On Thursday, May 26 and Saturday, June 4 at 7:00 p.m. in Wakefield, RI, The Contemporary Theater Company presents The Voice of Gertrude Stein, featuring the finest local New England talent. The program features a selection of art songs with lyrics by Stein by LGBTQIA+ composers such as Virgil Thomson, Ned Rorem and Felix Jarrar, as well as Rorem’s opera Three sisters who aren’t sisters.

With these performances, the co-producers Rachel Hanauer and Caroline Spaeth want to give a voice to the LGBTQIA+ art scene in particular. Hanauer, a Providence College professor, hopes to bring opera to Rhode Island college singing students who may not have many opportunities to see the art of singing live. “We also hope that this evening will be a safe haven for LGBTQIA+ and non-binary audiences, especially since the past few years have been so tense in American political life,” says Spaeth.

Spaeth and Hanauer will sing in the roles of Jenny and Helen dre sisters who are not sisters. The cast is completed by tenor Michael Gonzalez, soprano Sara DeLong and mezzo-soprano Jade Espina. Mezzo-soprano Julie Rumbold will sing the role of Stein herself in a selection by Peter Dayton May she | She may in the first half of the program and will take on the role of Sylvia Three sisters on June 4th.

Tickets range from $10 to $30 and can be purchased at https://www.contemporarytheatercompany.com/springboard-schedule. Spaeth and Hanauer also have a Kofi page for those who wish to contribute to the project: https://ko-fi.com/gertrudestein