October 25, 2025
a look back on
The 6th Annual Zombie Opera
THE CURSE OF OLYMPUS
Year SIX
6:30pm to 8:00pm in Hamilton Park, Jersey City, New Jersey
Directed by Catriona Rubenis-Stevens, Art Direction by Katy Gardiner
October 25th, 2025
The 2025 Program
ACT 1
Verdi’s “Libiamo” from La Traviata (FULL COMPANY)
Mozart’s “Queen of the Night” from The Magic Flute (Yohji Cantar Daquio, Soprano)
Bizet’s “Toriador” from Carmen (Phillip Bullock, Baritone)
Wagner’s “Dich teure Halle” from Tanhaüser (Molly Dunn, Soprano)
Vivaldi’s “Vedro” con mio diletto (Daniel Moody, Countertenor)
Verdi’s “La Donna Mobile” from Rigoletto (Jeremy Brauner, Tenor)
Mozart’s “Thus far we set thee on thy way” from The Magic Flute (the premiere of Undead Arts’ Rising Voices Youth Chorus)
Puccini’s “"Dunque e proprio finita” from La Boheme (Jeremy Brauner, Molly Dunn, Phillip Bullock, Yohji Cantar Daquio)
Bizet’s “Habanera” from Carmen (Rachelle Pike & THE ZOMBIE CHORUS)
ACT 2
Donzetti & Serra “Diva Dance” from The Fifth Element (Yohji Cantar Daquio, Soprano)
Cilea’s “Acerba Volutta” from Adriana Lecouvreur (Rachelle Pike, Mezzo)
Handel’s “Fammi combattere” from Orlando (Daniel Moody, Countertenor)
Puccini’s “Vissi d’arte” from Tosca (Molly Dunn, Soprano)
Gershwin’s “It Ain’t Necessarily So” from Porgy & Bess (Phillip Bullock, Baritone)
Handel’s “Son nata a lagrimar” from Giulio Cesare (Daniel Moody & Rachelle Pike)
Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma “from Turandot (Jeremy Brauner & THE ZOMBIE CHORUS)
Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” from Die Walküre (FULL COMPANY)
Molly Dunn, Soprano
Yohji Cantar Daquio, Soprano
Rachelle Pike, Mezzo
Jeremy Brauner, Tenor
Phillip Bullock, Baritone
Daniel Moody, Countertenor
Our 2025 Singers
Hosted By
Jeff Dess
Terpsikord Orchestra
Conductor: Ting Ting Wong
Music by
Chorus
North River Sings
dancers
Next Step Broadway
the zombie opera presents
the curse of olympus
When the gods live forever, the cycle never ends.
What wretched things will they do next?
Our Accursed Pantheon
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Jeremy Brauner
Zeus
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Phillip Bullock
Poseidon
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Daniel Moody
Hades
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Molly Dunn
Hera
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Rachelle Pike
Athena
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Yohji Cantor Daquio
Aphrodite
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Our Host, Jeff Dess
the poet Homer
A look back at the 2025 Zombie Opera, The Curse of Olympus
All six singers wore custom costumes designed and sewn by our Art Director, Katy Gardiner. Our host and the Rising Voices youth chorus’ costumes were sewn by Costume Assistant Elizabeth DeWald. The Zombie Chorus costumes were graciously donated by a Friend of Undead Arts.
The Costumes
Our 2025 Cast (from left to right): Rachelle, Daniel, Jeremy, Molly, Yohji, and Phillip.
For Jeremy, our Zeus : everyday elegance for the King of the Gods, plus a lightning bolt designed and built by Katy
For Phillip, our Poseidon : sparkle and shine for the King of the Seas
For Daniel, our Hades : a flair for the drama, and the dark version of Zeus’ for the King of the Underworld
For Molly, our Hera : statuesque elegance for our cold Queen of Olympus
For Yohji, our Aphrodite : like a seashell come to life for our alluring Goddess of Love, plus a life-size seashell to come to life from
For Rachelle, our Athena : glowing and always ready for battle for our Warrior Goddess
The Set
Rather than a single large set piece like in 2024, turning the gazebo into the inner sanctum of Mt Olympus meant both building and acquiring a number of smaller set pieces, including:
a “column” built from plywood, foam and plaster
a banquet table, large enough for Aphrodite’s shell to pass under
furniture and decor from Materials for the Arts
a large ceramic piece created for the show by Betty’s Ceramics Club
a number of “mountains” from the 2024 set
The set was rounded out with projections from Laia Cabrera and Isabelle Duverger.
The Props
Designed and built by Art Director Katy Gardiner, with the aid of Production Assistant Tim Ryan.
Zeus’ Lightning Bolt
Materials: layers of glue built onto a 3D-printed base, paint, LED string lights
Aphrodite’s shell
Materials: wood, chicken wire, plaster, paint
