Stage Works
Everlasting Faint
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Synopsis
In 1897, Elva Heaster Shue was murdered by her husband Trout in Greenbrier, WV. The coroner dismissed her death as natural causes (“everlasting faint,” a dismissive diagnosis for women’s unexplained deaths in those times). But after her mother Mary starts receiving nightly visits from Elva’s ghost, along with other ghosts from Trout’s past, she pushes to bring Trout to trial and to justice, fighting alongside those ghosts, through layers of bias in cases involving crimes against women.
Recording Link: Everlasting Faint Performance Reading
Press: Isthmus Article
An Opera in 2 Acts
124 Minutes in Length
Music by Scott Gendel
A Commission for the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Premier Reading December 9th, 2023 at 3:00PM
Collins Recital Hall Tickets
In 1897, Elva Heaster Shue was murdered by her husband Trout in Greenbrier, WV. The coroner dismissed her death as natural causes (“everlasting faint,” a dismissive diagnosis for women’s unexplained deaths in those times). But after her mother Mary starts receiving nightly visits from Elva’s ghost, along with other ghosts from Trout’s past, she pushes to bring Trout to trial and to justice, fighting alongside those ghosts, through layers of bias in cases involving crimes against women.
Recording Link: Everlasting Faint Performance Reading
Press: Isthmus Article
An Opera in 2 Acts
124 Minutes in Length
Music by Scott Gendel
A Commission for the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Premier Reading December 9th, 2023 at 3:00PM
Collins Recital Hall Tickets
La Alcaldesa
Synopsis
Felisa Rincón de Gautier was San Juan, Puerto Rico's first female mayor. Known for her motherly affection, she served the city for 22 years. In La Alcaldesa, we show her imagined emotional journey to leadership, as a woman in a male-dominated society. This is an opera in progress in English & Spanish.
Recording Link: La Alcaldesa Excerpts
Press: Opera America
An Opera in 2 Acts (Act two is in progress)
Music by Laura Jobin-Acosta
A Commission for the Opera America IDEA Residency
Premiere Workshop at Opera America on May 7th, 2022
Felisa Rincón de Gautier was San Juan, Puerto Rico's first female mayor. Known for her motherly affection, she served the city for 22 years. In La Alcaldesa, we show her imagined emotional journey to leadership, as a woman in a male-dominated society. This is an opera in progress in English & Spanish.
Recording Link: La Alcaldesa Excerpts
Press: Opera America
An Opera in 2 Acts (Act two is in progress)
Music by Laura Jobin-Acosta
A Commission for the Opera America IDEA Residency
Premiere Workshop at Opera America on May 7th, 2022
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The Fallen Crown
A one act children's opera about the animal and plant life in the Sonoran Desert. Funded by a Research and Development Grant through the Arizona Commission on the Arts. (In Progress)
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The Trembling Tiber
Synopsis
Written in collaboration with Dr. Neal Hall, this lyric drama showcases a 21st-century black poet in Rome, drawing parallels between Roman sociopolitical injustices and contemporary socio political-economic oppression of marginalized groups in America. The black poet's words inspire a revolution against the ruling elite, challenging their grip on power, all within the backdrop of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
A Lyric Drama in 3 Acts (In Progress)
Based on the book The Trembling Tiber
By Author and Poet, Dr. Neal Hall
Written in collaboration with Dr. Neal Hall, this lyric drama showcases a 21st-century black poet in Rome, drawing parallels between Roman sociopolitical injustices and contemporary socio political-economic oppression of marginalized groups in America. The black poet's words inspire a revolution against the ruling elite, challenging their grip on power, all within the backdrop of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
A Lyric Drama in 3 Acts (In Progress)
Based on the book The Trembling Tiber
By Author and Poet, Dr. Neal Hall
COVID Bake-Off
Synopsis
Lilly, an up-and-coming celebrity baker, has been invited to go toe to toe with her nemesis Bobby V. in a baking competition. Her reputation, her business and a large cash prize are on the line. It's the day before the competition and Lilly has had no taste or smell because of COVID.
