Margaret in Love and War, a 5 minute look with synopsis, opera by Schwendinger & Strand.

The opera recounts how Margaret Fuller, America’s first female war correspondent arrived in Rome in 1847 to report for the New York Tribune during the Italian civil war. Fuller found herself at the heart of the Risorgimento, as the Pope fled and Rome declared itself a people's republic. Her thrilling account from the front lines, while forces gathered to put down the revolt, shared Italy’s story with the world. Friends with revolutionaries like Garibaldi and Mazzini, she fell in love with a nobleman Giovanni Ossoli, with whom she had a child, but her marriage was never accepted by his family. After the failure of the revolution all three died in a shipwreck off Fire Island, New York, as they were traveling to the US. Fuller's body was never recovered. History has denied Margaret Fuller her rightful place as one of the most eloquent intellectuals of the 19th century, the person to unite the cause of a democratic Italy with the ideal of America. "Their cause is ours," Margaret wrote. Laura Schwendinger, composer; Ginger Strand, librettist Directors, Players and Cast Christopher Alden, Director Eiki Isomura - Music Director Margaret Fuller, Soprano - Marnie Breckenridge Guiseppe Ossoli, Baritone. - Patrick Wilhelm Margaret Crane Fuller (Mrs. Fuller) / Ensemble, Mezzo- Rachel Calloway Henry David Thoreau/ Giuseppe Garibaldi Ensemble, Tenor - William Ferguson Horace Greely, Tenor - Pablo Veguilla Caroline Sturgis Tappan/ Captain’s Wife, Soprano - Julia Rottmayer Nurse at Tiber Island Hospital/ Ensemble, Soprano - Rachel Jackson Sailor, Ensemble Baritone - Jonathan Lawlor From Picture This Post- "The excitement in Symphony Space was palpable. In the audience there were many fans of the composer, Laura Schwendinger, librettist Ginger Strand, Conductor Eiki Isomura the eight singers, and six orchestra members. Before the curtain, the long arm of the pianist in the small orchestra stretched out as the six musicians crouched into a pre-performance selfie. They seemed close and excited by the historic performance to come." https://www.picturethispost.com/marga... "This concert performance of Margaret in Love and War was being hosted by Cutting Edge Concerts. The organization’s founder, Victor Bond, explains, “I have known Laura Schwendinger for many years, so when she approached me with the idea of mounting the premiere of her opera Margaret in Love and War I immediately said yes. Cutting Edge Concerts has produced five operas in past seasons, and producing Laura’s opera seemed a perfect fit for my series: it has all the right elements - a strong woman protagonist, a woman composer with a proven track record, and a woman librettist, plus a fascinating story…” We quickly come to learn that the little-known story of Margaret Fuller, credited as the world’s first woman war correspondent, is indeed very dramatic and intrinsically opera-worthy. She lived in Italy at the time when it was struggling to become a free Republic, and reported on the war as it was unfolding. Not only did she have this professional credit to her name, but she tragically died in a shipwreck as she was sailing to America with her Italian husband and their son. She had met her husband, a fighter for a new republic in Italy, during the course of her work. Margaret Fuller’s story has both the romance of revolution mixed with her personal romance, and her tragic ending at sea."