Aoife O'Donovan

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Rich Gilligan

Aoife O'Donovan

A message from Stoughton Opera House:

Well...it's hard to come up with a good way to communicate this, so we'll just come out and say it - due to the ongoing global pandemic all scheduled Opera House performances for 2020 have been postponed to the Spring of 2021.

As many of you know, the Opera House has found success these last years through the tireless work of a very small staff, many volunteers, and some of the kindest most devoted patrons imaginable. We know how lucky we are to have you and we've pushed ourselves harder and harder each season to earn the support you've given. Maybe that's why - even in the face of a global pandemic - we feel we've let you down.

The good news is we're going to keep on going and try to push through this thing. We'll be ready with an even better Opera House experience (no we aren't replacing the chairs) when it's safe to have shows again.  As I'm sure some of you have experienced at home or at work, it isn't easy to keep working hard at getting nowhere. Our staff has been reduced to two, so we're going to have our hands full.

There is a list of the postponed shows further down. Many of the shows listed have confirmed new dates, but some are still tentative. Be assured that all of the artists are scheduling new dates, so more info soon. The exciting part is that we will be announcing a bunch of new shows for the Spring of 2021 this Labor Day (some really good ones) and putting the whole bunch back on-sale to our members on Monday, October 12! The general public on-sale will be on Monday, October 26.

Becoming a member or holding onto your tickets for the postponed shows are the best things you can do right now to help keep us going. Become a member HERE. For questions, please reach us at: boxoffice@stoughtonoperahouse.com.

press release: Fresh off her Grammy win last month with the trio I’m With Her, Aoife O’Donovan has announced the release of her first new studio recordings in four years, the Bull Frogs Croon (and Other Songs) EP, out March 6 on Yep Roc Records. A fascinating and arrestingly beautiful song cycle, Bull Frogs Croon had its origins in 2015 when O’Donovan, violinist and composer Jeremy Kittel, and young conductor Teddy Abrams were commissioned to create a new piece of music for Oregon’s Britt Music and Arts Festival. While researching the project, Aoife was introduced to Oregon’s poet laureate Peter Sears, whose work would serve as the lyrical source material for the three songs onBull Frogs Croon. Sears, who passed away in 2017, attended the premiere performance of these songs in 2015, observing “When poems are set to music an entirely new creation springs forth.”

Today, Aoife has shared “Night Fishing,” one of the songs which draws on Sears’ poetry. Of the original poem she says, “It was the opening line that drew me in: ‘The water is a glaze like loneliness at ease with itself.’ That idea really struck a chord.”

While the 2015 premiere of Bull Frogs Croon was performed by a full orchestra, O’Donovan elected to strip the studio recording back to an elemental string quartet consisting of violinists Kittel and Brittany Haas (Crooked Still, Hawktail), violist Mario Gotoh (Silkroad Ensemble, Broadway’s Hamilton) and bassist Paul Kowert (Punch Brothers, Hawktail). In addition to three new compositions, the EP — which was co-produced by Aoife and Kittel — consists of fresh takes on two songs that have been part of O’Donovan’s repertoire for years: the Irish folk song “Lakes of Pontchartrain,” and Hazel Dickens’ “Pretty Bird.” Says Aoife: “The through line for me is that the poetry of both of those songs fit well with how Bull Frogs Croon ends in such a beautiful loving way.”

Aoife O’Donovan will tour extensively in support of Bull Frogs Croon, see below for a complete list of dates. She will make regular appearances on Live From Here with Chris Thile, as she has since the show’s inception.