OPERA America Discovery Grant 2020 Recipients: Part 2
Justine F. Chen, composer & Stephanie Fleischmann, librettist – Seven Sisters
Melissa Dunphy, composer & Jacqueline Goldfinger, librettist – Alice Tierney
Kirsten Volness, composer & Susan Werbe/Kate Holland, co-librettists – Letters That You Will Not Get: Women’s Voices from the Great War
The Indie Opera Podcast is releasing part two of an episode that was recorded in the Spring of 2020 that got derailed during the start of the pandemic and features all the composer/librettist teams to receive the 2020 OPERA America Discovery Grants which support composers who identify as women in the development of new operatic works and the advancement of their careers in the opera industry.
Peter, Brooke, and Walker welcome the three remaining composers with their librettists and play video samples of their operas with musicologist Greg Moomjy’s music notes.
Justine Chen, composer, and Stephanie Fleischman, librettist, talk about delving into Justine’s multifaceted Taiwanese family history for Seven Sisters, which follows the form of a formal Taiwanese funeral. Melissa Dunphy and Jacqueline Goldfinger, composer and librettist, share the macabre origin of Alice Tierney: an unsolved 1880 murder in Philadelphia on Melissa’s property, and discuss the novel way they are choosing to tell the story. Kirsten Volness, Susan Werbe, and Kate Holland, composer and librettists of Letters That You Will Not Get: Women’s Voices from the Great War, discuss the work’s fascinating journey from song cycle to opera, and how they set to music the real-life accounts of multiple women on all sides of the conflict who lived through World War I.
Show 88: Quamino's Map with Deborah Brevoort, Kimille Howard, Jeri Lynne Johnson and Cori Ellison
We are joined by several creators of Quamino’s Map, a fascinating new opera by composer Errollyn Wallen, having its world premiere at Chicago Opera Theater. Librettist and playwright Deborah Brevoort, conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson, dramaturg Cori Ellison, and director Kimille Howard discuss the origins and creative process of this unique production, which focuses on the Black Americans who fought for their liberty on the side of the British in the Revolutionary War and struggled to survive in London afterward. We also learn about the Black gentry in London at the time and how it may have intersected with the newly-arrived soldiers. Don’t miss this surprising look into the research, staging, and craft that went into bringing an important but little-known historical moment to light.
Show 87: Carla Lucero and Dr. Rita E. Urquijo-Ruiz
Las Tres Mujeres de Jerusalén (The Three Women of Jerusalem)
We welcome two creators of the upcoming LA Opera production of The Three Women of Jerusalem: Carla Lucero, composer/librettist, and Dr. Rita E. Urquijo-Ruiz, translator. Lucero is the first Latinx and female composer to be commissioned by LA Opera. We discover how they translated the opera into Spanish while retaining the same poetic meter, as Lucero will produce the opera in English as well.
We also discuss the significance of the Stations of the Cross, on which the opera is based, as well as why Lucero chose three anonymous women in the 8th station to be the heroines of the story. She also makes a fascinating choice on how to personify Jesus in the opera.
The massive production will be at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels and will feature 3 orchestras and 3 choirs. We can’t wait to see this “love letter to LA,” which fuses ideas from queer, Latinx, and borderlands cultures into an uplifting whole.
Podcast 85: The Hang with Taylor Mac, Matt Ray, Chanon Judson, Machine Dazzle
We welcome the creative team of The Hang, an exciting show playing at HERE and the Prototype Festival in NYC. Described as “a ritual celebration of queerness, questions, and the eternity of a moment,” the show is rooted in the jazz tradition and the operatic form, and imagines the final hours of Socrates. Prolific playwright and performer Taylor Mac joins us along with Machine Dazzle, costume and set designer; Chanon Judson, choreographer; and Matt Ray, composer. We discover the origin of Mac’s ideas about the piece and the many permutations it went through before it found its current form.
We get a taste of what each collaborator brings to the show : how Dazzle challenges actors with costumes he calls ‘wearable stories,’ how Judson reflects performers’ movement ideas to create choreography for musicians as well as actors, and how Ray created his unique instrumentation for the work. It’s fascinating to hear how they worked on the piece during the pandemic and what it was like to come together in a rehearsal room after so much isolation. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear the backstory behind some of our most incisive and daring theatre creators making an exuberant foray into the operatic form.
