Family Opera Initiative (FOI) is an American opera company based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

that commissions, develops, and premieres original works for cross-generational audiences. It was founded in 1995 by

Grethe Barrett Holby Grethe Barrett Holby (born April 26, 1948) is an American theatre producer, stage director, choreographer, and dramaturge best known for her work in opera. Holby is noted as the founder of ''American Opera Projects'', where she served as Artistic ...

, originally as part of

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. ...

(also founded by Holby). Its mission was and remains to create new repertory for family audiences, to bring the experience of opera to a diverse audience, and to engage the community in the process and performance of their works.Theatre for Young Audiences/USA (May 2007) Since its founding, Family Opera Initiative has developed a series of "opera-musicals" for family audiences: ''Flurry Tale'' (1999), ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' (2001), ''Fireworks!'' (2002), and ''Animal Tales'' (2008). Past and present collaborators on their productions include

Billy Aronson Billy Aronson is an American playwright and writer, who originated the concept of the rock opera ''Rent'', which was based on Puccini's opera ''La bohème''.Jones, Kenneth (2011)Rent, With Andy Mientus, Fabio Monteiro, Halle Morse, Begins at Pion ...

, George Plimpton,

Kitty Brazelton Kitty Brazelton (born 1951 in Cambridge, Massachusetts) is a New York-based American composer, bandleader, improviser, singer/songwriter, and instrumentalist. She has released albums and fronted bands across varied genres, including contemporary ...

Rusty Magee Benjamin Rush "Rusty" Magee (August 6, 1955 – February 16, 2003) was an accomplished comedian, actor and composer/lyricist for theatre, television, film and commercials. Biography Early life Magee was born in Washington, D.C., the son ...

, Franco Colavecchia,

Richard Peaslee Richard Peaslee (June 13, 1930, New York NY – August 20, 2016) was a composer who worked in a variety of idioms, including chorus, orchestra, dance, and soundtracks for film and television, but he was most active as a composer for the theatre. Ed ...

, and

Eugenio Carmi Eugenio Carmi (17 February 1920 – 16 February 2016) was an Italian painter and sculptor. He is considered to have been one of the main exponents of abstractionism in Italy. Born in Genoa, Italy, in 1938 Carmi moved to Switzerland because of th ...

. The company performs around the United States in partnership with other theaters, theater companies, and public or educational institutions. Their performances range from workshops to fully staged productions. Family Opera Initiative is a non-profit organization. Its commissions and productions have been supported by the Jaffe Family Foundation, the New York State Council for the Arts, and TADA! Youth Theater. Their development partners include the Atlantic Center for the Arts, Ardea Arts, and Montclair State University.

Production history

''Flurry Tale''

''Flurry Tale'' had its premiere in December 1999 at the Clark Studio Theater in New York City's

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

, and has been presented at many workshops at the

South Oxford Space, New York area schools, and the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

. ''Flurry Tale'' is a one-act opera-musical composed by

to a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

and was originated, developed and directed by Grethe Barrett Holby. It is scored for piano, two male voices (

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

) and three female voices (2

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

s, 1

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

) The comic plot revolves around a young girl, Emma, and her harried father who proclaims his disbelief in Santa Claus and talking snowmen. A group of familiar holiday figures set out to prove that they really exist. The holiday figures squabble amongst themselves while plotting the downfall of Emma's father until she reminds them all of the spirit of the season.

''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight''

''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' had its stage premiere in New York City in October 2001, presented by American Opera Projects and TADA! Youth Theater, with Anthony Pulgram as Sir Gawain It has since played in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

. The 70 minute, one-act work was composed by

to a libretto by Kenneth Cavander. The direction and dramaturgy are by Grethe Barrett Holby. . The work is scored for three male voices (tenor,

bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing thr ...

, and bass) and one female voice (mezzo-soprano). The story is based on the Arthurian legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

''Fireworks!''

''Fireworks'' premiered in an outdoor performance in

Fort Greene Park Fort Greene Park is a city-owned and -operated park in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York City. The park was originally named after the fort formerly located there, Fort Putnam, which itself was named for Rufus Putnam, George Washington's Chief ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

on July 2, 2002, produced by American Opera Projects. A comic "opera-musical", it was composed by

to a libretto by

, originated and directed by

. The full orchestra version is scored for violin, electric guitar, cello, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, alto and baritone saxophone,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

, and

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

. The work is cast for a chorus and six solo voices: *Intergalactic Toqueville (soprano) *High school nerd (baritone) *Pompous actor (tenor) *Single mother (

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

) *Her rebellious daughter (mezzo-soprano) *Park groundskeeper (bass) The story involves a benevolent alien (Intergalactic Toqueville) who travels to Earth to find out why humans shoot "colored lights" into the sky at the same time each year. In the course of her investigations, she encounters a series of characters gathered in a park to watch the

4th of July Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music) In music a fourth is an interval spanning four staff po ...

fireworks – a nerdy high school student, a rebellious teenage girl, her single working mother, a pompous actor who's preparing for the

July 4th Events Pre-1600 *362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans. * 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaimed ...

play, and a groundskeeper, who wishes people would take more pride in their park. The alien is won over to the idea of democracy and vows to take the message to the rest of the universe.

