HAVING
GUESTS
FOR
DINNER
Curious Guests Always Make the Best Food...
NICK
BENTZ
ROBERT
FENG
When the young dysfunctional couple Marcus and Laura attend a "dinner for three" hosted by the refined, but eccentric Christoph Aberfeld, things take a turn for the macabre. Between courses and questionable puns, the two become increasingly suspicious their host is a cannibal.
Will the two catch Christoph red-handed,
or will they meat their demise?
The steaks have never been higher...
Cast features 3 principal singers with 2 speaking roles. The opera is scored for a 10 piece chamber orchestra, with a piano reduction for flexibility. There is a full 65 min version and 16 min bite-sized version, as well as several arias and excerpts that could be featured in a concert setting.
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While this opera can stand alone, it can easily be featured on a double bill with works such as Suor Angelica, Bon Apetit, or Speed Dating Tonight.
The musical style of the opera is ceaselessly eclectic, incorporating elements from the early operas of Monteverdi to the latest sounds of today. The music of ‘Having Guests for Dinner’ reflects the witty, quick, and often slapstick nature of the libretto.
Menu
LAURA | $9.57
organized and analytic, a passionate sociology major (early 20's)
Voice Type: Soprano/Lyric Mezzo
MARCUS | $7.00
Laura's fun-loving and easy going boyfriend (Mid 20's)
Voice Type: Tenor
(cont.)
CHRISTOPH ABERFELD | $12.95
a refined gentleman with a keen interest in fine art and anthropology; he is a coworker of Marcus and Laura’s mutual friend Scott. A cannibal (Late 30's/Early 40's)
Voice Type: Lyric Bass or Bass-Baritone
POLICE OFFICERS (2) | $3.50
Speaking Roles, no specified gender identity
Why Produce
This Show?
This opera blends horror and slapstick to deliver a mouthwatering modern tale of loneliness, interpersonal connection, and cannibalism.
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At its core, Having Guests for Dinner offers a humorous and satirical take on the insidious nature of colonialism in today’s society.​ Concert Goers will see this opera as a breath of fresh air, while first-time audiences will be coming back for seconds.
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We are currently working with a Chicago based production company that is looking for other Opera companies to present the piece either as their own production or as a touring show.
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Note: This opera contains strong language that may not be suitable for children (oh, and I suppose the cannibalism part too...)
Demons Practicing Cannibalism
Livre de la Vigne nostre Seigneur (f.100r 1450-1470)
Demons practicing canibalism in the
Livre de la Vigne nostre Seigneur
Having Guests for Dinner Poster
Hillman Opera (SUNY Fredonia)
From Left to Right: Dan Novak as Marcus, Patrick Connolly as Christoph, and Mia Mandineau as Laura (2024)
Need some horror for Halloween, or some dark humor to balance out that tear-jerker in a double bill?
Make Having Guests for Dinner part of your future season! Continue scrolling for more information.
FULL SYNOPSIS
[Run Time: 65 min (full) / 16 min (bite-sized)]
Scene 1: Milwaukee, WI. April, 2010. A dining room in a luxurious home by the countryside. It is 7:00pm and pouring outside.
Marcus and Laura are on their way to a stranger’s house for dinner, only knowing the host is a coworker of their friend Scott who is strangely absent. Between courses and questionable puns, Laura becomes increasingly suspicious that Christoph is a cannibal. Discovering the couple rummaging through his belongings while he was off fetching the main course, Christoph promptly kicks them out. Marcus finds a tooth in his doggie bag on the drive back.
Scene 2: Marcus and Laura’s apartment, later that evening.
Back at their apartment, Marcus and Laura attempt to rationalize why there was a tooth in Marcus’s food. After a long debate, they ultimately conclude that Christoph being a cannibal is the most likely scenario and plan to closely follow him the next day at the grocery store.
Scene 3: The Grocery Store, the next day.
Marcus and Laura follow Christoph to the grocery store. Laura has second thoughts on their spying, but Marcus reassures her. Marcus goes to use the public restroom, only to have Christoph walk in soon after. Marcus disguises his voice and tries to converse with Christoph in an attempt to figure out his next move. As Christoph leaves, Marcus accidentally drops the tooth in the toilet and flushes it in a panic, destroying their only piece of hard evidence. Christoph mentions he’ll be visiting the Grohmann Art Museum soon. Marcus and Laura follow him there.
