Elizabeth Cree

The Department of Voice & the University Philharmonia Orchestra

March 21, 2024 | 7:30 pm

Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre
Michigan League, 911 N University Ave
Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Reserved Seating $30/$24 | Students $13 with ID

Two figures stand in 19th century costume under a moonlit night - one holds a knife in hand.

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A one-act chamber opera based on Peter Ackroyd’s “downright exhilarating” (LA Times) novel, The Trial of Elizabeth Cree.

Set in London in the 1880s, this highly suspenseful and theatrical opera interweaves several narratives: the trial of the titular heroine for the poisoning of her husband; a series of brutal murders committed by a Jack the Ripper-style killer; the spirited world of an English music hall; and, finally, some “guest appearances” by luminaries from the Victorian Age. Elizabeth Cree is a work that combines the factual with the fictional and the historical with the imaginary.

Originally produced by Opera Philadelphia in September 2017

Composed by Kevin Puts
Libretto by Mark Campbell
Sung in English
Directed by Gregory Keller
Conducted by Kirk Severtson

FUN FACTS: Composer Kevin Puts and librettist Mark Campbell previously teamed up on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Silent Night.

For ages 17+. This opera contains depictions of murder and execution.

Watch a brief preview: