Saturday, November 02, 2019
The Falling and The Rising
07:30 PM - 09:30 PM
St Mary's Episcopal Church: The Mary Wilson House-Beyer Auditorium at 306 S Prospect Ave at Crescent Ave
Park Ridge, IL , 60068
847-553-4442
The Falling and The Rising is a world-premiere project staged by Park Ridge-based Petite Opera Productions. Conceived by Sgt. Ben Hilgert, the opera is based upon interviews with military patients at Walter Reed Hospital. It features a libretto by playwright Jerre Dye and composer Zach Redler.
Saturdays, November 2, 9, 16, 23 at 7:30 PM
Sundays, November 3, 10, 17, 24 at 2:30 PM
The Falling and The Rising is an exciting new American opera that salutes the service and sacrifice of military service men and women. Created in hopes of capturing the indomitable spirit of our U.S. military veterans and to shed light on the inspirational power of their often overlooked stories.
The Falling and The Rising is a story of family, service, and sacrificed inside a period of great uncertainty. The opera 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. Doctors quickly place her in a medically-induced coma to help minimize the extensive trauma to her brain.
We follow as she makes her way through a miraculous coma-induced dreamscape punctuated with the lives of other fellow service members, each on their own individual journey toward healing and home. Together, they must move toward clarity, comfort, consciousness, and communal hope during a time of adversity.
The opera’s mission to to connect civilians and military through untold soldiers stories—to raise awareness of emotional trauma experienced by those who serve and protect us, and to start the healing process for veterans and active-duty military by sharing the stories they are often unable to share.
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