Scene 4: The Grohmann Art Museum, the same day.
Christoph admires a piece titled “Demons Practicing Cannibalism.” After his soliloquy, he spots Marcus and Laura spying on him from a distance. Laura shakes it off as a chance encounter and apologizes for the previous night. She asks about the painting, which generates more suspicious remarks from Christoph. After some persuasion, they are re-invited to dinner at Christoph’s house later that evening.
Scene 5: Christoph’s house, that evening.
Christoph welcomes Marcus and Laura back into his home, this time giving them a special tour of the “Bone Room.” The room is full of various mementos from different tribes as well as photographs of Christoph on his visits. He tells Marcus and Laura about his travels around the world. While Christoph goes off to fetch the wine, Laura and Marcus discover a box filled with 'reviews' of the tribespeople Christoph had murdered and eaten. Christoph catches them by surprise with chloroform and they are rendered unconscious.
Scene 6: Christoph’s house, dining room.
Marcus and Laura wake up at the dinner table tied to chairs. Christoph admits to crimes, sharing his philosophy on making human connections through cannibalism. At the height of his speech, Marcus’s phone goes off, causing Christoph to have a meltdown. Police sirens are heard in the background, and Christoph haphazardly prepares his feast, choking to death on an appetizer in the process. Marcus and Laura untie themselves only for the police to arrive at the tableau of Marcus triumphantly holding a knife atop Christoph’s corpse. As Marcus and Laura are being arrested, Laura alerts them to the Bone Room where they discover Christoph’s box of evidence. They are let free, and Laura gives one final snarky remark.
WORK SAMPLES
Pun Duet (from Scene 2)
performed by:
Mia Mandineau - Laura
Dan Novak - Marcus
Patrick Connolly - Christoph Aberfeld
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Conducted by Glen Cortese
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Commissioned by Kor Productions for the Orchestral Workshop Premiere at Hillman Opera (SUNY Fredonia), 2023.
Scene 1 (The Dinner Scene)
performed by:
Mia Mandineau - Laura
Dan Novak - Marcus
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Conducted by Glen Cortese
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Commissioned by Kor Productions for the Orchestral Workshop Premiere at Hillman Opera (SUNY Fredonia), 2023.
Christoph's Aria:
You know my heart
performed by:
Robert Ellsworth Feng
Justina Lee
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Performed and Recorded at UH Manoa
Supermarket Scene (from Scene 3)
performed by:
Mia Mandineau - Laura
Dan Novak - Marcus
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Conducted by Glen Cortese
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Commissioned by Kor Productions for the Orchestral Workshop Premiere at Hillman Opera (SUNY Fredonia), 2023.
Final Scene (Staged)
performed by:
Mia Mandineau - Laura
Dan Novak - Marcus
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Conducted by Glen Cortese
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Commissioned by Kor Productions for the Orchestral Workshop Premiere at Hillman Opera (SUNY Fredonia), 2023.
ABOUT THE CREATORS
Composer
Nick Bentz (b. 1994 - Charleston, SC) is a composer, violinist, and multimedia artist whose work is drawn to remote fringes and recesses of experience. In his work he seeks to render intimately personal spaces imbued with an individual sense of storytelling and narrative. His art centers around the blurring, juxtaposition, and amalgamation of stylistic idioms into singular sonic statements.
Nick's music has been performed by leading artists including International Contemporary Ensemble, yMusic, Ensemble Dal Niente, Hub New Music, HOCKET, Sandbox Percussion, and LIGAMENT. Increasingly at home with the orchestra, his symphonic works have been played by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Charleston Symphony, Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, and Jacksonville Symphony, and has been featured at Lincoln Center, Cabrillo Festival, Kimmel Center, Copland House, and Bowdoin Music Festival. His first opera, Having Guests for Dinner was commissioned by /kor/ productions and has been performed by Hillman Opera, Hartford Opera Theater, New Opera West, and Central Washington University.
