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Steven Osgood
Steven Osgood is an American classical music conductor. He is known for his commitment to new operatic works, having conducted many world premieres including Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek's ''Breaking the Waves'', David T. Little and Royce Vavrek's ''JFK'' and Laura Kaminsky, Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed's ''As One''. He is the General and Artistic Director of the Chautauqua Opera Company, and the Artistic Director of American Opera Projects' Composers and the Voice program. Notable World Premieres *2016 ''Breaking the Waves'' (Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek) *2016 ''JFK'' (David T. Little and Royce Vavrek) *2015 ''The Scarlet Ibis'' (Stefan Weisman and David Cote) *2014 ''As One'' (Laura Kaminsky, Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed) *2014 ''Thumbprint'' (Kamala Sankaram and Susan Yankowitz) *2012 ''Song from the Uproar'' (Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek) *2012 ''Patience and Sarah ''Patience and Sarah'' is a 1969 historical fiction novel with strong lesbian themes by Alm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Missy Mazzoli
Missy Mazzoli (born October 27, 1980) is an American composer and pianist who is a member of the composition faculty at the Mannes College of Music. She has received critical acclaim for her chamber, orchestral and operatic work. In 2018 she became one of the first two women to receive a commission from the Metropolitan Opera House. She is the founder and keyboardist for Victoire, an electro-acoustic band dedicated to performing her music. From 2012-2015 she was composer-in-residence at Opera Philadelphia, in collaboration with Gotham Chamber Opera and Music-Theater Group. Her music is published by G. Schirmer. Mazzoli received a 2015 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award, a Fulbright Grant to the Netherlands, and in 2018 was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Classical Composition. In 2018, Mazzoli was named for a two-season term as the Mead Composer-in-Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Mazzoli was named the Bragg Artist-in-Residen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royce Vavrek
Royce Vavrek is a Canadian-born Brooklyn-based librettist, playwright, dance scenarist, musical theatre writer and filmmaker known for his collaborations with composers David T. Little, Missy Mazzoli, Mikael Karlsson, Ricky Ian Gordon, Paola Prestini and Du Yun, soprano Lauren Worsham, producers Beth Morrison and Lawrence Edelson, and conductors Steven Osgood, Julian Wachner and Alan Pierson. He has been called "the indie Hofmannsthal," a "Metastasio of the downtown opera scene," "an exemplary creator of operatic prose," and "one of the most celebrated and sought after librettists in the world." His opera '' Angel's Bone'' with composer Du Yun was awarded the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Life and work Born in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, Vavrek studied piano and musical composition in high school and also sang in a chorus, but was even more drawn to writing for theatre, writing some 17 plays at that time, and filmmaking. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breaking The Waves (opera)
''Breaking the Waves'' is an opera in three acts by Missy Mazzoli with a libretto by Royce Vavrek. It is based on the 1996 film of the same name by Danish auteur Lars von Trier. The opera was first performed on September 22, 2016, by Opera Philadelphia. Commissioning and performances The opera was commissioned and premiered by Opera Philadelphia. The work was co-commissioned by Beth Morrison Projects. The New York City Prototype Festival showed this production in three performances in January 2017 at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. The opera received its European premiere on 21 August 2019 as part of the Edinburgh International Festival in a new co-production between Opera Ventures, Scottish Opera and Houston Grand Opera, in association with Bristol Old Vic. The production ran for three performances and was directed by Tom Morris, Sydney Mancasola sang Bess, Wallis Giunta sang Dodo, Susan Bullock sang Bess's Mother. Roles Synopsis Set in the Scottish Highland ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David T
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the third king of the United Kingdom of Israel. In the Books of Samuel, he is described as a young shepherd and harpist who gains fame by slaying Goliath, a champion of the Philistines, in southern Canaan. David becomes a favourite of Saul, the first king of Israel; he also forges a notably close friendship with Jonathan, a son of Saul. However, under the paranoia that David is seeking to usurp the throne, Saul attempts to kill David, forcing the latter to go into hiding and effectively operate as a fugitive for several years. After Saul and Jonathan are both killed in battle against the Philistines, a 30-year-old David is anointed king over all of Israel and Judah. Following his rise to power, David c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
JFK (opera)
''JFK'' is an opera in three acts by American composer David T. Little, with an English-language libretto by Royce Vavrek. The opera's story is based on the final night of American president John F. Kennedy's life that was spent in at the Hotel Texas in Fort Worth, prior to his assassination in Dallas, on November 22, 1963. The opera was commissioned by Fort Worth Opera, Opéra de Montréal and American Lyric Theater, and received its premiere at Fort Worth Opera on April 23, 2016 in a production directed by Thaddeus Strassberger. Roles Many critics wrote about a disorienting dream that Jackie experiences involving the historical figures Clara Harris and Henry Rathbone. In his preview for ''The New York Times'', David Allen explained that the opera "layers time most obviously in two 'characters in triplicate,' as Mr. Little puts it. Superficially, they are Henry and Clara, a secret service agent and a maid. In another guise, they inhabit Greek mythology as Lachesis and Clotho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laura Kaminsky
Laura Kaminsky (born September 28, 1956) is an American composer, producer of musical and multi-disciplinary cultural events, and educator. She was born in New York City, graduated from the High School of Music and Art, and studied with Joseph Wood at Oberlin College and Mario Davidovsky at City College of New York. She graduated from City College/CUNY with a Master of Arts degree in composition in 1980. Career Kaminsky has maintained an active composing studio and has had her music performed internationally. She is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards anfellowships In addition, her music has been extensively recorded. She has received national recognition for her innovative cultural programming and has held posts at a number of important institutions including New York City's 92nd Street Y, Town Hall, and Symphony Space, where she is currently artistic director. In 1984 she co-founded and remains the artistic director of the new music collective, Musicians Accord, whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Opera Projects
