Proving Up: Maryland Opera Studio

Based on a 2013 short story by Karen Russell, Proving Up is a surreal and haunting commentary on the American dream as experienced by the Zegners, a fictional family of 1860s homesteaders. This narrative feels newly relevant at this fraught moment in the nation's history, when people are examining and reevaluating the achievability of the American Dream. The Zegners are a family that does everything "right" and are still undermined by forces beyond their control. These characters have parallels in our contemporary world: a mother who tries to maintain control through domestic order, a father who turns to the bottle under the pressures of supporting a family, children forced to take on responsibilities beyond their years and a lone, deranged man who resorts to violence and destruction. Pushed to the edge by poverty and ultimately undermined by fate, the Zegners' fixation on "proving up" never wanes.

About University of Maryland (UMD) School of Music

The University of Maryland School of Music provides an exceptional professional musical education within the context of a college of arts and humanities and a major research university.

About Maryland Opera Studio – UMD

The Maryland Opera Studio’s curriculum is designed to prepare singers for the future of opera by building vocal and musical skills alongside dramatic and physical skills through practical experience with esteemed resident faculty and visiting artists. Individual attention is a core principle with a select number of graduate students in each class and guaranteed performances in each semester of study, including full roles in two productions with orchestra.