An old aunt, her 9 nieces, 2 crooked doctors, vicious shrimp, & hundreds of (possibly) living dolls...
Based on the beloved magical-realist story by Rosario Ferré, La muñeca menor is a new Spanish-language opera about the measures an old doll maker must take to protect her youngest niece. Up against vicious chágaras (river prawns), a crafty doctor and his son, and less tangible forces threatening to swallow them, Aunt and Niece can only be saved through a radical act of horror and love.
The debut opera by composer and librettist Jason Brauer, La muñeca menor debuted in a concert workshop production on April 27-28, 2023, at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music. It is currently seeking a first staged production.
Roles
5 sopranos, 5 mezzo-sopranos, 3 tenors, 3 baritones
La Tía, mezzo-soprano – When a chágara's bite swells her leg to grotesque proportions, ruining her marriage prospects, the Aunt devotes her life to the care of her nieces, crafting for them hundreds of elaborate, life-size dolls. Oracle-like, a wellspring of love but full of bitterness from a wound that never healed.
La Sobrina Menor, soprano – The youngest of nine sisters and the last heiress of the sugarcane aristocracy, the Youngest Niece must watch her household crumble as the sugarcane business dwindles and each of her sisters are married off. The Aunt's favorite, playful and headstrong.
El Doctor Viejo, baritone – The rural doctor responsible for the Aunt's care who is unable to remove the chágara from her calf. Seemingly obsessed with fixing his error, he journeys to the cañaveral each month with increasingly painful and expensive treatments. At once oafish and menacing.
El Doctor Joven, tenor – The Old Doctor's son, who has just graduated from medical school in the U.S. When his father retires, he takes over caring for the Aunt and courts the Youngest Niece. Smooth-talking and proud on the surface, monstrous underneath.
Las Sobrinas Mejores / Las Chágaras, 4 sopranos, 4 mezzo-sopranos – The Youngest Niece's eight older sisters, who form the opera's chorus. They double as the Chágaras, the slithering manifestations of the Aunt's suffering that later become the source of her power.
Nestor, el Mayordomo, baritone – The kindly family butler, who often heads to town to buy thread and fabric for the Aunt's dolls.
Los Pacientes, TTB – Three patients at the Young Doctor's clinic in the city who pay exorbitant prices to get a glimpse of the Youngest Niece, Puerto Rico's last noble.
Instrumentation
Flute
Clarinet
Horn in F
Accordion
Celesta
3 Percussionists
Timpani, Vibraphone, Xylophone, Tubular Bells, Crotales (2 octaves), Snare Drum, Low Tom, Bass Drum, Sus. Cymbal, Crash Cymbal, Tam-Tam, Güiro, Sleigh Bells, Woodblock
String Quintet
Duration
1 hour 20 minutes, in two acts
(Note: part of Escena 8 involving Los Pacientes was cut for lack of rehearsal time in the workshop production, reducing its runtime.)
Setting
Place: An intricate, dollhouse-like cañaveral in the Puerto Rican countryside
Time: C. 1950, during the Operation Bootstrap and U.S. imperialism
Featured Excerpts
Creative team
Composer, librettist, and conductor Jason Brauer's operas, ballets, and film scores balance heartfelt melodicity with twisted grotesquery, confronting suffering but striving to find hope anyway. After premiering his Piano Concerto with the Anthracite Philharmonic at age 17, he earned his bachelor's in composition at Vanderbilt University, winning the orchestra competition for Variations on a Theme of Julia Perry and Best Performer Award, and is currently pursuing his master's at NYU. His first opera, La muñeca menor, premiered in a concert production at Vanderbilt University to great acclaim; he is currently hard at work on his second.
Jason Brauer, composer / librettist
Noah Mond (Stony Brook, NY), is a 22-year-old bass vocalist and current first-year master’s student at the Maryland Opera Studio at the University of Maryland. He received his Bachelor of Musical Arts in Voice Performance from Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music. His notable roles include the Vicar (Albert Herring) with the Maryland Opera Studio, Cadmus (Semele) at Vanderbilt University, Seneca (L’Incoronazione di Poppea) with the Trentino Music Festival, Marco (Gianni Schicchi) at the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory, and Masetto (Don Giovanni) at the Vienna Summer Music Festival. This summer he will be a Frank R. Brownell III Apprentice Artist at the Des Moines Metro Opera and will play Manifesto in Orgullo at the Public Theater in NYC soon after. He has won numerous awards, including the Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition DMV District, the Shirley Rabb Winston Vocal Scholarship, the Orpheus Vocal Competition Encouragement Award and 4th Place winner in the Neapolitan Masters Competition Promises category. Noah has worked on multiple world premiere operas and even made his operatic directorial debut with Jason Brauer’s La muñeca menor. His performance of Juliana Hall’s AHAB, a monodrama was deemed “Stellar singing and such wonderful dramatic portrayal of the character” by the composer herself.
