The Easter Festival of the Baden-Baden Festival Hall and the Berlin Philharmonic presents the world premiere of Victoria Bond's opera Clara in April 2019. Composed by Ms. Bond during her residencies at the Brahms House in Baden-Baden, Clara weaves the intertwining lives of Clara Wieck, Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms into a dramatic mixture of music and passion.
"Clara Schumann was a 19th century “Wonder Woman” who shattered the glass ceiling of her day. She has long been an inspiration to me," said Bond. "I am thrilled that Clara will be premiered in Baden-Baden, a place that figured so prominently in her life."
The fully staged production with orchestra is produced by the Festival Hall Baden-Baden and conducted by Berlin Philharmonic member Michael Hasel.
The performances are on April 14, 17, and 21, 2019 at the Theatre Baden-Baden, coinciding with the 200th anniversary of the year of Clara Schumann's birth. An additional eight performances of the work scored for chamber ensemble will be performed in May and June 2019 at the Theatre Baden-Baden and conducted by Clemens Jüngling. More information is at this link.
Also by Victoria Bond
Mrs. President, an opera about the first woman to run for president of the United States....in 1872
The Adventures of Gulliver, with libretto by Stephen Greco and design and direction by Doug Fitch
A major force in 21st century music, composer Victoria Bond is known for her melodic gift and dramatic flair. Her works for orchestra, chamber ensemble and opera have been lauded by The New York Times as "powerful, stylistically varied and technically demanding."
Victoria Bond's most recent CD, "Soul of a Nation: Portraits of Presidential Character", features soloists from the Chicago and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestras. Released on Albany Records in 2018, each of the four works include narration taken from the presidents' own words.
In addition to Clara and Mrs. President, highlights of Ms. Bond's catalogue include the operaThe Miracle of Light; ballets Equinox and Other Selves; orchestral works Thinking like a Mountain, Bridges and Urban Bird; and chamber works Dreams of Flying, Frescoes and Ashand Instruments of Revelation, among many others. Her compositions have been performed by the New York City Opera, Shanghai, Dallas and Houston Symphonies, members of the Chicago Symphony and New York Philharmonic, American Ballet Theater and the Cassatt and Audubon Quartets.
The New York Times praised Victoria Bond's conducting as "full of energy and fervor." She has served as principal guest conductor of Chamber Opera Chicago since 2005. Prior positions include Assistant Conductor of Pittsburgh Symphony and New York City Opera and Music Director of the Roanoke Symphony and Opera, Bel Canto Opera and Harrisburg Opera. Ms. Bond has guest conducted throughout the United States, Europe, South America and Asia. She is the first woman awarded a doctorate in orchestral conducting from the Juilliard School.
Ms. Bond is Artistic Director of Cutting Edge Concerts New Music Festival in New York, which she founded in 1998, and is a frequent lecturer at the Metropolitan Opera and has lectured for the New York Philharmonic. The Wall Street Journal, NBC's Today Show, The New York Times and other national publications have profiled Ms. Bond. For more information aboutVictoria Bond and her upcoming projects, visit VictoriaBond.com.