Interview about RSBE on KSFR

Got to do an interview with an old friend, Jim Werbel, for KSFR, a radio station based in Santa Fe.

I met Jim when we were both living in Ames, Iowa. We met through our common interest in mushroom hunting. He was a professor at the business school at Iowa State University, but as you can see, he's literally let his hair grow out since those days. 

The interview was about the production of RSBE (Remove Shoes Before Entering), about to be performed on June 4 at the Wildflower Playhouse in Taos by the 2026 students at Taos Opera Institute.

 

Taos Opera Institute 2026

Another beautiful summer at Taos Opera Institute. The picture is from the interior of the radio KNCE which has its studio inside a vintage airstream trailer. (The Opera Institute sticker is the mountain near the middle.) The weather this time of year up in the ski valley is perfect, with lows in the 30s-40s and highs in the 50s-50s. This summer we are doing RSBE.

Here's a closeup of a magpie

and here's what a beaver can do to a tree.

Overheard at Rough Cuts

Now in its twenty-ninth season, Ben Krywosz has been helping new work make it to the stage through the Rough Cuts series, one of several different streams at Nautilus Music Theater. He carefully picks performers, with an aesthetic that balances singing styles and commitment to musical storytelling. Strictly an on-book reading, he is careful to emphasize this with music stands and limitations on the amount of physical acting permitted to the performers. Like all new work workshops and readings, this has been tremendously helpful in questioning my assumptions about songs and characters, with the extra added pleasure of being able to work with some seasoned performers who aren't afraid to tell me what they think!

OVERHEARD is gradually headed toward its premiere at Taos Opera Institute. It is built like SPEED DATING TONIGHT! and RSBE, with a modular, flexible structure, with most of the songs ungendered and available in all vocal ranges. The difference with OVERHEARD is that I'm attempting to give more characters the chance to have more satisfying story arcs, something that the earlier shows only have a bit of. 

After the on-book reading at Rough Cuts, Susan Ashbaker's Cooperative program at Westminster Opera Theater will do an off book workshop in July 2026. 

 

RSBE, Speed Dating Tonight's deeper cousin. A show about empathy.

 Speed Dating Tonight! (2013) marches on with an average of 12+ performances per season. Hooray! In 2020, I worked with Paul Houghtaling at University of Alabama on a new opera, RSBE (Remove Shoes Before Entering). It is SpDT!'s deeper cousin. Many of the pieces in SpDT! skim the surface. RSBE is inspired by the idea of writing a show about empathy. It's darker and deeper. Still, some of the pieces are very light and sweet.

Beautiful Traveler, performed by Elise Miller

co-written with Hugh Moffatt

at Charlottesville Opera

Others are darker and deeper...

Reading Frederick Douglass for the first time

performed by David Morgans 

at Charlottesville Opera

In RSBE, each character tells us about something they've learned, something that happened to them that changed their lives. 

Like Speed Dating Tonight!, each performer gets their own moment to shine. There are even a few duets, like this comic one:

Console Consolation

performed by Max Alexander Cook and Carlos Ahrens

Charlottesville Opera

Here's a listing of the available pieces:

1. Friendship Bracelet. About rescuing a turtle at the beach.

2. Impostor. The feeling of impostor syndrome

3. Samaritan. Failing to give aid and resolving to do it next time.

4. I See Me. Searching for inclusivity and belonging

5. Alaskabout you. Bitterly remembering being abandoned by their father

6. N-Word/One Square at a Time (Duet). Telling a friend not to use the N-Word. Remembering a beautiful family quilt.

7. Imaginary Friend. Recalling and conjuring their imaginary friend.

8. Gramma’s Lesson (Where the Wonder Never Ceases) Remembering gramma, who took took away their phone and took them outside to see the magic in nature.

9. The First Time I Heard Mozart. Hearing Mozart for the first time.

10 You’re in my car (Duet). Getting into the wrong car on a busy day. Oh, and it's occupied.

11 Reading Frederick Douglass for the first time

12 Picture of You. Recalling departed love.

13A So Sad. Long term depression, knowing the trigger is 13B

13B Just Between Us. Recalling a childhood abuser.

