Responding to the murder of Eric Garner, this meditative and immersive work is a creative act of resistance. Centering the voice and plea of an activist / daughter / soprano, The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resistinterweaves music, text, visuals and movement, gathering us together as co-conspirers—to breathe and keep breathing any way we can.
Commissioned and produced byHopkins Center for the Arts
Co-commissioned by Stanford Live
Reverberating against the ongoing theft of Black breath by the police, the work was born from a collaboration between Enrico Riley '95, a painter and Dartmouth professor of Studio Arts, and Jonathan Berger, a composer and professor of Music at Stanford. The two engaged Vievee Francis, a poet and member of the Dartmouth English department, to craft the powerful libretto. As the project has evolved to include other artist-activists, pioneering theater artist Niegel Smith '02 joined as director.
Throughout its journey, the creative team has been inspired by the healing practices of survivor mothers who have lost their children to state-sanctioned violence. Guided by Dr. Shamell Bell and in concert with Eric Garner's mother, Gwen Carr, the work reflects the experiences and conversations held among the artists, these mothers, Dartmouth students and our local community affected by the crisis. This social impact work is the grounding for seven rituals, each rooted in one of the seven movements in the opera. These participatory rituals are shared with all of us co-conspirers—artists, activists, attendees—in the days leading up to the opera.
Jonathan Berger, composer
Enrico Riley, visual artist
Vievee Francis, librettist
Niegel Smith director
Kamna Gupta, conductor
Neema Bickersteth, soprano, co-choreographer
Trebien Pollard, dancer, co-choreographer
Dr. Shamell Bell, co-social impact director
Gwen Carr, co-social impact director
Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, consulting choreographer
Kim Whitener, creative producer
Featuring:
Neema Bickersteth, soprano
Greg Ward, saxophone
Fung Chern Hwei, violin
Titilayo Ayengade, cello
Mikael Darmanie, piano
Bonnie Anne Whiting, percussion
Trebien Pollard, dancer
Isaiah Robinson, lead chorister
Community Chorus
Designers:
Peter Nigrini, scenic & projection
Reza Behjat, lights
Espii Proctor, sound
Gabriel Berry, costumes
Stage Manager: Jason Kaiser
Production Manager: Brian Freeland
Generously supported by the Wetzel Family Fund for the Arts, the Virginia and James Giddens 1959 Fund, The MAP Fund which is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Barbara J. and Richard W. Couch Jr. '64 E'65, and by the National Endowment for the Arts.