But his catalog is deep and not everything in it was one for the ages.  His only full length opera “The Tender Land,” which is currently playing at Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, is a reminder that even the beloved Copland was a fallible human.

Outgoing Glimmerglass general manager Michael MacLeod made an admirable, if economic, decision in resurrecting the piece and casting it entirely with members of the company’s Young American Artist program.  Some 800 singers apply every year for the program, one of more prestigious in the field.  The chosen few – there were 38 this year – usually spend the better part of their summer playing small roles, singing in the chorus, and waiting in the wings as understudies.

This year they were in the spotlight.  Too bad that they didn’t get a better opera to sink their teeth into.

“The Tender Land” (1952) is a troublesome piece primarily because of a thin story and the lousy libretto by Horace Everett (the pen name of Copland’s younger lover Erik Johns).  It goes back and forth from mundane dialogue to attempts at poetry.  The characters often announce their feelings (rather than letting the music communicate them) and certain words just get ground into the ground with repetition (“Will you hire a stranger? Yes, I’ll hire a stranger. Hey, he’ll hire a stranger. Now I’m not a stranger. No, you’re not a stranger”)

The score does up plenty of familiar, comforting Americana, especially in the lush instrumental writing. Glimmerglass’ former music director Stewart Robertson returned to conduct and got a mostly sumptuous sound from the orchestra. Occasionally the singers were covered a bit while some thin passages felt a bit frail and unsure.

Director Tazewell Thompson went for simplicity, an appropriate choice for the homespun theme and single unit set. Too often, though, he just didn’t give the singers enough to do. Some sprightlier tempos from Robertson might have also helped move things along.

On the other hand, at the end of the first act there was so much going on – the women doing chores, the men packing their bags – that it detracted from the brief pleasures of “The Promise of Living,” one of the opera’s two popular choruses.  The other, “Stomp Your Foot,” could have used a real choreographer.

As the lead character Laurie, soprano Lindsay Russell sang beautifully and negotiated the emotional turns about as well as could be expected.  In three short acts she goes being a moody school girl to a jilted women ready to face the world on her own.

Tenor Andrew Stenson as Martin had a sweet romantic voice, but it wasn’t quiet big enough for the house.  His companion Top was played with more gusto by baritone Mark Diamond.  As the grandfather, Joseph Barron hit all the bass notes with plenty of volume, but his authoritative anger was unvaried.  Of the adult characters, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Foley Davis as the mother gave the most believable and well-rounded performance.

I arrived at Glimmerglass hoping for the best from “The Tender Land,” having good memories of production at Bard College’s SummerScape festival in 2005. But that performance was in an even more intimate theatre (about 150 seats as I recall) and of a chamber version arranged by Murray Sidlin, who added some of Copland’s “Old American Songs” into the score.  They added some welcome life to the score and gave the chorus more to do.  Bard’s production standards are also on a higher level than Glimmerglass lately.  The sets for both productions had tall grasses in the background, yet Bard’s stage was a quarter the size and yet had far more interesting structural aspects.

Another kind of Americana is in store next summer at Glimmerglass, during Francesca Zambello’s first summer as the boss. The news that opera star Deborah Voigt will sing the lead in “Annie Get Your Gun” is a huge sign of the company’s new direction. (Read the full announcement of the 2011 season here.)

GLIMMERGLASS OPERA
Cooperstown, New York

PUCCINI: TOSCA
Friday, July 9, 2010 (opening night)

Big changes are underway at Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, with a new general and artistic director waiting in the wings to take over in the fall.  The internationally known stage director Francesca Zambello plans an expanded array of events for next year when the whole enterprise will become known as The Glimmerglass Festival.

Yet the 2010 summer season got underway Friday night with the focus squarely on operatic tradition — in other words, lots of fine singing in a staple of the repertoire, Puccini’s “Tosca.”

Soprano Lise Lindstrom was marvelous in the lead.  She began the second act aria “Vissi d’arte” with a hint of bleating pain in her voice before a gathering strength for an upwards soar into beauty.  There’s some throaty vibrato in her midrange while her top notes are clear and true. Her entire interpretation was always ripe with emotion and immediacy.

Tenor Adam Diegel, as the painter Cavaradossi, had a consistently strong and pleasant sound, a hearty mix of chest and head voice.  Often he seemed to link together phrases into giant, superhuman breaths.  Early in the third act he stepped out of the shadows, both physically and vocally, rallying for a stunning display in “E lucevan le stelle.”

Despite a stout physicality, baritone Lester Lynch was less sturdy as the villainous Scarpia. He was great in the first act, as a kind of high priest setting up the tragic ritual. But when he wasn’t interjecting taunts or barking orders, he paled a bit, especially in the longer solo passages. At points in the second act arguments with Tosca, his sound was almost completely covered.

Music director David Angus had the orchestra in tight form from the opening brass chords and the score ticked along with order and clarity most of the time.  The cellos were mighty sour, though, in the third act.

Donald Eastman’s set for the opening church scene positioned the Virgin Mary on stage right opposite the in-progress painting of a blond Mary Magdalene. It spoke about the opera’s balance of quiet piety and uncontrollable human urges.  For the balance of the night the icons slipped away but the basic structures stayed.  It was all moody and economical, but not obviously cheap either.