Recording Link: Performance
Press: Old First Concert Series
Comedic Opera in 1 Act
20 Minutes in Length
Music by Monica Chew
Premier October 7th, 2022
Lilly, an up-and-coming celebrity baker, has been invited to go toe to toe with her nemesis Bobby V. in a baking competition. Her reputation, her business and a large cash prize are on the line. It's the day before the competition and Lilly has had no taste or smell because of COVID.
Recording Link: Performance
Press: Old First Concert Series
Comedic Opera in 1 Act
20 Minutes in Length
Music by Monica Chew
Premier October 7th, 2022
La Vista
Synopsis
Based in Southern California during the boom years of the 1880's, Pascualita suffers from sleep paralysis, a condition where she awakens at night and is unable to speak or move. Owen is a sleepwalker and suffers from night terrors. The two are psychically connected and communicate in their impaired states, each thinking that they are being haunted by the other. Their inevitable meeting will reveal the truth about their reality.
Opera Novela in 3 Acts (Composition in Progress)
Music by Scott Gendel
Based in Southern California during the boom years of the 1880's, Pascualita suffers from sleep paralysis, a condition where she awakens at night and is unable to speak or move. Owen is a sleepwalker and suffers from night terrors. The two are psychically connected and communicate in their impaired states, each thinking that they are being haunted by the other. Their inevitable meeting will reveal the truth about their reality.
Opera Novela in 3 Acts (Composition in Progress)
Music by Scott Gendel
The Beneficiary
Synopsis
Ellis is on the phone with her girlfriend Akeema, discussing the success of her mother’s recent visit. She has been estranged from her mother since coming out to her. The next call she receives is from her sister, Nora, with some unexpected news.
Opera in 1 Act
10 Minutes in Length
Music by Charles Zoll
Ellis is on the phone with her girlfriend Akeema, discussing the success of her mother’s recent visit. She has been estranged from her mother since coming out to her. The next call she receives is from her sister, Nora, with some unexpected news.
Opera in 1 Act
10 Minutes in Length
Music by Charles Zoll
Cantata for the Asylum Seeker
Synopsis
In a declamatory style that is fitting of a cantata and the nightly news, a newscaster (tenor soloist) proclaims the ongoing issues of the migrant crisis. The recitative for each movement conveys a step in the process for migration to America under the asylum system. These are paired with choruses and solos, vignettes of the people who are making the journey to seek safety in America.
1 Hour in Length
In a declamatory style that is fitting of a cantata and the nightly news, a newscaster (tenor soloist) proclaims the ongoing issues of the migrant crisis. The recitative for each movement conveys a step in the process for migration to America under the asylum system. These are paired with choruses and solos, vignettes of the people who are making the journey to seek safety in America.
1 Hour in Length
Poetry for Art Song
Come Again: Poems Based on Recurring Dreams
Come Again: Poems Based on Recurring Dreams is a new set of poems intended to be set as a song cycle for singer and piano. Each poem in the cycle is based on actual recurring dreams and examines the unusual nature of this phenomenon.
Cycle of 8 poems
Cycle of 8 poems
Speak, But Don't Speak: Diminished Women
The concept for this A Capella piece is based on the times that we have felt discounted as women, whether it be emotionally, mentally, or physically. The prologue sets up the idea of the value of asserting our views, but only if we are being listened to. The refrain throughout the piece reminds us we are often encouraged to speak out, but easily silenced. The epilogue concludes that these attempts to silence us don’t go unnoticed.
7 Minutes in Length
Premiere 3/4/2021
Written in collaboration with the Arizona Women's Collaborative.
7 Minutes in Length
Premiere 3/4/2021
Written in collaboration with the Arizona Women's Collaborative.
Stories
"Timely and impassioned. Gripping. Art that takes a stand against oppression." - Opera America
"Promising, gifted, worth our attention." - Opera America
News
Sandra was awarded a Research and Development Grant through the Arizona Commission on the Arts. She will be using the funds to write a children's opera about the Sonoran Desert. azarts.gov/news/30-arizona-artists-awarded-research-development-grants/
Collaborations
Sandra is currently collaborating with composer Laura Jobin-Acosta, a recipient of the Opera America IDEA Residency, for an opera about Doña Felisa Rincón de Gautier, Puerto Rico's first female mayor. This piece that will have its premiere workshop at Opera America on May 7th, 2022. For more information, visit our website.