Noah Mond, director / premiered role of Nestor
Sophia Heinz, premiered role of La Tía
Sophia Heinz is a mezzo-soprano from Maple Valley, Washington currently pursuing a Master of Music in Voice and Opera Performance at Northwestern University. Receiving her bachelor's degree cum laude from Vanderbilt University in Voice Performance and History, Heinz appeared there as June/Semele, Dorabella/Così fan tutte, Mum/Albert Herring, Armelinde/Pauline Viardot's Cendrillon, and premiered the leading role of Tía in Jason Brauer's new opera La muñeca menor. Heinz made her European debut performing the role of Marcellina/Le Nozze di Figarowith Prague Summer Nights at the historic Estates Theatre in Prague. With Northwestern Opera Theater, Heinz has appeared as Hänsel/Hänsel und Gretel, Der Trommler/Der Kaiser von Atlantis, and covered the role of Dorabella/Così fan tutte. Heinz has been recognized as a Concerto Competition Finalist with the Blair School of Music (Ravel's Shéhérazade), NATS Mid-South regional winner, NATS national semi-finalist, Orpheus Competition and national semi-finalist, and YoungArts national winner.
Ana Cristina Soto is a soprano pursuing her bachelor's degree in vocal performance at Vanderbilt University, Blair School of Music, with Dr. Tyler Nelson. A graduate of the Coro de Niños de San Juan, she sang the role of the Angel in El auto sacramental de los Reyes Magos with Teatro de la Ópera, Puerto Rico. Her recent appearances with Vanderbilt Opera Theatre include Amahl in Amahl and the Night Visitors and the titular role in Lucinda y las flores de la nochebuena. Recently, she appeared as La Sobrina Menor in the new opera La muñeca menor by composer Jason Brauer, inspired by the story by Rosario Ferré.
Ana Cristina Soto, premiered role of La Sobrina Menor
Cast
Sophia Heinz as La Tía
Ana Cristina Soto as La Sobrina Menor
Preston Rogers as El Doctor Viejo
Jack Yan as El Doctor Joven
Emma Flores, Kady Hillman, Marielle Leiboff, Diana Nalyvaiko, Grace O'Duffy, Ari Olaleye, Hailey Pfeiffer, and Mahi Patil as Las Sobrinas Mayores / Las Chágaras
Noah Mond as Nestor, el Mayordomo
Owen Purcell and Julius Tabery as Los Pacientes
Crew
Noah Mond, director
Tatum Earp, costume designer, props, producer, & stage manager
Ivy Han, lights, poster art, & producer
Grace O'Duffy, costume designer, program design, & assistant producer
Abrielle Scott, MJ Peterson, Eric Whitmer, and Noah Hudson-Camack, assistant costumers
Karson Baumgartner, supertitles & diction coach
Filmed and edited by Continuous Motion Productions
Orchestra
Holly Venkitaswaran, flute/piccolo
Desiree Hagg, clarinet
Ellie Repp, horn
Alexandra Holloway, percussion 1 (tubular bells, crotales, etc.)
Ethan Malcolm, percussion 2 (vibraphone, xylophone, etc.)
Bill Zhang, percussion 3 (timpani, bass drum, etc.)
Max Randal, accordion/celesta
Isabella Nichols, celesta
Sarah McGuire, violin I
Aaliya Ramakrishnan, violin II
Ellie Lim, viola
Griffin Seuter, cello
Sloan Jordan, double bass
Special Thanks
Profs. Michael Alec Rose, Stan Link, Michael Slayton, Molly Herron, and Jama Reagan for their inspiring mentorship, relentless encouragement, and cherished friendship
Dra. Rachel Chiguluri and Dr. Benigno Trigo, for their help revising the libretto, and for so generously sharing their love of Puerto Rican literature with me
Eric Whitmer, for supplying lights
Workshop Premiere Credits