Two-time Tony
Award–winning composer Jeanine Tesori’s new opera Grounded is
set to premiere in the Philippines through CCP The Met: LIVE in HD on March 4,
5:30 pm, exclusively at Glorietta 4 Cinema 1 in Makati City.
Grounded narrates the story of a woman who is a
successful F-16 combat pilot in the United States Air Force but has to leave
the military for a moment because of her unexpected pregnancy. When she
comes back, she is reassigned to being a Reaper drone operator in the Nevada
desert. As she adjusts to this new way of doing battle, she struggles
under the pressure to be the perfect soldier, the perfect wife, and the perfect
mother all at the same time.
A thrilling, fast-paced adaptation of an award-winning play by playwright
George Brant, who also wrote the libretto, the opera explores the psychological
toll of modern warfare, as well as the roles of women in the armed forces and
in society at large.
“The main part of
the opera deals with what that psychological toll is on this woman. I’ve seen
so many war stories, movies and books, and they’ve been told from male
perspective. To me, when you see that woman up there in her fight suit,
there is a jolt of newness and differentness,” shared George Brant, the
playwright and librettist of the opera, in the behind-the-scenes
interview.
Tesori, the most
prolific female composer in American theater history and one of the first two
women ever commissioned to compose an opera for the Met, described Grounded as
“a moral awakening. I think Grounded is about unseen
trauma, the psyche behind that.”
Commissioned
through the Metropolitan Opera-Lincoln Center Theater New Works Program, Grounded had
its world premiere at the Washington National Opera in 2023 and opened the
Met’s 2024-2025 season, with Tesori making history as the first woman
composer in the company’s 141-year legacy to open the season. This
milestone highlights the growing recognition of female composers in a
male-dominated industry.
Tesori is the force
behind the Tony Award–winning Best Musicals Kimberly Akimbo and Fun
Home. Grounded is her fourth opera, following most
recently Blue, which garnered the Music Critics Association Award
for Best New Opera.
Mezzo-soprano Emily
D’Angelo, one of most compelling young opera stars in this generation,
headlines in the tour-de-force role of the hot-shot woman fighter pilot.
“It’s just the most
amazing material, with the most amazing team of people. It’s a gorgeous
story. It is a meaningful human story about a person who, you know, seems
so real. So, to have the opportunity to play this character and to sing
music written by Jeanine Tesori, it’s impossible to turn down,” said D’Angelo
in an interview with The Met.
The Met music
director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, with assistant conductor Steven Osgood, takes
the podium and leads the powerful cast. Michael Mayer’s high-tech staging,
using a vast array of LED screens, presents a variety of perspectives on the
action, including the drone’s predatory view from high above.
The special
screening of Grounded is part of the tenth season of CCP The
Met: LIVE in HD, a remarkable program that brings the captivating world of
opera to Filipino audiences, offering them the unique opportunity to experience
world-class performances from The Metropolitan Opera. The program is
in partnership with the Metropolitan Opera of New York, The Filipinas
Opera Society Foundation, Inc. (FOSFI), and the Ayala Malls Cinemas.
Regular tickets for
the CCP The Met: LIVE in HD are priced at Php350. Students and young
professionals may avail of the special discounted price of Php100 upon
presenting a valid ID. For tickets, visit Glorietta 4 Cinema ticket booth
or book via www.sureseats.com.
For more
information on CCP The Met: LIVE in HD, visit the official CCP social media
accounts on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Visit the CCP
website (www.culturalcenter.gov.ph).
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