Opera Ithaca is set to present the world premiere of a provocative and immersive new opera titled Waking the Witch, composed and written by Ashi Day. “The idea for the piece came from a countertenor friend who asked me to write him a role,” Day explains. “He said he’d love to play a bad guy, so I started thinking about a one-person dramatic situation with a character who had already made up his mind.”
The opera draws on the history of witch hunts that took place across Europe and the early United States from the late 15th to the 17th centuries. “The thing that kicked it all off was a priest named Heinrich Kramer,” Day says. “He wrote Malleus Maleficarum, which became a guide for hunting witches and turned what had been minor accusations into full-blown panics.”
Day dove deep into history while writing the libretto, but her research also led her to unsettling modern-day parallels. “I used historical texts alongside contemporary rhetoric—from the Kavanaugh hearings to January 6 testimonies,” she notes. “It’s all about how people in power can warp narratives and create enemies. We haven’t learned as much as I wish we had.”
The opera is written for a solo countertenor—a role originally created for Day’s friend, Min Sung Kim—and features both singing and spoken sections. For Opera Ithaca’s production, the role will be performed by Ithaca College alumnus Nicholas Kelliher. “I’ve heard wonderful things about Nick,” Day shares. “I’m excited to see how he brings this character to life.”
Day describes the score as wide-ranging and time-traveling. “The music evolves through different styles—from Baroque dances to Puritan hymns to Americana hoedown—mirroring how these ideas of accusation and panic repeat through history."
Waking the Witch will be performed November 12, 14, and 15 at 7:30 p.m., with a 2:00 p.m. matinee on November 16, all at the Kitchen Theatre, 417 West State Street in Ithaca. Tickets and more information are available at Opera Ithaca’s website: operaithaca.org