© 2024 Tri-Cities Opera
Menu
The Falling and the Rising centers around a strong female hero known only as “Soldier.” After sending a video message home on the eve of her daughter’s thirteenth birthday, our soldier is severely wounded by a roadside IED. We follow as she makes her way through a miraculous coma-induced dreamscape—one punctuated with the lives of other fellow service members, each on their journey toward healing and home. Based on real-life interviews with wounded soldiers, this operatic soldier’s odyssey was created in hopes of capturing the indomitable spirit of our U.S. military veterans. By shedding light on the inspirational power of their often overlooked stories, we hope to knit the civilian and Veteran/Military populations together through this story of family, service, sacrifice, and hope.
The Falling and the Rising is made possible through generous support from The Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation, Broome County Veterans Services, The National Endowment for the Arts, The New York State Council on the Arts, The United Cultural Fund of the Broome County Arts Council, The Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation, and The Community Foundation for South Central New York.
Special thanks to our Media Sponsor WBNG, and to the Veteran’s Coalition (VetCenter, Clear Path for Veterans, Southern Tier Veterans Support Group, and Broome County Veteran Services) for their tireless work on behalf of Veterans in our community and their assistance in making sure this project can reach as many Veterans as possible.
Approximately 90 minutes.
Performed in English.
WSKG: November 11, 2021 8:00 PM
TV and Streaming
WCNY: November 11, 2021 9:00 PM
TV, Radio, Streaming
This production was filmed live in Binghamton, NY, at the Broome County Forum Theatre on September 13, 15, & 16, 2021.
Doctor #1/Soldier (Cover) SFC Michaela Shelton
Doctor #2 SFC Betsy Garcia
Doctor #3/Toledo (Cover) MSG Rose Ryon
Doctor #4 SFC Ben Hilgert
Doctor #5 Christian Teague
Doctor #6 SSG Keenan McCarter
Doctor #7 SFC Ian Bowling
Jumper (Cover)/Homecoming Soldier (Cover) SSG Joey Mazzara
COL Dennis Thompson, US Army
SGT Ronald Clupper, US Air Force
Producer/NCOIC SFC Ben Hilgert
Asst. Producer SFC Tim Coombs
Operations MSG Tyler Shultz
Backup Conductor LTC Robinson
Backup to the Backup SSG Lucy McVeigh
Veterans Chorus Coordinator SFC Tim Coombs
Stage Manager Patricia Garvey
Assistant Stage Manager SFC Sergio Acosta
Projections Designer/Operator James Lanius
Tech Director SSG Madeline Brumback
Setup Leader SSG Will Tvrdik
Production Manager Nathan Elsener
IATSE Crew Chief William Carroll
Master Electrician Daniel Sonnen
Veteran Chorus Master Ü Lee
ORCHESTRA
Flute/Piccolo/Alto Flute MSG Katy Hodjati
Oboe/English Horn SSG Amy Houck
Clarinet SSG Mikey Arbulu
Clarinet SSG Dane Clark
Clarinet SSG Jason Russo
French Horn SSG Jennifer Kempe
Percussion SFC Andy Emerich
Percussion SSG Mitch Gribbroek
Double Bass SFC Joel Ciaccio
Harp SSG Grace Bauson
Guitar SSG Mike Gillespie
Piano SSG Kelvin Ying
Raymond W. Braunscheidel
Timothy Burford, E-4
Joseph Cerwonka, Sergeant
Dominic Cipolla, Sergeant 1st Class
John Czuhanich, Corporal
Albert Henry Daw, Staff Sergeant
Albert Eaton, Jr., Lieutenant Commander
Albert Eaton, Sr., Technical Sergeant
John Leroy Englert, 1st Lieutenant
Charles Fish, Sergeant Lieutenant 1st Class
Chufi Giaffo, Corporal
Jean Graham, Airmen 1st Class
Edward Griffith, Sergeant E-5
Alexander Hart, Major
Peyton Hibbitt
Maurice How, PFC
William Kessinger, PFC
George ‘Geo’ Krauss, Corporal
Jeff Largue, Spc4
Charles Largue, Staff Sergeant
Fred Leise, PFC
Pasquale Luciani, A1C
Benjamin Margolius, Colonel
Terry McLain, NG
Matt Murphy, 1st Sergeant
Edward O’Loughlin, Gunners Mate 3rd Class
Lawrence Peters, Sergeant
Clifford Post, Corporal
William Prigger, Navy Chaplain
William Quick, Sergeant
Margaret Quick, Tech 5
Stu Reynolds, Sergeant
Jim Riley, Lieutenant Commander
David Rupright, Warrant Officer (W4)
Carmen Savoca
Derwood Joseph Shiplett, Quartermaster 3rd Class
Connie Studgeon, PFC
William Stuempfle
Floyd James ‘Jim’ Thompson, Colonel
Dennis Thompson, Colonel
Cara Tilton, Sergeant
Patrick Ulmen, Sr., END3
Ernest Vaught Corporal
Cynthia, Sergeant
December 5, 2021
315 Clinton Street
Binghamton, New York 13905
Phone: (607) 729-3444
Box Office: (607) 772-0400
We recognize the indigenous peoples whose land Tri-Cities Opera’s facilities were built on. This land has been sustainably stewarded throughout generations by Haudenosaunee and Algonkian speaking peoples. We honor and respect the enduring relationship that exists between these peoples and nations and this land.
