Verdi by Vegetables:
The Movie
Winner - Opera America Digital Excellence Awards
The very first Vegetable Puppet Opera Movie (that we know of), Verdi by Vegetables is a feature-length film that explores Giuseppe "Joe Green" Verdi’s life, loves, and losses in a time of Italian political upheaval and his music's profound impact on opera history. Go on a tour through Verdi’s entire catalog of works, interwoven with Verdi’s life story, all beautifully performed by… over 100 puppets made of produce. Voiced by 38 of our favorite Resonance Works artists from their own homes across the country, this pandemic creation is a hilarious madcap journey through opera and the produce section, appealing to opera aficionados, novices, and vegetarians alike!
“zero percent boring and 100% hilarious!”
ARTISTS
You loved them before, wait until you see them perform with produce!
Narrators - Anna Singer, Demareus Cooper, Jonathan Stuckey
Giuseppe Verdi & Pianist - Robert Frankenberry
with Natalie Polito, Joshua Jeremiah, Rachele Schmiege, Stefan Barner, Lindsay Ohse, Christopher Lucier, Laurel Semerdjian, Ian McEuen, Benjamin Bloomfield, Helen Zhibing Huang, Maria Dominique Lopez, Barbara LeMay, Meghan DeWald, Matthew Scollin, Katy Williams, Charlene Canty, Joanna Latini, Joel Goodloe, Patrick McNally, Olga Perez Flora, James Flora, Rebecca Shorstein, Andrew Adelsberger, Lara Lynn McGill, George Milosh, Brooke Larimer, Lauren Emrich, Jenna Weaver, Rob Chafin, Sandro Leal-Santiesteban, Dawn Posey, Jason Hohn, Elise Feagley
The Creators:
Composer Peter Hilliard and Librettist Matt Boresi are nationally recognized writers of operas specializing in timely, often comic, audience accessible opera. Their operas, including The Last American Hammer, Blue Viola, The Filthy Habit, and others, have been produced by Pittsburgh Opera, UrbanArias, Opera Memphis, Carnegie Mellon Opera, Lyric Opera of the North, Manhattan Opera Theatre, The Tanglewood Institute, Beth Morrison Projects, and many others. Upcoming works include “Verdi by Vegetables” with Resonance Works and projects with the San Francisco Girls Chorus and Lyric Theatre @ Illinois. Hilliard and Boresi met and began working together in the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU in 2000.
Peter Hilliard & Matt Boresi are the co-creators of the Decameron Opera Coalition and its first two productions, Tales from a Safe Distance and HEROES are now streaming on-demand!
Production Team:
Producer & Film Director - Maria Sensi Sellner
Principal puppeteer & Stage Director - Andrew Nienaber
Costume Design - Brigid Borka, Barb Fleck, Mary Sellner
Technical Director - Brennan Sellner
Scenic Design - Brennan Sellner, Andrew Nienaber, Matt Boresi
Video Editing - Maria Sensi Sellner
Audio Engineer - Kristian Tchetchko
