Luke Di Somma is a New Zealand lyricist, composer, writer and director. He studied at the
University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...
, the
New Zealand School of Music
The New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī, at Victoria University of Wellington (NZSM), is located in Wellington, New Zealand. NZSM provides a tertiary teaching faculty with programmes in Classical Performance, Jazz Performance, Music Studies, C ...
and the
Tisch School of the Arts
The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University.
Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...
. His punk-rock musical ''
That Bloody Woman
''That Bloody Woman'' is a 2015 punk-rock musical written by Luke Di Somma and Gregory Cooper. It is based on the life of Kate Sheppard and charts the suffragism struggle in New Zealand and its opposition by Richard Seddon. The musical was ...
'' was a smash hit at the 2015
Christchurch Arts Festival
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
, and subsequently toured New Zealand, playing to over 30,000 people. Other compositions include ''Dinostory'' and ''The Things Between Us''. He has been commissioned by
New Zealand Opera
New Zealand Opera is New Zealand's only full-time professional opera company, formed in 2000 from the merger of companies in Auckland and Wellington (and later Christchurch). New Zealand Opera is headquartered in Parnell, Auckland, stages severa ...
to write a comedic opera about a group of unruly tourists who toured New Zealand in 2019.
Early life and education
Di Somma grew up in
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
, where he attended
Cashmere High School
Cashmere High School ( mi, Te iringa o Kahukura) is a state coeducational secondary school, located in southern Christchurch, New Zealand. It was opened in 1956 in response to population growth in southern Christchurch during the 1950s.
The sch ...
. Both his parents are journalists.
Di Somma has a Bachelor of Music from the University of Canterbury, and First Class Honours in conducting and composition from the New Zealand School of Music, where he studied under Michael Norris,
Jack Body
John Stanley Body (7 October 1944 – 10 May 2015) was a New Zealand composer, ethnomusicologist, photographer, teacher, and arts producer. As a composer, his work comprised concert music, music theatre, electronic music, music for film and da ...
,
John Psathas
John Psathas, (born Ioannis Psathas, el, Ιωάννης Ψάθας; 1966) is a New Zealand composer. He has works in the repertoire of such high-profile musicians as Evelyn Glennie, Michael Houstoun, Michael Brecker, Joshua Redman and the New ...
Fulbright scholarship
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
to study at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where he completed a Master of Fine Arts through the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Programme.
Work
Di Somma co-wrote punk-rock musical ''That Bloody Woman'' with Gregory Cooper in 2015. The musical was a smash hit at that year's Christchurch Arts Festival and subsequently toured the country, playing to over 30,000 people.
In 2017, the first 45 minutes of a work about dinosaurs, ''Dinostory'', played at Andrew Lloyd Webber's
The Other Palace
The Other Palace is a theatre in London's Off West End which opened on 18 September 2012 as the St. James Theatre. It features a 312-seat main theatre and a 120-seat studio theatre. It was built on the site of the former Westminster Theatre, w ...
. Di Somma's coming-of-age musical ''The Things Between Us'' premiered as part of the Christchurch Arts Festival in September 2017.
In 2021, Di Somma, Livi Reihana and Amanda Kennedy were commissioned by New Zealand Opera to write a comedic opera based on a group of British tourists who caused upset around the country in 2019, some of whom were subsequently deported.
Teaching and directing
Di Somma has taught at Federation University Australia,
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
,
Victorian College of the Arts
The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus of the ...
, the National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Arts, and the
Stella Adler
Stella Adler (February 10, 1901 – December 21, 1992) was an American actress and acting teacher. ''
Di Somma was musical director for the European premiere of Lin-Manuel Miranda's ''21 Chump St'' at the
Tristan Bates Theatre
Sir Alan Arthur Bates (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003) was an English actor who came to prominence in the 1960s, when he appeared in films ranging from the popular children's story '' Whistle Down the Wind'' to the " kitchen sink" dram ...
in London's West End. Other directing work includes '' Hedwig And The Angry Inch, Two Guvnors'' at The Court Theatre'',
Spamalot
''Spamalot'' (also known as ''Monty Python's Spamalot'') is a musical comedy with music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, and lyrics and book by Idle. It is adapted from the 1975 film ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''.
Like the motion picture ...
,
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial ''The String of Pearls'' (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London urban legend, legend. A barber fr ...
,
The Full Monty
''The Full Monty'' is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy. The film is s ...
,
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...
,'' and ''
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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.'' Di Somma regularly appears as a guest conductor with the
Christchurch Symphony Orchestra
The Christchurch Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is the largest professional orchestra in the South Island of New Zealand, based in the city of Christchurch. It was established in 1958 as the John Ritchie String Orchestra, due to the vision and encourag ...
. He founded the Christchurch Pops Choir, and the biennial Christchurch International Musical Theatre Summer School.
Writing
In a review of musical theatre in New Zealand, Di Somma wrote
"The Broadway actor Andréa Burns once told me that every song is a fight. And we love a good fight in New Zealand. We battled Everest, French eco-terrorists, nuclear power, apartheid and as is the case with my current project, we fought for universal suffrage. We are less apathetic than we give ourselves credit for. If we can embrace that distinctive brand of aspiration and soar with our feet on the ground, we may do more than just finding our voice; we may create a new voice in international musical theatre - a hopeful yet humble form where underdogs fight and communities sing. We should embrace our accent, find appropriate subject material, tell Māori and Pasifika and other New Zealand stories."
Di Somma was based in London 2015–2017, and then Melbourne, Australia, where he taught at
Federation University Australia
Federation University Australia (Fed Uni) is a public, multi-sector university based in Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. The university also has campuses in Ararat, Horsham, Stawell, Churchill, Berwick, and Brisbane, as well as online techni ...
.
He has been described by broadcaster Kim Hill as the "wunderkind of the Christchurch musical scene".