14 Me That Used to be. Arriving at a woman's shelter

15 Console Consolation (Duet). Recalling great old video games.

16 Shedding. Could you have too much stuff?

17 Interconnected. Recalling a sermon about our common, inescapable bonds.

18 What I had to do. Reading a letter grandfather sent from overseas during war.

19 Hide With the TV. Wanting to nest with old B&W TV during stressful times.

20 Don’t let the music end. Recalling an old flame.

21 Another motherfucking snowstorm. Recalling what it says.

22 Beautiful traveler. Trying to take a picture of a butterfly.

If you've done Speed Dating Tonight! you know how flexible it is. RSBE is structured the same way, with all of the pieces being flexibly cast. It has a touch more ensemble singing, but it is all really easy. The premise is very slight (there's even an alternate premise) . Speed Dating Tonight! takes about ten minutes to set up the scene; RSBE dives in within about 90 seconds. The original premise is a group of students visiting a mysterious building, part old sanctuary, part old second hand store. The alternate premise is students in a classroom.

I'll leave you with one more. #20 Don't let the music end. Co-written with Reg Huston.

performed by Elise Miller, Kevin Spooner, and Emily Baltzer

lyrics by Reg Huston

Charlottesville Opera, 2024

A few more resources:

* RSBE Piano Vocal Perusal Score

* RSBE Premiere at University of Alabama

* RSBE at Amarillo Opera 

* Audio playlist of RSBE

 

#15 Console Consolation from RSBE at Charlottesville Opera

 

Here's #15 Console Consolation from RSBE, performed last week at Charlottesville Opera by two fabulous tenors, Carlos Ahrens and Max Alexander Cook. This production of RSBE was the first one where the audience was mingled with the performers. 

RSBE at Charlottesville Opera

RSBE just got its 9th production at Charlottesville Opera. Thanks so much to Caroline Worra, Leanne Clement, Emily Baltzer, Wei-Han Wu of Charlottesville Opera and the terrific cast of Ader Emerging Artists, including Carlos Ahrens, Linda Maritza Collazo, Max Alexander Cook, Dylan Davis, Samuel Enriquez, Edward Ferran, Abigale Hobbs, Rebekah Howell, Elise Miller, David Morgans, Adam Rodgers, Laura Corina Sanders, Kevin Spooner, Janini Sridhar, Alicaia Russell Tagert, and Adam Hirama Wells. The set up was up-close-and-personal, with the audience mingled in with the cast.

It was the official stage premiere for several new pieces, including "Hide with the TV," "Beautiful traveler," and "Don't let the music end." The lyrics for "Beautiful traveler" were co-written by Hugh Moffatt and the lyrics for "Don't let the music end" has lyrics by Reg Huston.

RSBE is flexibly structured like Speed Dating Tonight!, but is a bit deeper and darker. 

 

 

 

Taos Opera Institute 2024

So pleased to be back at the Taos Opera Institute. This summer's project is different--a concert featuring my arrangements, art songs, and operas. It will include some of the Arie not so antiche, Arrangements and Derangements of Schubert, The Bond Between, folk song and spiritual arrangements, and opera selections from SPEED DATING TONIGHT!, RSBE, ALICE RYLEY, NOTES ON VIARDOT and even a sneak peak at 2025's HAZEL MINER. 

There are 28 singers in the program this year, so it's a lot of coaching--the first day is nine hours!

The weather is very cool at night, warm during the day, with moderate fire danger, so the woods and mountains will be accessible for walks and hikes.

 

Taos Opera Institute (2023)

 

Taos Opera Institute has a new director, Mark Craig. He has been there a couple years, staging the final showcase and helping the founders, Mary Jane Johnson and Linda Poetschke. I have been there for two productions of Speed Dating Tonight! and one of RSBE. The students there have regular voice lessons and coachings, with the requirement of performing a new song or aria every week in Italian, German, French, or English. 

