Waking the Witch - Chicago Fringe Opera

Tickets

September 25, 26 – 7:00-8:15 p.m.
September 27 - 3:00-4:15 p.m.
The Den Theatre
1331 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60622

YOU HAVE BEEN ACCUSED OF WITCHCRAFT.

The verdict may already be decided. In Ashi Day’s “Waking the Witch,” you, the audience, are the accused witch, surrounded by interrogators, animal familiars, and a world where conspiracy, fear, religion, and authority collide.

“Waking the Witch” is a one-act (70-minute), immersive chamber opera arranged for three singers and Pierrot ensemble that explores human vulnerability to absurd beliefs as well as the danger of mixing authority and religion with black-and-white thinking, fear of those with less power, and conspiracy theories.

The audience assumes the role of an accused witch, physically surrounded by interrogators and animal familiars of questionable reality. The libretto is derived from the words of both historical witchfinders and modern-day leaders and movements with eerily similar messaging. Listeners must consider how we might navigate the seemingly impossible logic of power lost in moral panic, while remembering the dangerous reality that these things did, and in many ways still do, happen.

“The conceit is that it doesn’t matter what the answers to their questions are because they’ve already made up their mind about what’s gonna happen and what’s true,” said Ashi Day, composer and librettist.

Darkly theatrical and unsettlingly timely, “Waking the Witch” examines how conspiracy, religious authority, and collective fear turn suspicion into fact, asking what happens when a society decides who is guilty before anyone has a chance to speak.

The accusation has been made.

Will you confess?

ABOUT CFO

Called Chicago’s “alt-opera company” (John von Rhein, Chicago Tribune), Chicago Fringe Opera (CFO), now in its twelfth season, is dedicated to presenting innovative vocal works with an emphasis on contemporary music, engaging with a diverse Chicago community through intimate and immersive performance experiences, and empowering local artists.

Visit chicagofringeopera.com or follow us on Facebook, X/Twitter (@chicagofringeop and #operaspeaks), and Instagram (@chicagofringeopera).