First Lesbian Opera 'Patience & Sarah' Returns to New York City

After a sold-out run at the 1998 Lincoln Center Festival, the opera "Patience & Sarah" returns to New York as a staged concert performance coinciding with NYC's Pride Week for two nights only: Thursday, June 23rd and Friday, June 24th at the Players Theatre at 115 MacDougal Street. Composed by Paula Kimper, with libretto by Wende Persons, "Patience & Sarah" is the first opera to portray an openly romantic relationship between two self-affirming women.

Based on the Stonewall Award-winning novel of the same title by Isabel Miller "Patience & Sarah" will be conducted by Kimper with Douglas Moser directing. It tells the story of two 19th-century women who took a brave step against the social norms in pursuit of a dream of love, independence and a life together. The production features a new seven-piece orchestration for staged concert performances.

EDGE spoke with Kimper about "Patience & Sarah."

EDGE: Tell readers what initially motivated you to compose an opera for this story?

KIMPER: First, I think the story makes for a great opera. It's got a lot of operatic conventionality in it, like gender bending, pants roles for the girls, etc. And the story is very passionate -- a romantic love story where lovers split up, think they'll never see each other, then reunite and make it work to live their dream.

EDGE: What resonates with you?

KIMPER: It really is unique, especially because it features two women, and there's never been a story like this in opera before. Operas had a few lesbian characters but they were notoriously evil, murderous, or insane, like lesbians on Death Row.

EDGE: Was librettist Wende Persons happy with the results? Were you?

KIMPER: We started working on in it '93, when we got rights to the book. We worked with the American Opera Project in SoHo at the time, and took four years to get it written. We had every response to it that you can imagine. But b by the time it was staged, we were all very happy.

EDGE: Why is it important to create this kind of lesbian visibility?

KIMPER: As a composer I also feel like an activist, and tend to pick characters and subjects that are more counterculture, like the life of Soujourner Truth or the struggle of Native Americans: subjects that are not found in the regular canon, with stronger women characters.

EDGE: What are you anticipating for the NY Opera Fest staging?

KIMPER: This is the first festival for the NY Opera Alliance, which I'm a member of and on the Executive Committee. So I think it's really great; it's community building in the best way.

EDGE: Tell readers a bit about the seven-piece orchestration?

KIMPER: The new part of this is the seven-piece orchestration. Before, it was 14 pieces, but now it's in a middle spot too big for the theater, but not big enough for an opera house. So we felt motivated four years ago to start conducting it with our own ensemble, and a seven-piece was very doable. You get all the colors of the orchestra, and I think it works.

EDGE: Where would you like to see this go next?

KIMPER: We're conceiving this as step two in a process of hopefully finding producers to do an off Off-Broadway run or show. It's been 18 years since the premiere, but the world still isn't really ready for this opera. It was done in Chicago, San Francisco and Denver very early on, but most rural areas are not doing lesbian operas, if they're doing any at all. We had a hard time finding anyone willing to do this opera, which is why we decided on do-it-yourself. We're hoping step 3 will be working with a producer for a real run.

EDGE: And what's next for you, Paula?

KIMPER: I've been developing this ensemble since 2012, and would like to see this through to the next phase. I'm also considering working on another piece, a purely orchestral piece for an ensemble. It takes a long time, and if it doesn't get done, then it's sitting on your shelf like a kid still living at home -- but it's got to get out there and make a living.