Contact: Erika Beach, Director of Marketing Pensacola Phone: 850-433-6737 Fax: 850-433-1082 Email: [email protected] Website: www.pensacolaopera.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MARCH 2, 2016

PENSACOLA OPERA PRESENTS ’S OUT OF DARKNESS March 31, April 1 and 2 at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, April 3 at 2:00 p.m. At the Pensacola Opera Center | $35 March 31; $25 April 1-3

Pensacola, FL – Pensacola Opera is pleased to present Jake Heggie’s Out of Darkness, an opera in three parts in remembrance of the Holocaust, Thursday, March 31 through Saturday, April 2 at 7:30pm and Sunday, April 3 at 2:00 p.m. at the Pensacola Opera Center. Tickets are $35 for opening night (includes reception) and $25 for the remaining performances. Tickets can be purchased by calling (850) 433-6737 or ordering online at pensacolaopera.com.

In Out of Darkness, composer Jake Heggie and Librettist convey the vastness of the Holocaust’s scope through emotionally rich portraits of those caught in its grasp. The three powerfully raw works that comprise Out of Darkness are based upon the recollections and poetry of Auschwitz survivor Krystyna Zywulska, offering compelling musical witness to survival in the face of unimaginable adversity.

Another Sunrise tells the amazing story of Krystyna Zywulska who, after being captured as a member of the Polish resistance, created poems and songs that circulated secretly and became anthems of defiance among her fellow prisoners.

Farewell, Auschwitz adapts Krystyna’s lyrics, with their exhortations to preserve a sense of humanity in a place defined by inhuman behavior.

For a Look or a Touch illuminates Nazi persecution of homosexuals, informing historical realities through an intensely intimate story of memory and loss.

This production will be directed by Dugg McDonough with Xavier Suarez as pianist. Casting features Pensacola Opera’s 2016 Artists in Residence: Allison Nicholas as Krystyna, Amanda Fink as Zosha, Thaddeus Ennen as Manfred Lewin, and Nicholas DeMeo as Gad Beck. Jake Heggie Bio: Jake Heggie is the composer of the , Moby-Dick, , , Out of Darkness, and the choral opera, The Radio Hour, among others. He has also composed more than 250 songs, as well as chamber, choral and orchestral works. The operas – most created with writers Terrence McNally and Gene Scheer – have been produced on five continents. Moby-Dick (Scheer) was telecast throughout the United States as part of Great Performances’ 40th Season and released on DVD (EuroArts). Dead Man Walking (McNally) has received nearly 50 international productions and has been recorded twice. A Guggenheim Fellow, Heggie has served as a mentor for the Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative and is a frequent guest artist at universities, conservatories and festivals throughout the USA and Canada. The composer was recently awarded the Eddie Medora King prize from the UT Austin Butler School of Music. Upcoming is the world premiere of Heggie’s sixth full-length opera, It’s A Wonderful Life (Scheer), for the Houston Grand Opera, conducted by Patrick Summers and directed by .

-###-

The mission of Pensacola Opera is to enrich the culture of Northwest Florida by producing professional opera performances, educational programs and other opera-related community events for people of all ages, interests and backgrounds.

Pensacola Opera | 75 S. Tarragona St, Pensacola, FL 32502 | (850) 433-6737 | www.pensacolaopera.com