The American Opera Project (AOP) is a professional opera company based in Brooklyn, New York City, and is a member of Opera America, the Fort Greene Association, the Downtown Brooklyn Arts Alliance, and the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York (A.R.T./NY). The company's primary mission is to develop and present new operatic and music theatre works and has gained a reputation for the "rarefied range" of the projects it fosters (Opera News, Dec 2008). AOP was founded in 1988 by Grethe Barrett Holby who served as Artistic Director of AOP from 1988 until 2001, at which point Charles Jarden became the company's Executive Director and Steven Osgood the company's Artistic Director. Steven Osgood left the post of Artistic Director in 2008 to pursue conducting full-time but remains the Artistic Director for AOP's "Composers & the Voice" program. AOP's year-long writing fellowship, "Composers & the Voice" was created in 2002 to bring emerging operatic composers and librettists together wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stefan Weisman
Stefan Weisman (born 1970) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He composes opera, chamber music, orchestral music, as well as music for the theater, video and dance. Raised in East Brunswick, New Jersey, Weisman credits his passion for music starting with his participation in the orchestra at East Brunswick High School. His opera ''Darkling'', with a libretto by Anna Rabinowitz was commissioned, developed and produced in 2006 by American Opera Projects. Elements of composer Lee Hoiby’s song “The Darkling Thrush” were used as source material for the opera's music. ''Darkling'' was included in the Guggenheim Museum's "Works & Process" series, and premiered at the East 13th Street Theater. In a New York Times review, Anthony Tommasini described Weisman's music as "personal, moody and skillfully wrought." ''Darkling'' was released internationally by Albany Records in 2011. Of the CD, Gramophone Magazine wrote: “Weisman unfolds his emotional tapestry with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Cote (writer)
David Cote (born December 22, 1969) is an American writer. Early years Cote was born and adopted in Gilmanton, New Hampshire. Education After kindergarten and middle school, Cote attended Gilford High School (GHS), graduating in 1988. At Gilford, he acted in drama club productions such as ''West Side Story'', ''Up the Down Staircase'' and '' Macbeth''. He edited GHS's newspaper and its literary journal. He attended Bard College, graduating in 1992 with a B.A. in Drama/Dance. While at Bard, he also studied early modern English literature, concentrating on Shakespeare's ''Henriad'' ('' Richard II'', '' Henry IV Parts 1'' and 2 and ''Henry V''). Among his stage roles at Bard were Boris in Maxim Gorky's '' Children of the Sun''; Len in Harold Pinter's ''The Dwarfs''; Sganarelle in Molière's ''Dom Juan''; Simon Bliss in Noël Coward's '' Hay Fever''; and Second Lieutenant Ralph Clark in Timberlake Wertenbaker's ''Our Country's Good''. In addition to acting, Cote studied voice, di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kamala Sankaram
Kamala Sankaram (born 1978) is an American composer, vocalist, playwright and actress. Based in New York City, she is best known for chamber operas about women who find themselves in situations where they are forced to confront patriarchal structures. Sankaram is also known for incorporating the latest technologies (e.g., virtual reality) and discussing the social effects of technology in musical theater works. Life The daughter of an Indian father and a white American mother, Sankaram was born in Orange County, California, and grew up largely in Ramona, a small town in San Diego County. She took some piano lessons as a child, but her interest soon turned to theater. She said, “I was in a theater show called Choice in Southern California. I would do these big dance and song numbers and that’s what got me even more interested in it. I wanted to be on Broadway!” In 1996, Sankaram moved to New York to attend Sarah Lawrence College. After graduation, her father, who wan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patience And Sarah (opera)
''Patience and Sarah'' is a 1998 opera by Paula M. Kimper. The libretto is by Wende Persons, based on the novel of the same name by Isabel Miller. It has been described as the first lesbian opera and as the first mainstream gay-themed opera. History Persons began writing the libretto in 1981, after a lesbian opera singer, upon whom Persons had a crush, mentioned that she had trouble identifying with the straight characters she played. "She never got to be who she really was and sing of her love for women," Persons says. "I thought about it and said to myself, wouldn't it be great to do this?" Having read a lot of lesbian literature that ended unhappily, Persons was drawn to Miller's happy ending for the two women. She finished the first draft in three weeks in order to impress the singer. In 1989, she asked her then-partner Kimper to collaborate; Kimper, a composer of incidental stage music and film scores, initially refused, but reconsidered after seeing a performance of the Rin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
21st-century American Conductors (music)
The 1st century was the century spanning AD 1 ( I) through AD 100 ( C) according to the Julian calendar. It is often written as the or to distinguish it from the 1st century BC (or BCE) which preceded it. The 1st century is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period. The 1st century also saw the appearance of Christianity. During this period, Europe, North Africa and the Near East fell under increasing domination by the Roman Empire, which continued expanding, most notably conquering Britain under the emperor Claudius ( AD 43). The reforms introduced by Augustus during his long reign stabilized the empire after the turmoil of the previous century's civil wars. Later in the century the Julio-Claudian dynasty, which had been founded by Augustus, came to an end with the suicide of Nero in AD 68. There followed the famous Year of Four Emperors, a brief period of civil war and instability, which was finally brought to an end by Vespasian, ninth Roman em ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
