Archive: Arts & Entertainment

'Women and Their Telephones' begins with Brad Hougham and Amanda DeMaris in 'The Telephone' by Gian Carlo Menotti, then Deborah Lifton takes the stage with the deeply dramatic solo turn 'La Voix Humaine' by François Poulenc. Four performances will be gracing the Kitchen Theatre stage March 17, 18, 20, and 21.

Ithaca College music faculty members Brad Hougham and Amanda DeMaris will start the evening off with 'The Telephone'. Ben (Hougham) has come to Lucy's (DeMaris) apartment to propose, if only he could keep her attention long enough between an endless series of telephone calls. Written in 1947, 'The Telephone' is a comic love story for two plus telephone.  

Performed by Deborah Lifton, 'La Voix Humaine' is a one-act solo opera with music by Francis Poulenc and text by Jean Cocteau. It follows the emotional phone conversation of a young woman in 1950s Paris with her lover of five years who is about to marry another woman. KTC’s intimate 73-seat space is the perfect setting for this gripping tale.

Women and Their Telephones was conceived by director David Lefkowich. Although the Kitchen has produced many musicals and operettas, this will be the first time opera will be sung in the Kitchen. Director David Lefkowich and Artistic Director Rachel Lampert are looking forward to a new experience for Kitchen Theatre goers. "I love having singing in the Kitchen, and the voices in this production are going to be extraordinary. What an exciting evening of music and theater this is going to be," says Artistic Director, Rachel Lampert.

Soprano Deborah Lifton is a versatile singer who holds degrees in music from the University of Michigan and the Manhattan School of Music and has taught at New York University and Syracuse University. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Voice at Ithaca College. Lifton has been heard on WQXR and was featured in Young Opera, a new series on PBS.org. She has won the David Adams Song Competition and is a 2007 Joy in Singing Foundation Award recipient. Lifton has appeared with Mercury Opera Rochester, The Natchez Opera Festival, The Ash Lawn-Highland Festival, The Aspen Music Festival, The Bronx Opera Company, and Ridotto Opera, Trinity Church, the Kosciuszko Foundation, Lippes Concert Hall, Yamaha Showroom, and Aspen, Colorado’s Harris Concert Hall.

Brad Hougham is an Assistant Professor of Music Performance at Ithaca College. He has a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, a Professional Studies Diploma in singing from Mannes College of Music, and a Masters Degree in performance from Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, The City University of New York. Hougham, a baritone, sang in the chorus at the Metropolitan Opera for eight seasons and has appeared as a soloist in Avery Fisher Hall, Merkin Hall, and Brooklyn Academy of Music among others.

Joining Hougham is soprano Amanda DeMaris, Assistant Professor of Music Theory, History, and Composition at Ithaca College. She has had performances with Opera Theatre of Lucca, Alpha Omega Ensemble, and New England Conservatory Opera Theatre. DeMaris received her Bachelors of Music in Music Performance from IC, Masters of Music in Music Performance from the New England Conservatory, and is a Doctor of Education candidate at Columbia University.

The director of both operas is David Lefkowich, who many may remember from his direction of the world premiere of 'Comfort Food' at the Kitchen Theatre in 2007. He is an accomplished stage director and fight choreographer and has enjoyed success with different companies including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera, Minnesota Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Colorado, Gotham Chamber Opera, and Glimmerglass Opera. Recent projects include directing Don Giovanni at the Ravinia Music Festival with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and L’Histoire du Soldat with the Juilliard School both with Maestro James Conlon conducting. Last year he made his European debut directing Le Portrait de Manon at the Gran Teatre Liceu in Barcelona, Spain. Lefkowich is a Lecturer at Ithaca College School of Music where he directs and teaches classes in acting and movement. He is a guest artist and performs master classes at several Young Artist programs and universities including Florida Grand Opera Young Artist Program, Glimmerglass Opera Young American Artist Program, the Juilliard School, and McGill School of Music.

Pianist Brian DeMaris will be the accompanist for both 'The Telephone' and 'La Voix Humaine'. DeMaris is the Director of Opera and Musical Theater at Ithaca College and serves on the music staff at Opera Theater of St. Louis and the Gerdine Young Artist Program. He has performed at Boston’s Jordan Hall and New York’s Studio 54, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, Alice Tully Hall, Skirball Center, and La Maison Française.


Performance Dates:
Wed., March 17, 2010 at 7:30pm
Thurs., March 18, 2010 at 7:30pm
Sat., March 20, 2010 at 8:00pm
Sun., March 21, 2010 at 4:00pm (closing)

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