The campus buzz is palpable as Interlochen Arts Academy prepares to host the largest, most complicated performance in the school’s history.

The world premiere of modern opera Edmonia tells the story of Edmonia Lewis, the 19th-century Black and Ojibwe sculptor who carved out an artistic identity against all odds. The two-act opera was originally commissioned in 2000 by prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison and composed by acclaimed musician and education Dr. Bill Banfield. Performances are May 3-5.

The driving force behind Edmonia is Dr. Banfield, a native Detroiter, whose wide-ranging resume includes musician, composer, guitarist, professor, educator, author, and record company owner. It’s no surprise he gets enthusiastic when talking about the creative process.

“Creativity is a dialogue about how life is,” he explains. “What shall we do, how do we do it? It all starts with a conversation about life and that’s represented in a poem or a story… The opera is a collaboration, a story, a song, that is acted, danced, and staged. It’s a celebration.”

Banfield has twice served as a Pulitzer Prize judge in American Music (2010 and 2016). He’s an award-winning composer whose symphonies, operas, and chamber works have been performed and recorded by major symphonies across the nation.

With all those impressive credentials, what was it like working with the young people at the academy? “Young people jump into the music, and they make the music jump,” he says. “They bring the soul, the imagination, and energy.

Auditions began in December under co-directors Laura Osgood Brown and Justin Lee Miller. In a nutshell, Brown deems the cast “an explosion of talent.” Patrice Rushen, Broadway actor Sydney James Harcourt of Hamilton fame, and emerging opera performer Amber Merritt star alongside Arts Academy students in the production.

“There are 65 in the cast, the largest cast ever on campus,” says Brown.

With a cast that size, there’s a huge need for costumes, all period pieces that need to be designed, created—or located—and then fitted. Costume designer Caitlin Eldred has been hip-deep in the costuming process for months.

“We had a few pieces from our costume stock from other productions that we were able to use and some religious [costumes] were purchased,” she explains. “But we probably created about 15 original pieces, including three different costumes for young Edmonia, grown Edmonia, and dance Edmonia.”

Eldred, who joined the academy last year and started on designs for the show last October, estimates each original piece requires 35 to 40 hours of work by the costume team of six staffers, four adult volunteers, and six student volunteers. The costumes took about 10 weeks to create in the fully-equipped costume shop.

The costumes aren’t the only place where Interlochen is going all out. All seven of the arts divisions of the school are involved, and the show has about a dozen full-time staffers working on the production daily. 

One of the highlights of Edmonia is a high-tech rotating stage that carries a $70,000 price tag. 

“We received a generous donation which allowed us to purchase a motor-controlled scenery system,” explains Brent Wrobel, the executive director of Interlochen Presents who also serves as producer. “This system moves scenery ‘magically’ on the stage. For the production of Edmonia, we are using the system in two ways. We will have a 20-foot diameter turntable that is in the middle of the stage. This allows us to move other pieces of scenery or performers magically during the show.”

Jeff Block, assistant director of presentation, design, and production, has spent weeks overseeing the setup. “We put the scenery on a turntable that uses a computer to locate it precisely,” he says. “It can turn the stage within one-sixteenth of an inch.”

“This technology is a game-changer for us,” says Wrobel. “It takes our designs to the next level.”

When asked why a northern Michigan audience should come to see Edmonia, Wrobel is quick to give three reasons.

“First, the story is important,” he says. “Edmonia Lewis was an African American and Native American marble sculptor in the late 1800s. The story spans Lewis’ courageous life from her birth in upstate New York through her turbulent days at Oberlin College and formative studio days in Boston, to her astonishing move to Rome, Italy. In 1876, at the age of 32, Lewis captivated the world with her larger-than-life marble statue The Death of Cleopatra that now stands in the Smithsonian.

“Second, there isn’t a lot of opportunity to see full-length operas in northern Michigan,” he continues. “Third, this isn’t your typical opera! If classical opera is not your cup of tea, you will be pleasantly surprised by the contemporary flavor of Edmonia.”

This is an excerpt from a story published in the April 22 issue Northern Express. See the full story here.