Seeds Under Nuclear Winter: An Earth Opera" is a recreation of spiritual visions, dreams, and mythic stories through world and sacred music, performance art, movement, and light experiments—shared as an immersive and multi-sensory community experience.
The Earth Opera takes place in a post-apocalyptic atmosphere, and centers around finding light, beauty, and hope in the darkest times – and on our deep connection with all living things, our planet, and with each other.
Orchestrated for harp, ethereal voices, Andean instruments, Indonesian gamelan, strings, choir, drones, dulcimer, piano, gongs, brass, ancient Celtic carnyx dragon horn, bagpipes, waterphone, pipe organ, and a cast of over 35 Hudson Valley performance artists, the 'Earth Opera’ steps into otherworldly realms and unfolds upon a non-linear and timeless path, similar to the way we dream.
Composed and developed by Elizabeth Clark during a four-year artist residency at Byrdcliffe Artists Colony in Woodstock NY in a tiny little cabin on a mountain—-the Earth Opera has continued evolving over time through the collective dreaming of a vibrant and collaborative community of performance artists and musicians. The Earth Opera has been performed annually in the Hudson Valley from 2021-2025, including (literally) deep inside of the Earth in the vast natural amphitheater of ‘The Widow Jane Mine’ (site-specific location the project was initially designed for), as well as adaptations for Cathedral spaces (Old Dutch Church, Kingston—utilizing entire wall of pipe-organ as drone), Byrdcliffe Theater (Black Box Theater), and for an intimate performance at Graveside Variety (Amanda Palmer’s pop-up venue in Woodstock NY). The Earth Opera continues to offer transformative and otherworldly immersive community experiences through this living and evolving body of work.
EARTH OPERA CAST 2025
Elizabeth Clark (mamalama) / Andes Manta / Melora Creager (Rasputina)
Juma Sultan / Linda Mary Montano / Mataoka Little Eagle / IONE
Jaguar Mary X / Lisa B Kelley / Arianna Noble/ Katie Down / Maia Lorian
Dorcinda Knauth / Matt Carvin / Alvaro Romao /
Henry Lowengard / Sharon Zeiss / Annie Roland / Erin the Bard / Rusty Boris
Phillip x Levine / Douglas Keller / Agon Mizelle / Lyra Juniper Mizelle / Nabless
AnneMarie Tedeschi / Anaia and Ayla Tedeschi / Lucien Downing
Gabrielle Annese / Noella Annese / lights by Adam Michael Taylor + BA Miale
Cast and Crew 2024
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Orchestra
Elizabeth Clark (Mamalama): composer/director,harp, voice, narrator
Henry Lowengard: Hammered Dulcimer, Glockenspiel, Harmonium, Melodica, Choir, Hare Krishna, Gamelan
Annie Roland: Seraphim, Timekeeper, Veiled Woman
with:
Matt Carvin: Piano
Rusty Boris: Upright electric bass
Melora Creager: Cello,Voice
Megan Gugliotta: violin
Jeremy Starpoli: Trombone
Alvaro Romao: Gamelan, Gongs
Andrew Forbes: Bagpipes,Choir
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Andes Manta
Luis Lopez: quena, guitar, charango, pipes, birds
Bolivar Lopez: pipes, djembe, percussion, birds
Fernando Lopez: guitar, pipes, mandolin, birds
Jorge Lopez: bass, guitar, percussion, birds
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Actors / dancers / choreography/choir
Lisa Barnard Kelley: Seraphim, Prophet, Voice, bird murmurations, selfie squad
Noa (Nancy) Graham: Newscaster, Prophet, Veiled woman, Spiral Painter
Agon Mizelle: AI Robot, Shadow Monk, Dance Army, Choir, Sadhu
Dorcinda Knauth: Voice, Magic Bird, Veiled Woman, Green Tara, Gamelan, Organ
Alvaro Romao: Gongs, Choir, Monk, Dance Army, Hanuman
Phillip X Levine: Narcissist Dictator, Shadow Monk, Choir, Judas
Jed Zaeb: Magic Bug, Televangelist, Trombone, Dance Army, Shadow Monk, Krishna
Sarah Power:Seraphim, Choir, Magic Bird, Selfie-Squad, Prophet, Veiled Woman, Hildegard of Bingen
Jaguar Mary X: Voice, Magic Bird,St. Margaret
AnnMarie Tedeschi: Selfie-Squad, Choir, Veiled Woman, Mother Mary, Gamelan
Vincenza Dante: Selfie-Squad, Hare Krishna, Veiled Woman, Choir
Jeremy Starpoli: Trombone, Whale, Choir, Monk
Nobuo: Selfie-Squad, Jesus, Prophet, Choir, Whaleophone
Jesse Reed: Bird, Selfie-Squad, Dance Army, Choir, Hare Krishna, prop artist
Erin the Bard: Seraphim, Magic Bird, Selfie-Squad, Veiled Woman, Hare Krishna
Arianna Noble: Serpents/Dance Army choreography, Seraphim, Magic Bird, Serpent, Selfie-Squad, Veiled Woman
Douglas Keller: Selfie-Squad, Shadow Monk, Dance Army, Carynx player, Hare Krishna
Megan Gugliotta: Violin,Selfie-Squad, Hare Krishna, Choir
Bella Turner: Serpent, Dance Army, Choir
Alvaro Romao: Gongs, euphone, voice, Deity
Peter Cody: Gamelan
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Backstage & Special Effects
Erika McCarthy: heartlight/bird maker, props rigger
George Manatos: Backstage
B. A. Miale: Projection art
Props:
Anne Arden McDonald, Luis Lopez, Elizabeth Clark, Jesse ReedCostume Design/Collection:
Anne Arden McDonald, Elizabeth Clark
Choreography:Standing on Serpents, Hallelujah (Dance Army): Arianna Noble.
Truth: Sharon Penz, Lisa B Kelley, Elizabeth Clark.
AI Choreography: Agon Mizelle
Apocalypto: Sharon Penz.
DeityWaltz: Elizabeth Clark, Luis Lopez.
Light/Speck: Elizabeth Clark
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Dance Army
Sharon Zeiss
Lydia Deerheart
Tricia Anderson
Adrienne Monzet
Karen Stein
Joanna Grabiarz
