The Weight of Light

Chicago Opera Theater continues its 50th Anniversary season with the concert premiere of the fifth full-length opera produced through COT’s industry leading Vanguard Initiative. Composed by Vanguard Emerging Composer, Chicago based Gillian Rae Perry to a libretto by award-winning poet Marcus Amaker, The Weight Of Light, Perry’s first opera was developed over the course of her two years as a COT Vanguard composer and audiences will have the opportunity to see the culmination of this process at the concert premiere of The Weight of Light at the Epiphany Center for the Arts, 201 S Ashland Ave. on Saturday, April 27 at 7:30PM. One hour before the performance, at 6:30 PM, Vanguard Initiative Director Lidiya Yankovskaya will lead a conversation about the work with Perry and Amaker.

The Weight of Light tells the story of a mother (Dawn) and daughter (Emily) who share a magical familial ability – they can speak with objects. While Dawn views this ability as a source of shame that ought to be kept hidden, Emily embraces it as a gift. As Emily learns how to wield these powers, a rift opens between the generations. Mother and daughter together must come to terms with each other’s worldviews as they navigate their abilities and the responsibilities that come with them in a touching coming-of-age story. Conducted by Chicago-based Alexandra Enyart, the cast is made up of Chicago Opera Theater Young Artists soprano Hayley Fox as Emily, mezzo-soprano Michelle Mariposa as Dawn, tenor Karlos Piñero-Mercado as Trevor/Object 2, and baritone Louise Floyd as Object 3 with COT favorite mezzo-soprano Leah Dexter as Object 1.