: Rory James Leech
Ensemble:
Nelle J. Anderson
Isabel Springer
Carmen Edano
Shannon Delijani
Karolina Kwasniak
Livia Reiner
Orchestra:
Emma-rose Bauman (flute)
Marly Gonzalez (cello)
Drew Sensue-Weinstein (electronics)
Daniel Newman-Lessler (piano)
Documentation:
Angel Origgi (photos)
Eli Klausner (video)
Angel Origgi (photos)
Eli Klausner (video)