Nick is an avid collaborator across artistic mediums, with multimedia works exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in Shanghai, LA Shorts International Film Festival, Chengdu Museum, KuBe Art Center, Columbia Circle, and venues across the US and China. His piece Million Adversarial Faces was launched into space by Weina Star Technology Company, and is currently in orbit around Earth. His work has received top honors from the Tribeca New Music Festival, the American Prize, the iSING International Young Artists Festival, Boston New Music Initiative, Hartford Opera Theater, and American Composer’s Orchestra’s EarShot Readings. Nick has held residencies at Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Suncoast Composer Fellowship, and the Atlantic Center for the Arts.
As a violinist, Nick has soloed with the Charleston Symphony, Thornton EDGE, and the Pacific Philharmonic. He has also performed with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra. An avid interpreter of new music, Nick has commissioned and premiered a number of pieces ranging from chamber and solo pieces to concerti and multimedia works. Current projects include co-commissions from Ensemble Intercontemporain and Wigmore Hall, a Kennedy Center debut as part of the Sounds of US Festival, a piece for percussionist David Moliner to be premiered at the Musikverein in Vienna, and multimedia projects with visual artist Allyson Packer and soprano Anika Kildegaard.
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Nick is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Brown University, pursuing a doctorate in Music and Multimedia Composition under Anthony Cheung. He received a master’s degree in composition from the University of Southern California. Nick also earned a master's in violin from the Peabody Conservatory, receiving bachelor's degrees in violin and composition from Peabody under the tutelage of Herbert Greenberg and Kevin Puts. Nick's mentors include Wang Lu, Eric Nathan, Butch Rovan, Nina Young, Donald Crockett, Ted Hearne, Andrew Norman, Felipe Lara, and Yiorgos Vassilandonakis; his violin teachers include Lina Bahn, Yuriy Bekker, and Diana Cohen.
Visit his website here
Librettist
Robert Ellsworth Feng (b.1995 - San Francisco, CA) is a Chinese-American bass-baritone and librettist who creates impactful and entertaining works that have been described as “relatable and fresh.” His comedies are noted for being “quick-witted and layered”, and his horror as “hauntingly engaging.” His goal is to help move this industry toward a more inclusive direction, where the stories we tell and who gets to tell them are as diverse as the audiences today. Robert’s political satire micro-opera Chew On This premiered in June 2024, (with composer Yunfei Li) commissioned by Lyric Opera of Kansas City and No Divide KC for their Come As You Are (CAYA) Festival, described as “truly an operette for our times” (S. Fairbank).
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Feng’s first opera (with composer Nick Bentz) Having Guests for Dinner is a 1-act horror/comedy. It premiered virtually with New Opera West in 2020 and has since been performed live with them as well as Hartford Opera Theater and Hillman Opera at SUNY Fredonia in 2024 where a 90 min version was commissioned by Kor Productions. It was recently performed at Central Washington University in April (2025) for their chamber opera showcase.​
Feng's body of work includes 7 operas (5 of which have been commissioned and/or performed), 1 oratorio, 3 song cycles, and 2 art songs. Most notable are his operas Having Guests for Dinner (comp: Nick Bentz, commissioned by Kor Productions, performed at Hillman Opera SUNY Fredonia in 2023), Salmo (comp: Nick Bentz, to be workshopped at Brown University in 2027), Chew on This (comp: Yunfei Li, commissioned by Lyric Opera of KC & No Divide KC in 2024), and The Ming & I (comp: Ben Yee-Paulson) a commission by Boston Opera Collective for 2026. Feng has also collaborated with prolific NYC based composer Felix Jarrar on the art song When They Killed Us, Did You Say They Killed Americans? about the 2021 Atlanta Spa Shootings and rise in anti-Asian hate crimes during the Covid Pandemic, and the supernatural horror opera You Do Not Recognize the Bodies in the Water, which was workshopped at OPERA America in 2022.​
Robert holds degrees from Peabody Conservatory and Manhattan School of Music and is a recipient of the Peabody Career Development Award. Feng was a Librettist Fellow for Lyric Opera of KC and No Divide KC’s CAYA Festival Fellowship, and is an alum of Really Spicy Opera’s Aria Institute for Composers & Librettists: Sci-Fi Edition, and Librettist Workshop.​​​​​
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