About the Opera
The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist is a chamber opera-theater work by Jonathan Berger, Enrico Riley and Vievee Francis that responds to the murder of Eric Garner and the ongoing loss of Black life at the hands of authorities. Having premiered at Dartmouth’s Hopkins Center for the Arts and Stanford Live, Ritual of Breath leverages the power of music, text, dance and visual art to create a deeply moving meditative experience that aims to evoke empathy and understanding and to spur activism beyond the stage.
The universal international relevance of the work is palpable, as we see the reverberations of similar acts of violence in every country across the globe. The specific situation of Ritual of Breath becomes a metaphor for anywhere such actions take place as it evokes the reality of “the other” in our world. Erica, the center of this experience, has lost her father to police violence. An artist and activist, she calls on her community to create and participate in a ritual of healing. Her action captures the profound intimacy of personal loss as well as how communities gather around those affected. The performance unfolds across seven movements and concludes with a summons for the audience to determine their own path forward in the fight for social justice.
Eric Garner’s story is one of a person martyred in a society that has gone deeply awry. The artists have asked how through the power of their collective art they can invite a global audience to consider the state of affairs, to consider their own breath, and by extension consider the breath of others. Together we hope this piece is a call to resist and heal from violence perpetuated by racist and constricting worldviews.
Ritual of Breath | 2024 Trailer
Project History
In 2016 visual artist Enrico Riley and composer Jonathan Berger joined forces as fellow Prix de Rome recipients to create a work that grappled with these issues, inviting poet Vievee Francis to craft the powerful libretto. Pioneering theater artist Niegel Smith came on to direct and Kamna Gupta to conduct. Jawole Willa Jo Zollar consulted on choreography. Together, their work has resulted in a groundbreaking opera that features Riley’s captivating paintings and drawings of Black life, an evocative soundscape comprising piercing soprano vocals and the music of a chamber ensemble, poetic dance movements and immersive projections by Peter Nigrini.
The opera premiered on September 16, 2022 at the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth (Hanover, NH) and then was mounted at Stanford University (Standford, CA) on October, 2022.
About Community Impact & Activation
Expanding beyond the stage, Ritual of Breath is an offering that adapts to each community where is is performed.
Through civic partnerships anchored in Staten Island and spreading across NYC, we invite you to join in community activations and collective rituals of healing throughout the summer. As Ritual is remounted in New York City in Summer 2024, these are civic partnerships and community activations across the city.
Meet the Artists
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Jonathan Berger
Composer
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Vievee Francis
Librettist
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Kamna Gupta
Conductor
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Enrico Riley
Visual Artist
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Niegel Smith
Theater Director
Gallery
Neema Bickersteth and members of the recorded chorus in Movement 1 of The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist, produced by the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, photo by Ben DeFlorio.
Neema Bickersteth and Greg Ward in Movement 1 of The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist, produced by the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, photo by Katherine Lenhart.
Neema Bickersteth in Movement 1 of The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist, produced by the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, photo by Laura Swoyer.
Isaiah Robinson and Neema Bickersteth in Movement 2 of The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist, produced by the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, photo by Ben DeFlorio.
Neema Bickersteth and Trebien Pollard from Movement 3 of The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist, produced by the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, photo by Katherine Lenhart.
Trebien Pollard and Greg Ward in Movement 3 of The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist, produced by the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, photo by Laura Swoyer.
Neema Bickersteth, Trebien Pollard and Greg Ward in Movement 3 of The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist, produced by the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, photo by Katherine Lenhart.
Trebien Pollard and Greg Ward in Movement 3 of The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist, produced by the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, photo by Laura Swoyer.
Neema Bickersteth and Trebien Pollard in Movement 3 of The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist, produced by the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, photo by Laura Swoyer.
Neema Bickersteth and Trebien Pollard in Movement 3 of The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist, produced by the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, photo by Laura Swoyer.
Neema Bickersteth in Movement 4 of The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist, produced by the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, photo by Katherine Lenhart.
Neema Bickersteth in Movement 6 of The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist, produced by the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, photo by Ben DeFlorio.
Neema Bickersteth in Movement 6 of The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist, produced by the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, photo by Ben DeFlorio.
The Community Chorus in Movement 7 of The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist, produced by the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, photo by Laura Swoyer.
The Community Chorus in Movement 7 of The Ritual of Breath Is the Rite to Resist, produced by the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, photo by Katherine Lenhart.