''Animal Tales''

Act I of ''Animal Tales'' was first performed in a workshop for the Atlantic Center for the Arts in January 2005. Act II had its first performance in a workshop for the Montclair State University Peak Performances Series in July 2006. The work was first performed in its entirety in Theater Works USA workshops at the Chelsea Studios on November 11, 12, 13, 14, and 16, 2008. ''Animal Tales'' is a full length musical-opera in two acts composed by Kitty Brazelton to a libretto by George Plimpton, originated and directed Grethe Barrett Holby. The score integrates American musical idioms into classical structures, using classically trained, R&B and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

vocal styles as well as DJ turntable, and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. The full premiere version orchestra uses 1 pianist, 1 Latin percussionist/hand drummer, 1 DJ, 5

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

players, 1 plucked string player (doubling on

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

and

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

), 4 wind instrumentalists (

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

, and

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

) and 2 brass players (trumpet and trombone). The touring version of the orchestra consists of DJ, Piano, and Latin Percussion. The cast has a children's chorus plus six male voices (

boy soprano A boy soprano (British and especially North American English) or boy treble (only British English) is a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the soprano range, a range that is often still called the treble voice range (in North America ...

, tenor, bass-baritone, bass, and 2 baritones) and two female voices (soprano and mezzo-soprano) The story revolves around seven animals who go to their

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

with the desire to change their lives. Each animal is granted their wish. Following a large storm, the animals return one by one, to recount their adventures, supplemented with dancing and exclamations from the chorus. The animals include a break dancing turtle, a horse who wants to be a 'rider', a dog who wants to howl like a wolf, and a goldfish who wants to swim in the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

Works in development

As of 2009, ''The Three Astronauts'' is a collaborative project being developed by the Family Opera Initiative. Conceived by its director,

, as a space opera, ''The Three Astronauts'' is based on the children's picture book of the same name written by Umberto Eco and illustrated by Eugenio Carmi. The story involves a Russian, a Chinese, and an American

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

who all arrive on

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

at the same time. In their fear and loneliness, they band together to hunt down and kill the Martian they encounter, but ultimately embrace him as a friend.Ruch (2004) The work is envisaged as an integration of orchestral passages, children's chorus, sung and spoken text, movement, and visual theater. It will be performed in English, Chinese, Russian and "Martian" with each of the astronauts performing in their own language without

supertitles Surtitles, also known as supertitles, SurCaps, OpTrans, are translated or transcribed lyrics/dialogue projected above a stage or displayed on a screen, commonly used in opera, theatre or other musical performances. The word "surtitle" comes from ...

. Librettists and composers from each country will write the dialogue and music for the astronauts, with a new language created for the Martian. American poet Nikki Giovanni's ''We're Going to Mars'' forms the text for the children's chorus. Eugenio Carmi will be the lead designer. The project's development partners are Ardea Arts and Atlantic Center for the Arts, with major funding provided The Jaffe Family Foundation.

Gallery

Image:SG GK Chopping off Gawain's Head.JPG, Anthony Pulgram and Ricardo Herrera in ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' (2001) Image:Fireworks-design-drawing.jpg, Stage design by Kelly Hanson for the opening scene of ''Fireworks'' (2002)

References

{{reflist *Brazelton, Kitty
''Fireworks''
2002. Accessed 28 February 2009. *Drozdowski, Ted,
George Howard and Kitty Brazelton show how it's done
''The Boston Phoenix'', December 12–18, 2003. Accessed 28 February 2009. *Filipski, Kevin

''The Brooklyn Paper'', October 29, 2001. Accessed 28 February 2009. *Graeber, Laurel

''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', October 26, 2001. Accessed 28 February 2009. *Maupin, Elizabeth

''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

'', February 13, 2006. Accessed 28 February 2009. *''The New York Times''
Spare Times: Flurry Tale
December 17, 1999. Accessed 28 February 2009. *Ruch, Allen B.

themodernword.com, November 7, 2004. Accessed 28 February 2009. *Saxon, Wolfgang,

''The New York Times'', February 23, 2003. Accessed 28 February 2009. *Theatre for Young Audiences/USA

May 2007. Accessed March 1, 2009. *

WNYC WNYC is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that di ...

American composers are creating new works for our times!
''Soundcheck'', June 26, 2002. Accessed 28 February 2009.

External links

Family Opera Initiative official web siteGrethe Barrett Holby biography on Pinnacle Arts ManagementGrethe Barrett Holby official web site
New York City opera companies Non-profit organizations based in New York (state) Musical groups established in 1995