Breakfast
Composition by Zach Redler & Libretto by Sara Cooper
The kitchen table can serve as a positive space for families to gather and foster connection. In Breakfast, however, this space becomes the epicenter of a family’s demise. This one-act chamber opera portrays a middle-aged couple, Ange and Gretta, and their adult child, Stu, trying to enjoy a morning meal together. There are only two problems: 1. They’re out of juice, and 2. They can’t leave their house, because the outside world is a post-apocalyptic hellscape of “dust and electrical storm”.
About this project….
An experiment in remote filming, Breakfast is being produced in accordance with COVID-19 regulations to ensure the safety of the artists.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our live viewing on October 23rd! If you would like to view the performance, online viewing is available until October 30th. Register below to access!
Meet the Cast
Katie Kelly
Gretta
Katie Kelley is a Seattle-based opera director, producer, and performer. Originally from Texas, she relocated to Seattle in 2015 to pursue her Master’s in Voice Performance at the University of Washington. While at UW, she performed the titular role of Cavalli’s La Calisto and appeared as Orphée in Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice. Other notable roles include Judith in Deseret Experimental Opera Company’s 2016 premier of Red Lake, Siri and Groceries in Lowbrow Opera Collective’s 2019 and 2020 productions of #adulting, and Genovieffa in Seattle Modern Opera Company’s 2019 updated Suor Angelica. Katie co-founded Lowbrow Opera Collective in 2018, and made her directorial debut with #adulting in 2019. She has recently been named a Directing Fellow at the Hawai’i Performing Arts Festival, and in 2021 will assistant-direct their productions of Weill’s The Threepenny Opera and Kaminsky’s As One. She is ecstatic to be returning to the Lowbrow (virtual) stage as Gretta in Breakfast this fall.
Nic Varela
Ange
Nic Varela is a Seattle-based tenor and studies with Dr. Kari Ragan. He received his BM in Vocal Performance and his BA in Music History from the University of Washington. He has served as chorus member for Pacific MusicWork’s productions of Semele, Die Zauberflöte, and Orphée et Eurydice, as well as Bellevue City Opera’s production of Le nozze di Figaro. His repertoire of roles includes Mercurio in La Calisto, Monostatos/First Priest/First Armoured Man in Die Zauberflöte, Basilio/Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro, and Die Knusperhexe in Hansel und Gretel. In his spare time, he likes to snuggle with his pets, write sad, existential laments in his journal, and attempt to smash the patriarchy.
Sammie Gorham
Stu
Sammie Gorham is a graduate of Northern Arizona University and has also studied at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. In Washington, she has performed various roles in multiple places, including Mrs. Maurrant in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene, Mimi in La Boheme, and more.
Gorham founded Seattle Modern Opera Company (SMOC) in 2018, with performances including The Real Housewives of Sparta, Romance in America, and Suor Angelica. She made her directorial debut with Susanna’s Secret in 2017, in which she also sang the title role. She has been mentioned in both the Stranger and Seattle Weekly as having a "crystalline soprano...with a bold" performance in Susanna's Secret.
Christine Oshiki
Director
A nomadic army brat, Christine gained first-hand experience on the stage and behind the scenes through Olympia-based performing arts company, Capitol Playhouse. She performed notable roles here, such as Ida in Honk (2011), Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance (2011), and Chiffon in Little Shop of Horrors (2012). Christine earned her Bachelor of Music in vocal performance from the University of Washington. In 2018, Christine co-founded Lowbrow Opera Collective. Along with teaching and navigating the non-profit world, she is the soprano section leader for the St. Thomas Episcopal Church Choir and is entering her fifth year with Choral Arts Northwest. She has performed a variety of operatic roles around the country, including Papagena in Die Zauberflöte (Pacific Music Works, 2015), La Badessa/La Zelatrice in Suor Angelica (UW School of Music, 2016), Annina in La traviata (Lyric Opera Northwest, 2017), La Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro(LAHSOW, 2018), Pamina in Die Zauberflöte (LAHSOW, 2019), and Ruth in #adulting (Lowbrow Opera Collective, 2019/2020). Christine enjoys spending her free time with her friends and her dog, Oliver (Ollie), learning about sharks, and enjoying a good IPA.
William Bryant
Accompanist
Dr. William Fletcher Bryant is an accomplished composer, conductor, and organist with a doctor of musical arts degree from the University of Washington, where he studied under the guidance of Dr. Carol Terry. He previously studied at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University where he earned a master’s degree, double majoring in composition and organ performance, and his undergraduate degree, double majoring in composition and oboe performance. He studied composition under Dr. Don Freund, Dr. P.Q. Phan, Dr. Claude Baker, and Dr. Aaron Travers. His organ studies were under the tutelage of Prof. Bruce Neswick, oboe studies under Prof. Linda Strommen and Prof. Roger Roe, and clarinet studies under Prof. James Campbell. He has performed in Austria, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Luxemburg, and Switzerland.
Dr. Bryant is the present Director of Music at Faith Lutheran Church in Redmond, WA. Previously, he was the organist at Mercer Island Presbyterian Church in Mercer Island, WA. Before this, he held the role of organist at University Lutheran Church–Seattle and was responsible for overseeing a major organ rebuild project with Marceau Pipe Organ Builders which merged and restored two of the church’s pipe organs. Dr. Bryant debuted the revitalized organ on Palm Sunday of 2016 and was showcased in a dedication service and concert orchestrated in October of that year.
Dr. Bryant received several awards for his diverse compositions, many of which were commissioned pieces. He was responsible for composing and arranging for the Singing Hoosiers at Indiana University from 2012–2013. Dr. Bryant’s organ prelude The Transfiguration of Our Lord was published by Morning Star Publications and his viola concerto, A San Francisco Evening, was published by Lambert Academic Publishing. In 2017, he was commissioned by University Lutheran Church–Seattle to compose a choral work for organ, choir, and congregation in celebration of their 100-yearanniversary. Dr. Bryant’s other accolades include winning Indiana University’s “Kids Compose” composition contest, along with winning second place and honorable mention in the Arden and Harry Fisher Young Composer’s Competition sponsored by Webster University.
Dr. Bryant is also very active in the Seattle music community where he is the Second Clarinetist with the Seattle Festival Orchestra. He also performs with many local theatres as a reed and keyboard player and has been involved with productions at Seattle Musical Theatre, Centerstage! Theatre, Bainbridge Performing Arts, Studio East, Burien Actors Theatre, HEARTS, Lowbrow Opera Collective, Pullman vs Paxton, and Showtunes. Dr. Bryant has also appeared as guest soloist on the organ with the Seattle Collaborative Orchestra, the Puget Sound Symphony and the Seattle Festival Orchestra.
Dr. Bryant has also held various positions with the American Guild of Organists and loves to promote new, American based literature within the organ repertoire.