Girondines (Original Wilmington Concert Opera Cast Live Recording) - 2022

Live recording of October 23, 2022 original cast of "Girondines" Wilmington Concert Opera concert premiere production at the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in Wilmington, DE.

“Girondines” shares six French Revolution women’s interconnected stories. Three are guillotined: radical murderess Charlotte Corday, moderate feminist writer Madame Manon Roland, and radical feminist writer Olympe de Gouges. Three survive political upheaval: prolific portrait-painter Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun; political theorist Madame Germaine de Staël; and inventive chemist Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze. Chamber opera for six voices, piano, electronics, cello, and violin.

GIRONDINES
Kirsten C. Kunkle, Librettist
Sarah Melnick (née Van Sciver), Composer

PERFORMERS
Kirsten C. Kunkle as Charlotte Corday
Ashley Becker as Olympe de Gouges
Marisa Robinson as Marie Anne Pierrette Paulze Lavoisier
Alyssa Maria Lehman as Madame Manon Roland
Raffaella Lo Castro as Madame Germaine de Staël
Tracy Sturgis as Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun
Sarah Melnick (née Van Sciver), Pianist and Conductor
Melissa Brun, Cellist
Thuy Nguyen, Violinist

PRODUCTION TEAM
Marisa Robinson, Producer and Wilmington Concert Opera Executive Director
Kirsten C. Kunkle, Producer and Wilmington Concert Opera Artistic Director
Sarah Melnick (née Van Sciver), Music Director and Technical Director

Timestamps
0:00:00 We're the Ones Who Lived ... Élisabeth, Germaine, and Pierrette
0:03:35 You're Here Early. You Came Alone? ... Manon and Olympe
0:07:30 Meeting of the Minds ......... Charlotte, Élisabeth, Germaine, Manon, Olympe, and Pierrette
0:14:53 September Massacre ... Charlotte
0:19:34 Reign of Terror ... Charlotte, Élisabeth, Germaine, Manon, Olympe, and Pierrette
0:24:33 Rain of Terror ... Charlotte
0:29:53 Entr'acte
0:32:48 My Dear Marie-Antoinette ... Élisabeth
0:38:33 Notes from the Underground ... Germaine, Manon, and Olympe
0:42:11 I Relinquish My Pen ... Olympe
0:48:18 Am I Next? Please Let Me Be Last ... Manon
0:54:14 Home: An Exile Trio ... Pierrette with Élisabeth and Germaine
1:00:03 Bonaparte ... Germaine
1:03:41 Science and Art ... Élisabeth and Pierrette
1:11:43 Life, Death, and Legacy …. Charlotte, Élisabeth, Germaine, Manon, Olympe, and Pierrette

“Girondines” music and lyrics © 2022 Sarah Gersh Van Sciver Melnick and Kirsten Calen Kunkle.