A limited number of tickets are now on sale for the very first workshop performance of FREE MEN, a new chamber opera by Eugene resident Ashley Hastings.

Story, libretto, and music by Ashley Hastings (with occasional borrowings)

This one-act chamber opera takes place in the American South, shortly after the Civil War, in the early days of Reconstruction. Tom Chance, after unwillingly serving in the Confederate Army, finds himself unwillingly engaged to Arthur Owen's daughter Celeste. Tom is gay, and he rebels. He flees to an estate that he has just inherited.

Reaching his new estate, Tom finds Joe, a young Black man, living there. Joe also is gay, and the two young men quickly bond. Their joy is interrupted by the Owens, who have tracked Tom down. They demand that Tom return with them, threatening to have him arrested for sodomy. They also declare that Joe will be lynched. Tom’s solution to this dilemma is simple, effective, and tragic.

Scored for Soprano, Mezzo-soprano, Tenor, Baritone, and Piano

  • Daniel Cho

    Daniel Cho is a Korean-American conductor and violinist from San Francisco, California. He began his journey as a conductor at the age of 16, when he was selected to be the Assistant Conductor of the Napa Valley Youth Symphony, in which he also served as concertmaster. Daniel currently serves as the Conducting Fellow of the Eugene Symphony, as well as Assistant Conductor of the Oregon Mozart Players and Eugene Opera.

  • Phoebe Gildea

    Soprano Phoebe Gildea’s vibrant voice, honest acting, and engaging stage presence have earned her roles in opera and theater alike. She has appeared with Portland Opera, Astoria Music Festival, Cascadia Concert Opera, Theatre Mints, Eugene Opera, Majestic Theatre, and Lakewood Theatre, among others. Phoebe is based in Portland, Oregon, where she teaches voice and piano online to students across the country.

  • Ashley Hastings

    Ashley Hastings came to composing late in life, after a career in language education. After retiring, he briefly ran a language testing company and then became involved with Eugene Opera, first as a volunteer, then as a board member. This experience energized his lifelong fascination with opera. Free Men is his second opera, and the first to be workshopped. His third opera, The Dream, is to be workshopped sometime in 2022; and he is currently working on a fourth.

  • Sandy Holder

    Pianist Sandy Holder has worked with the Oregon Bach Festival, Eugene Symphony, Eugene Opera, Oregon Symphony, Eugene Children's Choirs, Oregon Festival of American Music, and the Oregon Mozart Players as well as performing in numerous recitals at Lane Community College, the University of Oregon, and various symposiums and conferences. She is an instructor at Lane Community Collegea and has maintained a private teaching studio in Eugene since 1993.

  • Carson Lott

    Tenor Carson Lott is an active singer in Washington and Oregon. As a soloist, Carson has appeared with the Musicking Conference, Pacific Artists Collective, and Harmonia Orchestra and Chorus. Works have included Mozart’s Requiem, Händel’s Messiah, Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (BWV 106), Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme! (BWV 140), and Collegium Regale (Howells). Carson has sung the rooster in Renard (Stravinsky), Paolino in Il matrimonio segreto (Cimarosa), and other roles.

  • Hannah Penn

    Hannah Penn, mezzo-soprano, enjoys a diverse career as a performer of opera, oratorio, and recital literature. Frequently praised for her musicality and the timbre of her voice, Ms. Penn has been called “...a major talent”, and “...an intelligent and wonderfully musical singer” by Portland’s Willamette Week, and was praised for having “...intriguing colors at both ends of her range” by The Oregonian. She has sung more than twenty operatic roles with many companies, and is a favorite in Eugene.

  • Marcus Peterson

    Marcus Peterson, a bass/baritone from West Bloomfield, MI, is pursuing a double Master's in Voice and Choral Conducting at Indiana University. He has performed throughout the US, Europe, Canada, and South Africa. His recent roles include Bartolo in Mozart's Le Nozze Di Figaro, Pirate King in Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance, Balthazar in Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors, Alidoro in Rossini's La Cenerentola, and Seneca in Monteverdi’s L'incoronazione di Poppea.