Ithaca College Theatre begins its spring 2022 semester with the world premiere of “We Wear the Sea Like a Coat,” with music by Sally Lamb McCune and a libretto by Yvonne Gray and Rachel Lampert. Co-produced with Opera Ithaca and the Ithaca College School of Music, “We Wear the Sea Like a Coat” will be presented in the Hoerner Theatre. Performances run select dates between March 1, 2022, and March 6, 2022.
On March 1, March 3, and March 5, the roles of Sara and Rowan will be performed by professional singers from Opera Ithaca. On March 4, and March 6, the roles of Sara and Rowen will be performed by singers from Ithaca College School of Music.
“We Wear the Sea Like a Coat” marks award winning composer and valued member of Ithaca College’s music faculty Sally McCune’s first opera. This collaboration between noted playwright and Kitchen Theatre artistic director Emerita Rachel Lampert and Orcadian poet Yvonne Gray has been in the works since 2019.
This premiere opera tells the contemporary story of an American couple living on an island in Orkney, Scotland for a year. Sara, an oceanographer, is on an environmental assignment. Jonathan, a writer, is newly unemployed. As outsiders, they find themselves at the center of conflict between conservation and exploitation. In a radically changing world, they face their own existential questions about building a family. As truths unfold, Sara is forced to come to terms with what matters most. “We Wear the Sea Like a Coat” is directed by Ben Robinson and conducted by Christopher Zemliauskas. The cast includes Elena Galvàn, Dann Coakwell, Steven Stull, Mariya Kaganskaya, and Brad Bickhardt.