Renegade Opera’s Artists in Conversation Festival

Renegade Opera announces two new works as part of the Artists in Conversation Festival, an annual program that explores the future of opera and the performing arts through the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The 2026 Artists in Conversation Festival presents live performances of two concert works, We’re Still Here: A Love Song to Queer Composers and Duo Cantilena: An Exploration of Guitar and Voice Music. Each concert will be followed by a conversation with the performers and creators, an opportunity to learn, explore, and expand your understanding of what it means to tell stories through music for today’s audiences.

We’re Still Here is a celebration of queer composers and queer love through the ages, featuring works from both modern and classical composers who loved or identified outside the bounds of traditional ideas. The program features local artists Madeleine Tran, Eulis Kay, and Claire Forstman and includes a diverse array of songs ranging from art song repertoire from Poulenc, Barber, Copland, and little-known queer female historical composers Ethyl Smyth and Adele Maddison, as well as modern selections from pop favorites like Brandi Carlisle and George Michael. Join this sometimes poignant, sometimes hilarious program.

Duo Cantilena is a husband-and-wife duo composed of Joshua Bavaro, guitarist and Emily Evelyn Way, soprano. They perform art song repertoire for voice and classical guitar. With grace, poise, and fearless expressivity, they bring new life to repertoire written across the ages and showcase song cycles rarely heard. The pair met while studying music at Manhattan School of Music and have performed together ever since. Their current program starts with Italian art songs from the early 1800’s and travels through Germany and Spain, culminating in contemporary English and American repertoire. The final set of the program, Confiding, was written by Joshua’s guitar teacher at MSM, a sweet return to the beginnings of Duo Cantilena.