Whether center-stage or behind the scenes, students in the School of Music, Theater, and Dance (MTD) entered their senior year as showstoppers. In the school’s Spring 2025 opera, The Anonymous Lover, three seniors—Aiden Connor ‘25, Kris Kiyoi ‘25, and Haley Rayfield ‘25—hit high notes as they took on their biggest roles in their academic careers.
Anything but Anonymous
By Aela Shaw, May 27, 2025
Seniors from the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance took on their biggest roles before graduation in "The Anonymous Lover".
Hayley Rayfield ‘25 as Léontine in the Anonymous Lover. (Photo Credit: Simon Wheeler Photography)
Hayley Rayfield ‘25 as Léontine in the Anonymous Lover. (Photo Credit: Simon Wheeler Photography)
Joseph Bologne, Cavalier de Saint-Georges, an 18th century bi-racial French composer of The Anonymous Lover. (Photo Credit: National Museum of American History)
The Anonymous Lover is a comedy-romance set in 18th century France and tells the story of an aristocratic widow named Léontine and her secret admirer Valcour, a self-made man. The opera is a punchy commentary on class divides and the isolating stigmas they produce, reflecting the circumstances when it was composed, nearly 250 years ago.
The Anonymous Lover is the sole surviving opera of Joseph Bologne, Cavalier de Saint-Georges, an 18th century bi-racial French composer. Despite being the first Black classical composer to gain widespread acclaim in Europe, Bologne’s contributions to the craft were erased from history because of his marginalized identity. In 2020, a critical edition of the opera’s score was published, and the forgotten work was brought back to life.
To make the show a reality, Christopher Zemliauskas, associate professor of music performance and the show’s music director, invited professional stage director Olivia Gacka to serve as director. In a bold leap, Gacka placed the opera in a time machine set to present-day Manhattan’s Upper-East Side, allowing the IC cast and crew to bring Joseph Bologne’s critical themes of social stagnation center stage in a more familiar and immediate setting.
“Often, if you set something in a contemporary lens, it lessens the gap between the audience and the piece itself,” says Gacka.
Her vision meant a complete reimagining of the look and feel of opera—from costumes, to set design, to the characters’ mannerisms—while still keeping true to its essential themes of class and belonging. This task could easily demand the time and care of a professional cast and crew, but Ithaca’s College’s MTD students were up for the challenge.
“I kind of had the opposite of problems. The students made things better than I would have imagined,” says Gacka. “I’m not unaware that these were students who had classes and other things to do and papers to write and their own assignments and lives, [but] it never felt like anybody had anything else in the world to do but be part of this production.”
Set Design by Aiden Connor ‘25
The Set of the Anonymous Lover. (Photo Credit: Simon Wheeler Photography)
As scenic designer for The Anonymous Lover, Theater Production and Design major Aiden Connor transformed Gacka’s vision into vibrant physical spaces.
Taking on such a central role in a theatrical production requires extensive hands-on experience. When he was a first-year student at IC, Connor made his behind-the-scenes theatrical debut as a spotlight operator for the school’s 2021 production of Rent. As is common in MTD, he worked his way up through positions of increased responsibility before landing a major role as a senior.
Over the course of six design meetings, Connor presented the director and production staff with elaborate plans to reflect the socialite scene of the Upper East Side. His favorite contribution to the opera’s stage design was the massive window-wall that separated the actors from the orchestral pit.
Gacka was blown away by Connor’s ability to design set pieces so close to what she had imagined in her head and that were, in many cases, even better.
“All the students kind of act as mentors to each other. They’re like, ‘We’re gonna acclimate you and make sure exactly what’s going on and support you.’”
- Kris Kiyoi ‘25, Production Stage Manager of "The Anonymous Lover"
Stage Management by Kris Kiyoi ‘25
As production stage manager for The Anonymous Lover, Kris Kiyoi was in charge of the bulk of scheduling during pre-production, ensuring everyone stayed on track to perfect the opera from the initial meetings in August until the curtains closed on their last performance in February.
Just like Connor, senior Stage Management major Kris Kiyoi started his journey at IC with MTD’s production of Rent. The school’s fast-paced production schedule meant Kiyoi was thrust into his role as props production assistant his second week of college. While the experience was daunting, he was able to lean on the leadership of MTD—and not only the faculty.
“All the students kind of act as mentors to each other,” Kiyoi says. “They’re like, ‘We’re gonna acclimate you and make sure exactly what’s going on and support you.’”
His evolving role from mentee to mentor positioned Kiyoi to become the perfect support for the opera's cast and crew, and especially for Gacka.
“I’m worried about what’s going to happen to me when I work somewhere that is not IC because of how incredible the stage management team was,” Gacka says. “I was so spoiled.”
The Leading Role, Played by Hayley Rayfield ‘25
Hayley Rayfield ‘25 as Léontine in the Anonymous Lover. (Photo Credit: Simon Wheeler Photography)
Hayley Rayfield, senior Music Education and Vocal Performance major, starred as Léontine. Just like Connor and Kiyoi, Rayfield began her theatrical experience at IC with smaller roles. In her first full-length opera in MTD, the 2023 production of Pirates of Penzance, she performed in the chorus and as an understudy for one of the supporting roles. After graduating in the spring, Rayfield hopes to perform opera full-time, and she says her experience in a leading role for The Anonymous Lover has helped prepare her for that journey.
“This was different from some of the other roles I’ve had in operas [at IC] because it was a lot more intense, and there was a lot more content,” Rayfield says. “It kind of gave me an idea what that side of it might look like in my professional life.
The cast of the Anonymous Lover takes a bow. (Photo Credit: Simon Wheeler Photography)
The cast of the Anonymous Lover takes a bow. (Photo Credit: Simon Wheeler Photography)
IC prepares theater students to venture out onto larger stages, but they aren’t the only ones leaving the school with something invaluable. Gacka took with her two pieces of blue spike tape, formed in the shape of an “X,” that she learned students from the stage production crew had placed on her favorite music stand so that they would always remember which one to prepare for her during rehearsals.
“It’s such a gesture toward understanding that every piece of the puzzle is what makes art happen,” Gacka says. “It’s not just the things that are obvious, and that meant the absolute world to me.”
Don’t be anonymous, take the Stage!
Ithaca College’s School of Music, Theater and Dance produces more than 300 performances annually. MTD students work with each other—and alongside professionals–to be best in class.