Where:
Wayne and Kristine Lueders Opera Center
926 E Burleigh St, Milwaukee, WI 53212
When:
April 2nd, 2024 @ 5:30pm
Rsvp: Email events@florentineopera.org to rsvp and for any questions about the event.
La bohème is a beautiful powerhouse opera, now set in Milwaukee’s 1940s Bronzeville. Join us for an opportunity to hear from our stage director about the creative details that make this production feel like home!
About Versed
We build operas over the course of a few years! In that time, dozens of creatives work on color palettes, lighting effects, historical juxtapositions and casting. Get a peek into the production process and learn more about what makes this show magical, including historical context.
For each mainstage production, we offer two Versed experiences for the Milwaukee community (and beyond) to learn about composer histories, the first audience's response, historical contexts, culture, and the intentions behind a show.
Our Versed series takes place as an intimate gathering somewhere in Milwaukee. These are FREE and open to the public. Food and beverage will be available for purchase.
Featuring
Nadja Simmonds, Stage Director
Stage director Nadja Simmonds is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, where she started performing with Cincinnati Black Theatre company and Cincinnati Shakespeare Company's Summer Program. She then moved to Milwaukee and attended Marquette University, with a focus in Theater Arts, Digital Media, and Spanish.
Some of her recent work includes acting/directing with Florentine Opera Company, Next Act Theater, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Forward Theater, First Stage Children's Theater, Northern Sky Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre's Young Playwrights Festival, and working with the Summit Players, Wisconsin's premiere traveling Shakespeare troupe. This summer, she could be found touring with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, performing outdoors with some of her closest friends.
During the height of the pandemic, Nadja moved back to Cincinnati and worked on virtual productions with CATCO, First Stage Children's Theater, and Milwaukee Chamber Theater, while taking some much needed family time. Since then, her focus has been on finding and working with supportive theater communities that value collaboration, accountability, equity and inclusion, and a work life balance.
One day in the near or distant future, she'll find a city to settle down in and make her official artistic home. But for now, she goes where the wind (and paycheck) takes her!