Allow us to take you back a few years... In the spring of 2017 and 2018, Independent Opera Company performed Stabat Mater, the final work of composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. The work is dedicated to the suffering of the Virgin Mary as she watches her beloved son Jesus being crucified. Stabat Mater originates as a 13th Century Christian hymn. The title stems from its first line “Stabat Mater dolorosa”, meaning “the sorrowful mother was standing”. It was commissioned by

Picture by Ron Batzdorff Madame Flora stages seances within her home, assisted by her capable daughter, Monica, and Madame’s mute servant, Toby. Invited guests attend with the promise of being connected with their loved ones who have passed on. Meet Mr. and Mrs. Gobineau, who spend years visiting Madame Flora for weekly seances. Mrs. Nolan joins the pair who are under the guise that they can enter a shared realm with their dearly departed within the walls of Madame Flora’s ho