Green Thumbed:
a laugh-out-loud
gardening opera
What happens when someone who knows nothing about gardening tries to lead a gardening club? In Green Thumbed, that’s Rose: her plants are mysteriously dying even as she bulldozes her way into the leadership of the Laketon Garden Society. What follows is a comedic showdown between botany and big egos, complete with a satirical edge and a surprisingly touching center.
Courtesy of Really Spicy Opera and Opera Athena
Green Thumbed • 2025
Libretto by Tiffa Foster
Comedic Opera in One Act
World Premiere: June 14, 2025
Developed and Commissioned by Really Spicy Opera's Aria Institute for Composers and Librettists
Supported by awards from the Minnesota State Arts Board, Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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Duration
60 minutes
Instrumentation
Available as piano-vocal and with chamber ensemble
Vocal Parts
ROSE (Lead, Mezzo-Soprano) — G3–A5
HOLLY (Lead, Soprano) — E4–B5
MARIGOLD (Featured, Soprano) — D4–G5
DAHLIA (Supporting, Soprano) — D4–E♭5
ASTER (Supporting, Soprano/Mezzo) — A3–E♭5
ASH (Supporting, Tenor) — D3–A4
REED (Supporting, Bass) — G2–D4
“This hilarious piece was a virtual catalog aria of all the things that can go wrong when growing things, set to a darling and fun score by Jamey Guzman.”
John Anderson, Twin Cities Arts Reader
Acknowledgments
Green Thumbed was developed by Really Spicy Opera, beginning in the Aria Institute for Composers and Librettists.
The commission of the full work by Really Spicy Opera, and the premiere co-production with Really Spicy Opera and Opera Athena, was made possible through multiple contributions:
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This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
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This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.
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This activity is funded, in part, by an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the State’s general fund.
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This activity is also made possible by the voters of Minnesota through grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Performance History
June 14, 2025
Opera Athena & Really Spicy Opera
Opera Athena and Really Spicy Opera co-presented the world premiere of the opera, starring Emily Cottam as Rose, Victoria Erickson as Holly, Sarah Kuhlman as Marigold, Alexis Reed as Dahlia, Maggie Burr as Aster, Zachary Dean Smith as Ash, Phill Takemura Sears as Reed, and Emilia Perrott and Zachary Dean Smith in the Ensemble.
October 2023
Rose Guo, Mezzo-Soprano
Alyssa Conde, Piano
Rose Guo closed her thrilling doctoral recital at James Madison University with "Gardens of Blight" from Green Thumbed, performed in the Forbes Center for the Performing Arts in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
June 2023
Elena Stabile, Soprano
Carson Rose Schneider, Piano Really Spicy Opera
Really Spicy Opera presented "Gardens of Blight" at the Lake Harriet Bandshell as part of the City of Minneapolis' Music in the Parks series. Elena Stabile and Carson Rose Schneider's performance was called "hilarious" and the music "darling and fun" by the Twin Cities Arts Reader's John Anderson.
April 2023
Shannon Lally, Mezzo-Soprano
Joshua Catanzaro, Piano
Shannon Lally performed "Gardens of Blight" on a concert of operatic arias and scenes in the Whittenberger Auditorium, Bloomington, Indiana.
December 2022
Anne Wieben, Soprano
Lindsey Huff, Piano
Really Spicy Opera
Anne Wieben performed "Gardens of Blight" on her program "An Evening of American Contemporary Opera" at the Ferric Acoustic Stage in Vienna.
July 2022
Erin Haefner, Mezzo-Soprano
Ruby Chuang, Piano
Nightingale Opera Theatre Young Artist's Program
Erin Haefner performed the first staging of "Gardens of Blight," directed by Cynthia Skelley-Wohlschlager, while in residency at the Nightingale Opera Theatre Young Artist's Program in Hudson, Ohio.
January 2022
Really Spicy Opera
The cast of Really Spicy Opera performed a program at the Fondation des États-Unis in Paris, programming "Gardens of Blight."
October 2020
Ann Cravero, Mezzo-Soprano
Jodi Goble, Piano
Really Spicy Opera
At the showcase performance of the Really Spicy Opera's Aria Institute for Composers and Librettists program, Ann Cravero and Jodi Goble gave the premiere of "Gardens of Blight."
2011-2014
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2007-2010
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Green Thumbed