Tri-Cities Opera is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Productions are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. General Operating Support is provided to Tri-Cities Opera by grants from the Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation, the United Cultural Fund of the Broome County Arts Council, and the Community Foundation for South Central New York.
Colonel Jim R. Keene became the Commander of The United States Army Field Band in January 2015. Prior to this assignment, he served as Commander of the United States Military Academy Band at West Point, New York; Commandant of the Army School of Music at Norfolk, Virginia; and at The United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” in Washington, DC, the U.S. Army Europe Band and Chorus in Heidelberg, Germany, and the Army Ground Forces Band in Atlanta, Georgia.
Jerre Dye is a Chicago-based playwright, opera librettist, director and actor. He is the recipient of the Bryan Family Foundation Award for Drama from the Fellowship of Southern Writers. His plays include Distance, Cicada, Short/Stories, Threads, The New Adventures of Hansel and Gretel, Wild Swans, Sid and the Magic Box and an adaptation of Stravinsky’s A Soldier’s Tale with IRIS Orchestra. His opera librettos include: Ghosts of Crosstown of Opera Memphis (featured at the OPERA America’s annual conference as part of the new works sampler in 2014 and 2015); Parksville Horror, a filmed, episodic, virtual reality opera for Opera on Tap in New York City; The Falling and Rising for the U.S. Army band and chorus; Chautauqua Stories for Chautauqua Opera, By/In for Opera Memphis; Taking Up Serpents for Washington National Opera; and upcoming commissions for both Opera Philadelphia and the Napa Valley Arts festival.
Zach Redler is an award winning music theater composer whose work has been performed in concert halls, opera houses, and theaters around the world. Some of his favorite works are: The Memory Show, Loving Leo, Windows, A Song for Susan Smith, ADAM, Movin’ Up in the World, and The Falling and the Rising. Zach is currently working on a one-woman theater piece for Tanya Bird Torres, a chamber opera for Houston Grand Opera, and a new piece with Jerre Dye for the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife.
2020/21 Season at TCO: Adina in The Elixir of Love; Francine in Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers; Semi-Finalist in TCO Next: A Virtual Vocal Competition; Miranda (stand-in) in Miranda: A Steampunk VR Experience; Cocoa & Carols
Hometown: Coppell, TX
Recently: Soprano soloist, Messiah (Pennsbury Community Chorus); Soloist, Historic St. George’s UMC Christmas Concert; Chorus member, The Love of Three Oranges (Opera Philadelphia)
2020/21 Season at TCO: Belcore in The Elixir of Love
Hometown: Owings, MD
Recently: Peter, Hansel and Gretel (Binghamton University); Nardo, La finta giardiniera (Binghamton University); Figaro, Le nozze di Figaro (Mansfield University); Papageno, Die Zauberflöte (Mansfield University)
2020/21 Season at TCO: Dr. Dulcamara in Opera and Beer! The Elixir of Love (2021)
Hometown: Binghamton, NY
TCO Debut: Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2015)
Recently: Gertrude, Hänsel und Gretel (Cape Town Opera)*; Marquise de Birkenfeld, The Daughter of the Regiment (Opera Orlando)*; Marcellina, Le nozze di Figaro (Hawaii Opera Theatre); The Mother, The Consul (Baltimore Concert Opera)
*cancelled or postponed due to COVID-19
Upcoming: Ruth, The Pirates of Penzance (Anchorage Opera); Madame Larina, Eugene Onegin (Opera Omaha)