Now officially their composer-in-residence, I was fortunate that they did a staged workshop of some of NOTES ON VIARDOT.

pictured: Colin Clark-Bracewell, Sophia Vidali, Marjorie Sheaff, 

and Shaul Leket-Mor as the younger Ivan Turgenev, younger Pauline, 

and older Pauline and older Turgenev.

 

This included a completed draft of the first act (previously read on book at Florida Grand Opera) and some new sections of the final act. The opera is loosely inspired by an interview Pauline Viardot (1821-1910) gave late in her life in the early 20th century. In the first act Pauline recalls her early life touring with the family's opera troupe; her debut in Brussels; her friend, mentor, and admirer Georges Sand; and her triumphant European tours. The second act (not done yet!) will focus on her midcareer, her salons, and her family life, including a filtered version of her relationship with her friend Turgenev, who often lived nearby and eventually moved in with Pauline and Louis Viardot. Both men died in 1883. Finally, in the last act, the reporter asks her to explain the relationship between the three of them. Annoyed, she dismisses the reporter, and in the last act will recall Ivan and Louis with love, fondness, and loss. 

The premiere of NOTES ON VIARDOT is April 2024 at University of South Dakota-Vermillion.

A short description of all my operas

A list of my operas, and a little bit about them. I'm working on making this list more interactive. Perusal scores are available for some of these on the right hand side of this blog. 

Speed Dating Tonight! (2013) is my most popular work with over 130 productions on the books from 2013-2024. It's an imaginary speed dating night at a bar. It is flexible--I call it a "New Numbers Opera," with each performer getting a little solo to talk about their character. Most of the dates are not gendered and available in a variety of ranges. SpDT! can be as short as 30 minutes or a full length evening depending on how many dates you want to include. Commissioned by Janiec Opera.

Buoso's Ghost (1996) is a sequel to Gianni Schicchi. It has the same cast and set, so it makes for a very practical, fun evening. Buoso is easier than Schicchi too, being in English. The orchestration matches the reduced version of Schicchi (2/1/2/1/2/2/1/0) Premiered at Opera Memphis and Pittsburgh Opera Center. Recently done at Florida Grand Opera. Buoso is published by EC Schirmer.

Notes on Viardot (2024) is a bio opera about the life of Pauline Viardot. It was commissioned and premiered in April 2024 at the University of South Dakota-Vermillion. The opera makes extensive use of quotation from what she sang as well as her own compositions. About 70-75 minutes long, in three acts, with one intermission. The first act will work separately as an introduction to her life. As I've been saying, this opera is so curricular, you could give a test about it. 

RSBE is a structured like Speed Dating Tonight! but is deeper and has a bit more ensemble singing. It was premiered and commissioned by University of Alabama. Like Speed Dating the casting is very flexible and usually not gendered. Don't get thrown off by the great video from the premiere. This opera can be done very simply such as in this version at Amarillo Opera.

Hazel Miner is a new project, a thirty minute work for Northern State University in Aberdeen, SD. The libretto is by Marla Fogderud and is about a terrible snowstorm in 1920. The opera will premiere in April 2025. The demo playlist is here and the perusal score is in the folder. It is much darker than the usual Michael Ching opera. 15-year-old Hazel saves her two younger siblings in a late winter snowstorm in North Dakota.

A Midsummer Night's Dream (2011) was premiered as a completely a cappella opera, but thanks to Towson University, it's available with a small orchestration which keeps everybody in tune. There's still "voicestra" in the pit. All the text is Shakespeare's and, frankly, it's easier to understand than the classic Britten. A great recording is available of the original version. Here's an article about Towson's preparation.

Thrivers is an opera for high school performers about teen depression. Written for the Palm Springs Opera Guild, the subject was suggested by the students themselves.

