HILDEGARD is a work of operatic historical fiction about twelfth-century German Benedictine abbess/polymath St. Hildegard von Bingen. Set in 1147, the opera follows Hildegard as she receives visions from God. While transcribing these visions for Papal evaluation – a process that will decide her prophet or heretic – she enlists the young convalescent Richardis von Stade to illustrate the manuscript. As they develop a transformative collaboration that awakens them in ways both profound and unexpected, the two women must confront the powers that would see them erased from history rather than authoring it. At the same time, Hildegard is haunted by mysterious visions she cannot explain, forcing her to grapple with unacknowledged truths she can no longer deny.
“The director Elkhanah Pulitzer made creative use of the stage, with gothic references and illustrations inspired by Deborah Johnson’s evocative projections, which in turn took inspiration from Hildegard’s original illuminations.”
-OPERA NEWS
“Elkhanah Pulitzer’s efficient and visually engaging production straddles reality and Eastern mysticism, with little overt Christian symbolism.”
