Katie: Strongest of the Strong, Fiddle Workshop – Coming to Troy Music Hall

Katie: Strongest of the Strong

Thursday, March 28th, 2024, 11:00 AM

Katie: Strongest of the Strong is the true story of Katie Sandwina – a circus strongwoman who defied cultural expectations of women and was instrumental in the U.S. suffrage movement in the 1900s. Featuring an all-female cast, the HGO original commission is an engaging way for students and families to learn about the importance of equal rights. Katie and her husband Max move from Austria to the U.S., where she joins Barnum and Bailey Circus, becomes a mother, and teams up with Marina, a young journalist, to fight for the voting rights of women. With an all-female cast, this 2020 HGO commission from composer Faye Chiao and librettist Anton Dudley is an engaging way for students and families to learn about the importance of equal rights. The 45-minute opera celebrates women’s strength and confidence through the inspiring true story of protagonist Katie Sandwina. The story, shared from the perspective of journalist Marina Martin, features a chorus of circus women who play multiple characters and demonstrate how strength and beauty come in all shapes and sizes. The opera is appropriate for kids who are between Kindergarten and 6th grade.

Director: MARY BIRNBAUM

Music Director: JULIAN GAU

Bring your school group to the Music Hall for a fun, educational workshop and performance featuring Opera Saratoga.

For orders of less than 150 students, single tickets are $5 per ticket. For orders more than 150 students, the school group will be charged a flat fee of $650.

Tickets are available online and by phone at (518) 273-0038.

December Education Program coming up!

Fiddle Workshop

w/ Lucy Nelligan

December 19th at 4:30pm
Tickets
$15 workshop only

$5 add on w/ purchase of a Mark O’Connor Ticket

(Call the box office 518-273-0038 if you already have your tickets to get the add on!)

Join us to learn a tune! We will discuss using the bow to incorporate a more rhythmic and danceable sound into your playing. In the context of a tune, we will learn more about a fiddle’s role in a string band (and on its own), syncopation, and discuss the relationship between bowings and melodies. Basic skills on the fiddle and the ability to learn by ear is encouraged. Lucy Nelligan studied violin for fifteen years, and more recently has branched out into other styles, including old time, blues, and Nordic folk music. She has toured and performed with a number of groups across the United States, including Berklee World strings and the Kronos quartet. She also has performed at a number of venues and festivals in the Northeast, including Club Passim, Caffe Lena, Grey Fox, and Freshgrass.