Regarded as a quintessentially American opera, “The Tender Land” tells the beautiful coming of age story of Laurie Moss, on the cusp of her high school graduation. Over the course of three short acts, the opera explores the complicated and sometimes heartbreaking ideas of personal identity, love and familial obligation during the Great Depression in rural America. Will Laurie stay to continue her family’s legacy or will she risk everything by leaving to find her own place in the world?

Kent State Production Team:

Marla Berg, Director
Jay White, Music Director
Jungho Kim, Conductor
Marcus Dana, Set Design and Lighting

Cast:

Roles
-Laurie Moss, Marley Lieberman
-Ma Moss, Teagan Amey
-Beth Moss, Heather Morrison
-Top, Austin Piper
-Martin, Benjamin Hayes
-Mr. Jenks, Henry Hantak
-Mrs. Jenks, Kelly Harper
-Mrs. Splinters, Natalie Butchko
-Mr. Splinters, Xuyue Qing
-Grandpa Moss, Jason Howie

Ensemble
-Soprano: Lou Albertson, Anna Hylton, Chantrell Lewis, Marie Lineman
-Mezzo: McKayla Ferguson, Abigail Kraeer, Rachel Black
-Tenor: Ezra Keeton, Manuel Gomez
-Baritone: Andrew Vanke, Joshua Twitchell, Brandon Bell

Performed with the Kent State University Orchestra.

About “The Tender Land”

Aaron Copland, composer
Horace Everett (Erik Johns), libretto

Written between 1952 and 1954 for NBC Television Workshop, the opera was rejected by the TV studio. It was instead premiered by the New York City Opera on April 1, 1954, with subsequent performances at Tanglewood and Oberlin College. Its genesis was inspired by the Depression-era photos of Walker Evans and James Agee’s documentary style book “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.”

Tickets:

$15 adults
$13 seniors and Kent State University faculty and staff
$10 groups of 10 or more patrons
$8 non-Kent State students and Kent State students ineligible for the Fee for Free
FREE full-time Kent State undergraduate students and those under 18

www.kent.edu/music/buy-tickets | 330-672-2787 (ARTS)

Tickets can be purchased at the door starting one hour before the performance. Doors open approximately 30 minutes before the start of the performance.

Can’t attend in person? Catch the live webcast on our Live Streaming Channel at www.kent.edu/music/live-streaming.