Join us as we proudly welcome Malcolm J. Merriweather conductor and baritone. Malcolm is the youngest and first Black Music Director of the NYC-based The Dessoff Choirs, which is currently celebrating its 97th season with a concentration on African-American composer Margaret Bonds, a significant figure in the fight for civil rights. Malcolm leads the choir in its Metropolitan Museum of Art debut this month followed by the New York orchestral premiere of Bonds’ Credo in Spring 2022.
Chuck Gives Thanks
The inimitable Chuck Sachs expresses gratitude on this Thanksgiving weekend.
Giving Thanks - Brooke Larimer
Brooke Larimer expresses appreciation for all of our Indie Opera supporters! #Thanksgiving https://indieopera.com/donate/
Thanks from Peter
The Indie Opera team is giving thanks to all of YOU who help us to bring opera into the twenty-first century. Happy Thanksgiving weekend!
We welcome Sarah Ruhl, librettist and playwright, and Matthew Aucoin, composer, the two creators of a new version of Eurydice at the Metropolitan Opera. We discuss the history and meaning of this oft-adapted myth, and what drew both writers to it. We delve into their creative process and discover why Sarah chose to make some key changes to the story and characters. We also get a peek into how the two adapted Sarah’s original play into the current libretto, and how Matthew approached setting her text to music. It’s fascinating to hear about the piece’s long journey from its creation to its premiere at LA Opera with Mary Zimmerman directing, to the current remount at the Met. Both writers also have new books out, which should be on everyone’s reading list. Don’t miss this captivating conversation with two of opera’s most vital and thrilling creators.
The Rosina Project Creative Team - Episode 81
We welcome three key creators of The Rosina Project, a groundbreaking “hip-hopera” that remixes The Barber of Seville using hip-hop and opera artists to perform a female-driven story of empowerment as an immersive, 21st-century house party. We are joined by George Cederquist, director, K. F. Jacques, composer and hip-hop artist playing Figaro, and Pinqy Ring, the hip-hop artist who plays Rosina. Soon to return to Chicago’s free “Night Out in the Parks” series, the piece features lyrics by the cast of mc/actors, dancers from BraveSoul Movement, and a live DJ and beatboxer. We discuss the origin of the piece and the unique way the text came together, as well as audience reactions and the future of the project. Recently featured in Opera America’s New Works Series, The Rosina Project is a bold reimagining of a classic work and sure to be a harbinger of other cross-cultural and interdisciplinary opera projects to come.
dwb - Driving While Black, Episode 80
Don't miss the premiere of episode 80 - dwb - Driving While Black, with the UrbanArias team including KAREN SLACK, Soprano, Robert Wood, Du'Bois A'Keen and Camry A'Keen!
Michael Mayes - Episode 79
Michael Mayes, Baritone joins us to share his insights into the future of opera and shows us how he gets to “The Quick”, and focuses on what’s important in opera. We also learn how Atlanta Opera is continuing to present operas during Covid, and reaching new audiences with Crossroads concerts. Theres plenty of Bluegrass and salty language in this episode so advise that you use your headphones around children and sensitive individuals.
Michael Mayes - Episode 79
Michael Mayes, Baritone joins us to share his insights into the future of opera and shows us how he gets to “The Quick”, and focuses on what’s important in opera. We also learn how The Atlanta Opera is continuing to present operas during Covid, and reaching new audiences with Crossroads concerts. Theres plenty of Bluegrass and salty language in this episode so advise that you use your headphones around children and sensitive individuals.
Michael Mayes, Baritone joins us to share his insights into the future of opera and shows us how he gets to “The Quick”, and focuses on what’s important in opera. We also learn how The Atlanta Opera is continuing to present operas during Covid, and reaching new audiences with Crossroads concerts. Theres plenty of Bluegrass and salty language in this episode so advise that you use your headphones around children and sensitive individuals.
We appreciate this meaningful message from David Cotei to help us celebrate our 10th Anniversary! https://indieopera.com/
