Vassar Today
A group of women in 19th-century period costumes singing on a stage, with a large astronomical telescope prop and a starry night background
Karl Rabe

A “Very Vassar” Opera Highlights One of the College’s Earliest, Most Renowned Professors—Maria Mitchell

A very special performance deeply tied to Vassar took place on campus in January as part of MODfest, Vassar’s annual celebration of the arts: Computing Venus, a new, one-act opera by the award-winning team of composer Timothy C. Takach and librettist Caitlin Vincent that explores the triumphs and struggles of legendary astronomer Maria Mitchell, one of Vassar’s first professors.

As a pioneering scientist of the 19th century, Mitchell is known far beyond the gates of Vassar. She became a national celebrity in 1847 when, at age 29, she discovered a comet from the rooftop of her house in Nantucket. Soon after, she was hired by the U.S. government to calculate the orbit of Venus to aid celestial navigation, thereby becoming the only professional woman astronomer in the country.

Arriving at Vassar in 1865, Mitchell was as dedicated to her students as she was to her profession. She kept them up past their curfew watching the night sky and brought them across the country to observe solar eclipses in Iowa in 1869 and in Colorado in 1878. Unfortunately, Mitchell endured a backlash against women in science led by a Harvard Medical School professor, Edward Clarke, who claimed that “brain work” wrecked female fertility and therefore young women should not pursue science. Clarke is the villain of Computing Venus. The cast featured 15 current students and three accomplished alums in lead roles: sopranos Eden Bartholomew ’23 and Beatrix Postley ’24, and baritone Michael Hofmann ’13.

Vincent and Takach were on hand during the last week of rehearsals to offer suggestions and also gave an hour-long presentation on their collaborative process; Takach made some classroom visits while on campus.

Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities on the George Sherman Dickinson Chair Christine Howlett, who conducted the performances, said these interactions with working professionals gave student musicians a fascinating inside look at how a creative project like this comes together—as well as how to earn a living in music. “I think the students really got a lot out of having them here,” she said. “It’s one thing to have your professor in front of you telling you how it’s done; it’s another to have someone come in who does this as a job every day.”

Computing Venus was codirected by Senior Lecturer in Music Drew Minter and Professor and Chair of Drama Christopher Grabowski.

Generous support for Computing Venus, performed January 23–25, 2026, at the Martel Theater, came from Vassar Trustee Kathy Zillweger Putnam ’75 and her spouse, George Putnam III, as well as the Dickinson-Kayden Fund, the Joan Kostick Andrews Fund for Musical Theater and Visiting Artists, and the Departments of Music and Drama, which collaborated on the production.

“It’s about one woman who really swam upstream and achieved great things, and inspired so many women and continues to inspire so many women,” said Putnam, who first brought Computing Venus to the attention of Music Department faculty. “In these challenging times, the message that I got from the performances was that of resilience and hope, and that there is still beauty in the world. It really was top-notch, and I couldn’t be prouder of everyone who participated.”

“I think this opera tells a story of perseverance and progress in the face of deeply unsettling bigotry and doubt,” echoed Bartholomew. “Sadly, a lot of this resonates with today. Computing Venus tells us to persist, resist, and keep looking for hope.”

—Kimberly Schaye

Watch Vassar’s January 24 production of Computing Venus in its entirety at modfest2026.vassar.edu/computing-venus.

A woman on a stage in a red dress with a lace collar peers into a mounted telescope
Three men in period overcoats sing while holding hats to their chests, standing beside a woman in a dark velvet coat and veiled hat during a stage performance
Two women in period costumes on a stage. One inspects a medal on a chain. The other looks on while taking notes in a notebook.
A woman in a vibrant blue 19th-century period dress with black braided trim performing on stage
A group photo of four smiling adults posing on a stage with a telescope structure and a colorful purple and orange background
Above, from left to right, librettist Caitlin Vincent, George Putnam, Kathy Zillweger Putnam ’75, and composer Timothy Takach, celebrate the campus premiere.

Karl Rabe

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