EARTH TO KENZIE
music by Frances Pollock
libretto by Jessica Murphy Moo
Lyric Unlimited | Lyric Opera of Chicago
WORLD PREMIERE
set | Jeffrey D. Kmiec
costumes | Mieka Van Der Ploeg
props | Maria DeFabo Akin
photos: Michael Brosilow
Co-Commissioned by the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Seattle Opera, Earth To Kenzie toured schools and community spaces in Chicago for two months, reaching 33,000 students through the Opera in the Neighborhoods program.
“Contemporary stories are having a welcome moment at Lyric Opera….Geared to kids ages seven to 12, Earth to Kenzie is the story of a fifth-grader facing the loss of her home to a developer who's going to build ‘a shiny high-rise’ in its place….
A cast of four fine singer-actors deftly handle the opera's multiple roles. Soprano Kateri Gormley is Kenzie; mezzo-soprano Emma Ritter is her stressed-but-loving mom as well as a dream-sequence classmate; mezzo-soprano Christina Pecce is the always-ready [video game] avatar and a real-life friend; and bass-baritone Keanon Kyles is teacher, taxi driver, and the big [space] cat. Accompanied by pianist Yasuko Oura and directed by Jess McLeod, they’re all terrific.” -Chicago Reader