Dinner 4 3 is a wicked little three-some opera written for Fargo Moorhead Opera. Adult content, although nothing over the top. The original version on idagio is spectacular! Written with Deborah Brevoort.

Leo is a 10 minute opera about a man who is angry with is cat. It was commissioned by the old Texas Opera Theater in the '80s and toured by them, but is still very viable. 

Three Pigs Remix was written for the Opera Memphis touring/outreach quartet. S/A/T/B with piano. Irreverent and amusing. For elementary grades. Toured for two seasons by Fort Worth Opera cause they loved it so much. 

Alice and Anna is actually two one act operas, Alice Ryley and Anna Hunter. They are each about famous women in Savannah. Alice is dark and sad; Anna, light and witty. Commissioned by Savannah Voice Festival and premiered together in 2022.

Slaying the Dragon sounds like a joke set up--a rabbi and his wife make friends with the grand dragon of the KKK. A serious opera, written with Ellen Frankel, that I'd love to see up again. Here's a brief clip.

Birthday Clown is a short opera about a clown who is tired of performing for birthday parties. The guest of honor cheers him up considerably and a drone makes a flying appearance. Written for Savannah Voice Festival.

Corps of Discovery commemorates the Lewis and Clark expedition. There is a grand opera, a smaller version, and a mini version. Written with Hugh Moffatt. Commissioned by the University of Missouri. Here's a sample. 

Eight Woods and a Van is a bio-opera about the American painter Grant Wood and uses a series of his pictures as the inspiration. Commissioned by Cedar Rapids Opera Theater. Here's a sample.

Faith is a one act "science fiction romance" based on a story by James Patrick Kelly. It was actually performed at Worldcon. (You'll be impressed if you know what that is.)

Completing the Picture is a short S/A/T/B opera that celebrates the Chinese who helped complete the Transcontinental Railroad. Written for Utah Opera.

King of the Clouds is an S/A/T/B Piano opera about social issues for teen audiences. Commissioned in the 90s by Dayton Opera. Still very viable! Written with Hugh Moffatt.

Out of the Rain uses some of the same characters as King of the Clouds and was written a few years later. It is about the AIDS epidemic. Clouds and Rain can be done together. Commissioned by OperaDelaware. Also written with Hugh Moffatt. Audio link.

A Royal Feast, is a work in progress. It's a one act sequel to Rossini's La Cenerentola. Written with a team of middle school advisors from Savannah, the opera puts the magic and creatures back in to Cinderella.

__________________________________________________________________________

By length and type (some of these operas are listed in more than one category depending on how they are used)

Full length operas:

Corps of Discovery, Alice and Anna (see one acts), A Midsummer Night's Dream, Notes on Viardot, Speed Dating Tonight! Slaying the Dragon, King of the Clouds and Out of the Rain (see one acts), RSBE

One Act Operas

Faith, Eight Woods and a Van, Thrivers, King of the Clouds, Out of the Rain, Three Pigs Remix, Buoso's Ghost, Alice Ryley, Anna Hunter, Speed Dating Tonight!, A Royal Feast, RSBE, Hazel Miner

Flexibly structured operas "New numbers opera"

Speed Dating Tonight!, RSBE

In between

Birthday Clown

Minioperas

Leo, Dinner 4 3, Completing the Picture

School shows--all shows except A Royal Feast are S/A/T/B piano. Feast is larger. Thrivers is for teen performers

Three Pigs Remix, King of the Clouds, Out of the Rain, Completing the Picture, A Royal Feast, Thrivers

 Earlier this month, I went to Joplin, MO to participate in RSBE #6 at Heartland Opera Theatre/Missouri Southern State University. It was a joyous experience to be back live. There was one issue and it wasn't COVID... It was snow! Joplin got hit with 4+ inches of snow and the temperature went down after. It stuck around for three days, causing the 1st dress and final dress to be cancelled as well as the opening night. We managed to open for two performances which played to quite nice houses.

Special thanks to the team, including Director Erick Wolf, Music Director Diana Allen, and pianist Kathy Nenadal.

