HOT Offstage returns with composer Matthew Peterson and librettist Emily Rollers’s Lifeboat, a one-act opera for three singers. Lifeboat was commissioned for Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative and premiered on January 16, 2017 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. HOT’s production will star Young Artists Program members Jordan Weatherston Pitts and Samuel Chiba, along with Orvis Opera Studio member Blythe Kelsey. The production will be directed by Jordan Cho and feature Maika’i Nash on piano.

Story

Three refugees are stranded in an inflatable lifeboat out in the open ocean; they are the sole survivors of a shipwreck. After three days, tensions erupt between the strangers, who each fled the same conflict for different reasons. As their pasts are revealed, cooperation – and survival – seem unlikely. Lifeboat explores and challenges the ideals of courage, social justice, and service; can these ideals overcome major divides between people of different backgrounds and experiences? Can we all live in the same boat?

Lifeboat will be accompanied by a selection of songs and arias with performances by members of the Orvis Opera Studio. Performances will take place on November 30 and December 1 at 8:00pm at The ARTS at Mark’s Garage. Pre-Sale Tickets are available online here at HOTOffstage.Eventbrite.com for $15. Tickets will be $20 at the door.

Timeline

• 7:30pm - Venue Doors and Bar Opens

• 8:00pm - Performance begins (will include brief intermission)

• 9:15pm - End