Speed Dating Tonight! Comic Opera in one act

Our new opera premieres July 26-28 at the Janiec Opera of the Brevard Music Festival. The opera has a unique structure. The middle section has a set of daters in it, to be written in high, medium and low keys. Very few of them are specifically gendered. Producers can choose what daters to use and how to string them together.

We are also looking for input (my personal dating info is ancient). If you have a dating story or type of person you have encountered, you can post it here on the show's FB page. I will post more info about this fun project.

Through the Artist’s Lens, Volume 2

A recital program next month at Wolftrap is going to include one song from my new Speed Dating opera. Mezzo Eve Gigliotti heard the song last week at the OperaMission program.

Through the Artist’s Lens, Volume 2

Opera Mission on Thursday January 10 in NYC

A former colleague at Opera Memphis, Jennifer Peterson runs an adventurous little company in New York called Operamission. Later this week, I'm helping her out with a program which includes some "New Cabaret" songs written specially for the program. I am doing a few of my songs and we are doing a few excerpt from my new opera.

Steveport Opera

Old friend Steve Aiken is running Shreveport Opera and has gotten them back in the black. They do one performance only of each opera at the downtown Riverview Theater. The Riverview has an orchestra pit that is literally padded with shag carpet not only on the floor but up the walls. Also pictured is Dr. Bartolo, Steven Condy, who has done over twenty productions and eighty performances of the pompous, comic character. Alas, he's not up to that many productions of my BUOSO'S GHOST yet. 

If you ever get to Shreveport, don't miss the Louisiana restaurant Herby-K's and also the Red River National Wildlife Refuge across the river in Bossier (BOZ-yer). 

Thanks to a great cast and a fine chorus and orchestra, the BARBER OF SEVILLE should go very well on October 27th. Shreveport Opera has an exemplary outreach program and a talented group of young artists to service it. 

Opera America Songbook

Opera America has opened its new headquarters, and to celebrate that event, they have commissioned a bunch--more like a platoon--of composers and lyricists to create "home" themed songs. They have been collected, recorded, and published. A massive undertaking! You can find out more about it on their website. For the next few years, proceeds will go to Opera America to help raise funds for the opera center project.

I spoke to Robert Ward the other day about his contribution which was adapted from his opera, LADY FROM COLORADO. Bob is in his mid nineties!

Cabaret anyone?

Jennifer Peterson of OperaMission is encouraging composers, lyricists and singers to collaborate on a project she's calling New Cabaret. It's kind of a contest, but that isn't really the main point. The official rules can be found here. "Cabaret" is defining itself as it goes along. Subject matters look to be wide ranging and often, but not exclusively, they are on the lighter side. Jennifer really wants entrants to tweet to #newcabaret, so the process is out in the open--a learning and collaborating opportunity for all. But non-tweeters can probably find ways to work around this. We will all be convening in New York at her home space, the very hip Gershwin Hotel in early January to present our efforts. I will be doing a few of my non-classical cabaret songs. Baritone and composer Michael Weyandt is also participating.

Amarillo Opera has its s*&t together!

Amarillo seems an unlikely place for opera. But after seeing a very nice production of BUOSO'S GHOST here a few years ago, I accepted an invitation to conduct Butterfly here. They are using an elaborate set from Santa Fe--a really big production for a regional company. And so far so very good. That the cast is good is not much of a surprise. There are more good people than work to go round these days. But what has been surprising is the excellent and excellently prepared chorus and a Trouble who is going to be terrific. Nice rehearsal spaces, a fine director (Marc Astafan) who tells good stories onstage, and a willing and able rehearsal pianist and stage manager. 

Oh, and the nearby scenery (Palo Duro Canyon above) is spectacular. Why don't they tell you to take a left at the picnic bench in order to go up to the Lighthouse, pictured above? 

Amarillo has great Mexican over at La Campana on Canyon Drive (Chicharron Burritos!) and up at the Mercado Latino (Tripe tacos!) on Amarillo Boulevard. There is an incredibly talented coffee roaster at Evocation Coffee. I also got to sit in on a songwriter evening hosted by Mike Fuller of High Plains Public Radio. Sometimes they play Americana instead of classical, so I'll be tuning into them from time to time on the internet. Do I sound like a tourist instead of a guest conductor? Well, I have done Butterfly a few times...

One of the sobering things is that I am now the oldest guy in the rehearsal room instead of the youngest. I guess I should make that the subject of a whole blog entry sometime.

Shooting the breeze in Lawrence, Kansas

Got to catch up with an old friend and colleague, Dean Anthony. We ended up meeting in Lawrence, Kansas where he was going to attend some auditions at KU. We are cooking up a new operatic project--more later. Dean is a character tenor of vast experience who is now turning to stage directing and running his own prop shop. He has recently taken over running the opera program at the Brevard Music Festival.

In a contemplative mood

Back in Ames for a week,  I've been finishing up my contribution to a large commissioning project put together by Opera America to celebrate the opening of its National Opera Center. Over forty composers are writing songs--the general theme was "home." As they dedicate their new home, I wanted to pause and remember the chain of people, well known and lesser known,  who have helped make opera what it is in 2012.

While the singer, Marquita Lister, is singing, at select points the names of deceased contributors to the field is spoken. The challenge was that there is room for only eighteen names. Since the list was worked up with the help of Opera America and Marquita, I didn't actually know all of them personally, but that's ok.

Although there are some very famous and well known names, I wanted a balance. Two names that were important to me to include were composer James Legg and tenor David Eisler. Jim was a talented composer who I knew very well--we were both students of Robert Ward and I was very fond of his opera, THE INFORMER. Although I knew David Eisler less well, having worked with him only once in Miami, he was one of the many artists in our field who died all too young during the AIDS epidemic.

It's rare that you get a chance to publicly remember folks who are gone, so I appreciate the chance to do this thanks to Opera America. I'll post more about this when the whole project is about to be released.

Dragon dress

It was a splendid dress rehearsal. We had a small audience of students who really stayed with it. Here is a small clip from very near the end where Ellen Frankel (and our character, Rabbi Nathan Goodman) paraphases MLK.



Jason Switzer, Christopher Lorge, and Teresa Eickel.