San Francisco Conservatory of Music To Host First Complete Workshop of the New Opera, Madame Theremin, July 2026
Madame Theremin (madamethereminopera.com), a new opera by composer Kennedy Verrett and librettist George M. Kopp, will receive its first complete piano/vocal workshop concert performance on July 11, 2026 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The opera is based on the life of Lavinia Williams, principal dancer with the American Negro Ballet Company in New York in the 1930s. She was married to Leon Theremin, the Russian inventor of the electronic musical instrument that bears his name. Music, dance, technology, politics, and vodou are woven together into this little known but true tale of the Harlem Renaissance, with a score as varied and evocative as the story.
The outstanding cast for this workshop features soprano Ariel Emma in the role of Lavinia Williams; tenor Eric Levintow as Leon Theremin; mezzo soprano Melissa Bonetti Luna as the vodou priestess Mama Augustine; bass-baritone Patrick Blackwell as actor/singer Noble Washington (loosely based on Paul Robeson); contralto Sara Couden as the treacherous Soviet official Elizaveta; and tenor Joe Meyers and baritone Daniel Cilli in a variety of roles, including French planters in colonial Haiti and Soviet secret policemen. The conductor is Mary Chun and the piano accompanist is Kymry Esainko.
Madame Theremin won an Opera America New Works Grant in 2022 and had an Act I workshop at the National Opera Center in New York in 2023. The opera was featured in the West Edge Opera Snapshot program of excerpts in 2024, with performances in Berkeley and San Francisco.
Madame Theremin has generated much interest in the opera world, as it is geared to a general audience especially those who might be new to opera. It is also scaleable to smaller venues and alternative performance spaces. The theremin and other electronics are featured in the instrumentation, and the production will rent preconfigured instruments, playable by any keyboardist, if required.
This workshop is open to all and admission is free, but tickets must be reserved in advance. A voluntary contribution of $20 ($5 for students) is appreciated to help defray costs. Tickets are will be available soon.
Madame Theremin Piano/Vocal Workshop
Date: Saturday, July 11, 2026
Where: San Francisco Conservatory of Music, 50 Oak Street, San Francisco
Time: 2:30 pm
The performance will last approximately 90 minutes, followed by an audience feedback session and an informal reception.
For further information, contact: Cheryl Blalock, cablalock@gmail.com
Madame Theremin is represented by Barbara Scales, Latitude 45 Arts Promotion, latitude45arts.com