The Passion of Joan of Arc

An opera by John Partridge

4:00 pm

June 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30

Trinity Episcopal Church

275 E. Spain St. Sonoma, CA 95476

All performances are 4:00 pm at Trinity Episcopal Church 275 E. Spain St. Sonoma

To purchase tickets, click on the date

Friday June 21

Saturday June 22

Sunday June 23

Friday June 28

Saturday June 29

Sunday June 30

Principal Singers

  • Audrey Johnson

    Joan of Arc

  • Sophia Ferar

    Anne of Burgundy

    (Duchess of Bedford)

  • Russ Kladko

    John of Lancaster

    (Duke of Bedford)

  • Amber March

    Marie D’Estivet

  • Florida Stringer

    Saint Margaret

  • Jill Wagoner

    St. Catherine

  • Chad Williams

    Master Guillaume Erard

  • Aria - Claire Ferar

    King Henry VI of England

  • Ben Covone

    Bishop of Beauvais / Watt

  • Jeff Dreyer

    Gil

Creative Team

  • John Partridge

    Composer-Librettist/ Music Director

  • Aimee Greenberg

    Director

  • Lissa Ferreira

    Choreographer / Intimacy Coach

The only contemporary depiction of Joan. Probably created by someone who had never seen her, but had heard about her.

The Background of the Story

By the middle of the 15th century, England and France had been at war for over 70 years, but it looked like the English were about to finally defeat the French and put Henry VI (the 9-year-old King of England) on the throne of France, combining the two kingdoms. All they needed to do was to capture the town of Orleans. They laid siege to the town and things looked hopeless. Then an illiterate teen-aged girl arrived in command of a small group of soldiers. She claimed that two Saints had appeared to her and had commanded her to drive the English away.

To everyone’s amazement, she broke through the English lines, causing them to abandon the siege of Orleans. She quickly followed this up with more victories, but eventually she was captured by the English and put on trial for her life. She was accused of heresy and witchcraft. The opera covers the period of her trial and eventual execution.

The History of the Opera

Back in the 1970s, I was visiting a friend’s house and noticed a book he had lying next to his couch. While my friend was making our dinner, I picked up the book and started skimming through it. It turned out to be the trial transcripts from Joan’s trial. I was captivated! Here was a medieval saint who was not a fairy-tale type figure, but a smart, sarcastic young woman with a typical peasant’s contempt for people in authority, facing off against some of the most powerful people in France and holding her own.

The idea of writing an opera about Joan stuck with me and many years later - when I was working with Goat Hall Productions in San Francisco - they agreed to stage one scene from the opera.

The performance went well, but there was no opportunity to do the whole work, so I put the project aside.

Fast forward to 2022. A good friend (and the man who had been the director for the Goat Hall production) commissioned me to complete the opera. I set to work and - with luck! - the finished product will be presented in June of this year.

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