Lingering ice in Joplin on Saturday after the 

Wednesday snow

RSBE is built to be expanded, like it's predecessor SPEED DATING TONIGHT! We premiered one new piece in Joplin, "What I had to do." 

I always ask casts to let me know if they have any ideas for new songs and one brave cast member, Faith Escobar, told me how she likes to hide in her room with old sitcoms and movies. She says they help portray a happier and less troubled world and help her get back out into the thick of it. It was an inspiring idea, and one I'd never have gotten on my own. "Hide with the TV" will be #19. Here's the demo.

While in Joplin, I went down to see George Washington Carver's boyhood home. It was an inspiring place, made special by the coat of snow. 

RSBE from Spring 2021 at Amarillo Opera

 

I'm about to go off to Heartland Opera which is collaborating with Missouri Southern State University on the 6th production of RSBE. Here's the video from last spring's 2021 production of RSBE at Amarillo Opera. The accompaniment is the two keyboard version which has piano and keyboard. 

The Amarillo production changes the premise from the original version at the University of Alabama. This optional premise incorporates COVID into the plot in a more plausible way. Either premise can be used when producing the show at this point. 

RSBE at Taos Opera Institute

RSBE (Remove Shoes Before Entering) is about to get its fifth production this summer (2021) at Taos Opera Institute. Situated above town in the lovely ski valley in the Carson National Forest, this monthlong program provides intensive voice lessons and coachings, with four groups of singers switching between English, French, German, and Italian. There is a culminating showcase, which will feature RSBE and some opera scenes. This production is directed by the very capable Mark Craig.

The picture is of a song called "Reading Frederick Douglass for the first time" in which the performer recalls reading Douglass' 1852 speech.

It's always a pleasure to work on a piece after the premiere. You learn new interpretations from the cast. You make permanent changes and edits. 

 

 

A new opening for RSBE

 

Postponed from November

to April

RSBE had its premiere at University of Alabama in February 2020, right before things closed down. The second production, scheduled for Amarillo Opera, had to be rescheduled due to COVID. It is now the third production, the second having been done recently at Kennesaw State University. They did their production completely online. In order to do so, they needed to change the premise of the opera. The original idea is that a group of students go to a mysterious building in a small town and the objects they see inside trigger memories. That was too much togetherness as a premise during COVID. So they switched to an online class where the professor asked each student to prepare a reflection, possibly prompted by an object. 

And so here we are now seeing the end of the tunnel on the 2020-21 COVID-19 pandemic. The cast is vaccinated, but masks and social distancing is still very much the right thing to do. But the show is being done live, before a minimal audience. So we are going with the Kennesaw premise, but moving it to a live, in-person classroom. I guess this is a bit like directors who move the Mikado, from the 19th century to the late 20th, or Carmen from 19th century Spain to the era of the Spanish Civil War. 

RSBE is scheduled for its next production in June and at this point, I'm not exactly sure if we will go back to the original premise or use this new one. We are adjusting to the times...

Video of RSBE Premiere

Here is the video of the premiere of RSBE at the end of February at University of Alabama. The opera theatre there did a spectacular job. It was so nice to have a premiere where everyone was pulling in the same direction 100%. It is now almost May, and the end of February seems like two years ago. Not that the days in quarantine have been dull or boring, just that the way we live has changed so drastically. 

RSBE premiere at University of Alabama

Been having a great time at University of Alabama where their opera program will premiere my new opera, RSBE (Remove Shoes Before Entering). In RSBE a group of students and their teacher are on a field trip. They stop at a strange building. Inside they realize things about themselves.

RSBE is put together like SPEED DATING TONIGHT!  with the order of the selection of pieces, their order, and their assignment is up to the producer. I've christened the genre the New Numbers Opera. Premiere is tomorrow night, February 7, 2020.

This clip is from dress rehearsal and about impostor syndrome. The idea was suggested by Dr. Paul Houghtaling, their producer.