Since 2014, the Academy of Sacred Drama has made the stories and music of sacred drama come alive for today’s audiences.
The Academy presents sacred stories drawn from Biblical tales and the lives of the saints in dramatic musical productions. We create editions and translations of Baroque manuscripts and are working to make the oratorio and cantata genres the sacred alternative to Broadway productions.
We respond to today’s cultural and social challenges by reviving the ancient art of sacred drama.
In 2013, Academy of Sacred Drama founder Jeremy Rhizor entered his final year in the Historical Performance program at The Juilliard School. During the previous academic year, he had discovered the neglected world of sacred drama and had begun to brainstorm how he might be able to champion the revival of the genre. Of particular interest was the Baroque oratorio and cantata genres that draw its stories from Biblical tales and the lives of the saints.
Jeremy proposed to create a Baroque-style Academy in the style of the Arcadian Academy—a Roman society dedicated to the reformation of poetry that brought together leading musical and visual artists as well as noblemen and church leaders. Through a concerted effort on the parts of musicians, scholars, and prominent members of the community, the stories of sacred drama could come alive for the audiences of today.
For eleven years, Jeremy and the Academy team have immersed themselves in the oratorio and cantata genres. They have revived sixteen Broadway-length Italian-Baroque oratorios and have performed cantatas in concert. For a number of years, they also produced the Sacred Drama Journal.
Reviving old and forgotten manuscripts remains at the core of our creative process. However, we are going to take the process several steps further by translating and musically reworking oratorios into touring productions that fuel popular piety and make sacred drama a familiar part of life.
The Academy team consists of a stellar instrumental ensemble, a rotating cast of brilliant voices, translators, and the loyal members of our Board of Directors.
