NO MAN’S LAND
DISCOUNT CODE:
SEEQUATTROCKI
NO MAN’S LAND reunites composer/conductor WHITNEY GEORGE and stage director ATTILIO RIGOTTI for the first time since 2022, when the Curiosity Cabinet’s critically acclaimed Jazz Age operetta Fizz & Ginger premiered to sold-out crowds in the East Village at the New York Comedy Club.
NOW, supported by the composer’s Discovery Grant from Opera America, GEORGE returns to the podium to conduct the Curiosity Cabinet orchestral ensemble in the Brooklyn-based contemporary-music collective’s newest work: an original opera scored by GEORGE and set in the Dust Bowl in 1930s Oklahoma.
NO MAN'S LAND tells the story of a Faustian bargain made by a young farm girl (Mezzo KAYLA RODRIGUEZ PÉREZ) during the Great Depression in Oklahoma’s panhandle. The two-act opera explores themes of desperation and resilience, set to song in high relief against the most devastating man-made climate disaster in American history.
GEORGE’s composition is characteristically innovative, deftly weaving popular and historic elements into a contemporary and immersive soundscape with genre-bending features, and highlights Cabinet’s principal violinist ADAM VON HOUSEN. The violin takes life as a character in itself, conjuring the Devil (Tenor SHANE BROWN), who incarnates as a salesman for malevolent ends.
NO MAN’S LAND is supported by generous grants from NYSCA, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Opera America’s Composer’s Discovery Award.
NO MAN'S LAND
June 2025 | Irondale
a creation of THE CURIOSITY CABINET
@cabinetensemble
CAST:
KAYLA RODRIGUEZ PÉREZ | TILLY | @kaylaperezmusic
SHANE BROWN | THE DEVIL & POSTER DESIGN | @fifty_shanes_of_grey
KEVIN ARRATIA-DIAZ | SANTI | @kevinarratiadiaz
SARAH GOLDRAINER | SISSY | @glitterandbegold_rainer
ERIN SCHWAB | MA | @erinschwabsoprano
BENJAMIN HOWARD | PA | @benhowardbari
MAKAYLA MCDONALD | LORAINE JONES | @makaylammcdonald
ANGELA BORN | MISS BESSIE | @angela_nicole_born
AARON PIERCE | DR. CHAMBERLIN | @singaaronpierce
SHAFIQ HICKS | EARL JONES |@thereal_shafiq
TOWNSPEOPLE OF NO MAN'S LAND:
SARA LAFLAMME | SOPRANO | @saratheflame
SARAH GELLERMAN | SOPRANO | @sarahgellerman
ALIVIA QUATTROCKI | MEZZO | @aliviaxquattrocki
STEPHANIE LEOTSAKOS | MEZZO | @stephanieleotsakos
THOMAS WALTERS | TENOR | @thetenorwalters
SAM STRICKLAND | TENOR | @tispytenor
VLADIMIR AVETISIAN | BARITONE | @avevladimirus
ENSEMBLE:
ALICE JONES | FLUTES | @alice.h.jones
MARA MAYER | CLARINETS | @basicbcl
COLIN BABCOCK | TROMBONE | @babone64
ADAM VON HOUSEN | VIOLIN | @adamvh89
CHRISTIE ECHOLS | DOUBLE BASS | @queen_bassist
CHRIS GRAHAM | PERCUSSION | @cgrahampercussion
ANDREA CHRISTIE | PIANO | @andreachristiepiano
ANNA HEFLIN | ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR | @annaheflin
PRODUCTION:
ATTILIO RIGOTTI | CO-DIRECTOR | @solitariea
SIERRA | PROJECTION & LIGHTING | @sierra.shreves
KENT SPRAGUE | LIGHTING ASSIST | @source4man
DUSTIN HOLTON | LIVE VIDEOGRAPHY | @dustin_holton
SEAN SONNENBURG | LIVE VIDEOGRAPHY ASSIST | @sean_sonnenburg
E SCOTT LINDNER | AUDIO ENGINEER | @escottlindner
CAIO CARVALHO | AUDIO ENGINEER ASSIST | @caiwo_music
KAT ROMAN | ART & SCENIC DESIGN | @kat_laughsalot
LUTHER FRANK | SCENOGRAPHER | @lutherlights
LYDIA FORSYTHE | STAGE MANAGER | @lydia_forsythe
BRIAN LONG | PHOTOGRAPHY | @brianelong