In continued celebration of the 10th Anniversary, Opera Orlando remounts its first commissioned opera The Secret River at Mead Botanical Garden. Bring the whole family and enjoy this heartwarming story of how a young, African-American girl, Calpurnia, searches for a secret river to help her family and small town. This story for all ages demonstrates the power of trusting one’s imagination and the goodness within us all.

Based on the book of the same name by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, The Secret River was published posthumously in 1955 and subsequently awarded a Newbery Honor Book Award. With music composed by University of Central Florida Pegasus Professor Stella Sung and a libretto by Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winning librettist Mark Campbell, this immersive production will be presented on the Grove Stage at Mead Botanical Garden conducted by Bethune-Cookman University professor Karl Van Richards, with stage direction by Ayòfémi Jeriah Demps, and choreography by Maxine Montilus. Mezzo-soprano Kimberly Hernández returns to Opera Orlando to reprise her role as Mother Albirtha, joined by sopranos Amy Cofield as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Sabrina Langlois as Calpurnia, and Renée Richardson as Calpurnia’s mother Cassandra. The production will also feature the Opera Orlando Youth Company, dancers from Inez Patricia School of Dance, and fantastic puppetry originally created by MicheLee Puppets—now Orlando Family Stage.

This production is dedicated to the memories of puppeteer Tracey Conner and stage director Dennis Whitehead-Darling whose creative vision shaped this piece from the start.