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For Eastman Opera Theatre’s Pat Diamond, opera is about more than great music—it is stories that move audiences and linger long after the lights come up.
Diamond, an associate professor of opera, will direct one of the two contemporary operas at Eastman next weekend, “Click!” and “In a Grove.” Each one tells a compelling story in an untraditional way, and each one will get you thinking.
It will be the world premiere of “Click!” with music by Steve Bramson and libretto by Gayle Hudson. A 1983 Eastman alumnus, Bramson is a prolific movie and television composer. “Click!” is his first opera, but, he says, “my mother was a soprano, and opera was always simmering in my background.”
The notion of writing an opera surfaced during the pandemic, when Bramson was looking for a project. Based on his interest in photography, he decided on an unusual subject: the life of the celebrated Hungarian-American photographer Andre Kertész.
Kertész (1894-1985) is one of the 20th-century’s most influential photographers. His long career took him and his wife, Elisabeth, from his native Hungary to Paris and to refuge in New York City during World War II (both were Jewish). Kertész became a busy photographer for American magazines in the 1930s and 1940s, but he was financially and emotionally supported by Elisabeth until her death in 1977. Late in life, he was revered as a father of photojournalism. (By coincidence, the George Eastman Museum is hosting the exhibit “American, born Hungary: Kertész, Capa, and the Hungarian American Photographic Legacy”, until March 2026.)
All these periods of his life and career, and his devotion to Elisabeth, are faithfully reflected in the opera’s wide-ranging story. Bramson and Hudson’s work-in-progress attracted the attention of Eastman Opera Theatre musical director Tim Long, who is always on the lookout for new operas. He’ll conduct next weekend’s premiere, which will be directed by Diamond.
“In an opera, the story and the collaboration are the lifeblood,” says Bramson. “As an Eastman alumnus, I know how good the performance and production will be.
“Andre’s images were the only way he could communicate fully,” says Bramson. “Much of his life was difficult, but creativity is a flame in all people that doesn’t extinguish despite adversities and the forces of history—World War II, antisemitism.”
“This opera covers a long time period and vast distances,” says Diamond, the stage director of “Click!” “There are no ‘scenes,’ but Andre’s story is told through his images.”
The writing and tryout process included some rewrites for the composer. To provide an opportunity for another Eastman student, the role of Andre was divided into young and old selves, sung by a tenor and a baritone. Elisabeth’s role was amplified with an additional aria. There’s also an unseen part: a magazine interviewer, whose amusingly clueless questions to Andre shape the action. (The opera is now about 70 minutes long.)
Bramson says matching music to visual images is good training for writing an opera.
“My tools are the same. Dramatic composition is about matching the mood, energy, and emotion on the screen,” he explains. “The music needs to convey the moment and tell a story. In an opera, the action is on the stage and the focus is on communicating the words.”
Bramson even found a musical equivalent for “Kertészian,” the combination of Hungarian, French, and English spoken by the photographer, by drawing on music for scenes set in all three countries. He says his love of jazz and the Great American Songbook came in handy in evoking mid-century New York City.
“Steve Bramson’s music is wonderful,” says mezzo-soprano Jessica Kodsi, who plays Elisabeth. “It’s just nice to listen to, but I also love how the scoring helps to tell the story.”
Besides its musical demands, this role includes spoken lines, and learning to deliver dialogue and create a role is increasing her prowess as an actress.
“I’m really growing,” Kodsi says. “It’s exciting to set a precedent in this role, and learn how to serve the drama and how to play with my art.”
Compared to the expansiveness of “Click!”, “In a Grove” is an eerie, haunted mind game. This one-act opera by Christopher Cerrone and Stephanie Fleischmann was first performed in 2022, but this is its debut in Rochester. The direction is in the hands of Joelle Lachance, a master’s student in the opera directing program, and the show is conducted by Long.
“In a Grove” is new to Rochester audiences, but the story may be familiar from the classic Japanese movie “Rashomon” and its other adaptations. Several people involved in a violent event (in the original, the murder of a samurai; in the opera, the disappearance of a young woman and the murder of her husband) give differing accounts of it, with no clear judgment of their guilt or innocence.
“There are seven perspectives on the murder in ‘In a Grove,’ and each one is different,” says Lachance. “The conclusion is left to the audience—who’s telling the truth? As a director, of course, I want the singers to have a clear idea of where their character stands.”
The authors of “In a Grove” moved the setting from medieval Japan to the Pacific Northwest in the 1920s; Lachance decided to move it further north, to the Yukon Territory during its gold rush, giving the characters some added motivation in the area’s promise of riches.
Wherever “In a Grove” is set, says Lachance, “it’s about the power of truth, and its mutation and manipulation by people.”
This theme, and Cerrone’s nine-instrument scoring, is enhanced by lighting, projections, and atmospheric sonic effects, like an electronic drone and what the director describes as “a shifting chordscape. The melodic material floats on top of it, creating a cushion of sound for the vocal lines.” Those vocal lines will also be miked, distorted and manipulated to reflect the ambiguity of the story.
(The production also contains depictions of sexual violence, theatrical haze (fake smoke/fog), gunshot sound effects, and strobe lighting effects. So, while Lachance jokes that “In a Grove” is “perfect for Halloween” (its opening night), it is definitely not recommended for children.)
Technically and artistically, “Click!” and “In a Grove” present exciting firsts for Eastman Opera Theatre. Productions for 2026 include a few more firsts: a chamber version of Debussy’s “Pelléas et Mélisande” and a disco-era take on Johann Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus.”
To Diamond, “all these projects are consistent with our Eastman Opera Theater brand. We’re thrilled to add these operas to our repertory, and to train our students to perform them with the highest degree of professionalism.”
Eastman Opera Theatre will perform the world premiere of “Click!” (2025) on Oct. 30 and Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m., and the Eastman debut of “In a Grove” (2021) on Oct. 31 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 2 at 2:30 p.m. All performances take place in Kilbourn Hall, Eastman School of Music. For information and tickets, click the link for each title.
The cast of “Click!” will present a preview of the opera on Sunday, Oct. 26, at 3 p.m. at the George Eastman Museum. Free to members; included with admission.
David Raymond is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer.
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