Last fall the Met got into trouble with a daring new staging of this classic. Glimmerglass seemed to know better.  After Tosca slays Scarpia, she followed tradition and put candles on either side of his corpse. For a crucifix, she yanked the chain off her neck.

MOZART: THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO
Saturday, July 17, 2010 (opening night)

Everyone wants a wedding to go smoothly, but a good opera needs a few bumps along the way.  Glimmerglass Opera’s new production of “The Marriage of Figaro,” which opened Saturday night, is just too polished and plain.

The director was Leon Major, whose last effort for the company was “Barber of Seville,” a similarly by-the-book production in 2006.  For all the reversals and surprises, romance and pathos packed into these Beaumarchais masterpieces, Major doesn’t seem to get much action on the stage.

Sure, there were still plenty of laughs, like when Cherubino hides out in the parlor, quaking beneath a sheet. But when the carefree boy is told he’ll be joining the army, it doesn’t seem to come as news.  There are lots of other passages, especially in the first two acts, that are more broad than immediate. The big third act arias by the count and countess — nicely sung by bass-baritone Mark Schnaible and soprano Caitlin Lynch, respectively — are of the “sit and sing” variety.

A good wedding also needs the colors of celebration but the stage picture in “Figaro” is drab.  Matthew Pachtman’s costumes were an instant bore. Nearly every performer wears a washed out variation on beige or a tiny floral print.

Set designer Donald Eastman was given a tough task, and presumably little budget, to do the sets for all four of the company’s current productions.  For “Figaro” the walls are a chestnutty wood grain into which the performers mostly disappear.  Jeff Harris’ contributions with lighting were negligible.

The fourth act is traditionally a hide and seek in the night time garden but instead we’re in the barn yard. Rather than peeking out from behind trees, the characters climb up, down and around an ugly old wagon that seems ready to collapse. The fine soprano Lyubov Petrova as Susanna sang an entire aria stretched out at an awkward position on its sloped bench.  And where did the characters find flashlights, by the way, since everything else in the production suggested the 19th century?

Patrick Carfizzi was a hearty and likeable Figaro. But like the rest of the cast, he didn’t seem to let emotions arrive into his voice until after intermission.  Too often, the quality of the singing was all the same, pleasant but not infused with much wonder or excitement, fear or anger.

The most consistent and expressive contribution of the evening came from the orchestra, conducted by music director David Angus.  He’s got them in fine shape and has a reliable hand with pacing.

HANDEL: TOLOMEO
Sunday, July 18, 2010 (opening performance)

During the first bars of Handel’s “Tolomeo,” which opened Sunday afternoon at Glimmerglass Opera, the boyish countertenor Anthony Costanzo is meditating on the currents of his life while gazing at a little fishbowl.  He sings full out to the audience with a beautiful voice ripe with emotion.

Soon a full-sized swordfish floats into the blue lighting above.  The audience’s laugher comes hesitantly but the message is clear: traditional notions of opera staging would be absent for the rest of the afternoon.

The new production marks the U.S. staged debut of “Tolomeo.” Just a few decades ago Handel’s many operas languished. The thinking was that their structures were just too far-removed from modern conventions. But Glimmerglass has contributed regularly to the composer’s revival, offering seven other Handel operas in the past 15 years.

Certainly the composer is an acquired taste in the theater.  Not that his rippling melodies are hard to like, but the constant alternation between recitative and small arias takes some getting used to.

It also calls for creative thinking.  Director Chas Rader-Shieber and the rest of the production team for “Tolomeo” let their imaginations run freely.  There’s lots of whimsy, along with one or two hair-brained ideas. Happily, it’s a long way from the company’s disastrous “L’Orfeo,” which still leaves a bad taste in the mouth after three years.

This is one modern staging that smartly adheres to images and comic notions in the libretto, rather than suggesting its own. Best of all, the talented young cast isn’t hampered from focusing on singing, which they do almost uniformly well.  They keep rather busy, though, managing crazy props and sporting outlandish costumes by Andrea Hood.

Mezzo-soprano Julie Boulianne (last year’s lead in “La Cenerentola”) has a wig that looks like it’s made of red and black kitchen scrubbies. In an aria about morning doves, she lifts a bird off the dinner table and serenades it.

There’s also an aviary theme around Seleuce, played by the fair soprano Joelle Harvey. When she sings about captive love, a large birdcage lowers around her head.

The strapping baritone Steven LaBrie, a member of Glimmerglass’ young artist program, wears a maroon pimp suit with fur lapels.

A regular presence are three hunchbacked supernumeraries in powdered wigs who move large props at geriatric speed.  Sometimes they distract from a nice aria.

Robert Wierzel’s lighting bathes everything in an elegant glow and conductor Christian Curnyn’s orchestra is crisp and efficient.

Originally appeared in the Times Union.

Photos courtesy Glimmerglass Opera.

Last month composer SCOTT PENDER attended a two-week summer music intensive known as the John Duffy Composers Institute, part of

But it may as well be called Opera Camp.

According to Pender, the sessions are for composers of opera and musical theatre to bring alive their works and get feedback from the collaborating artists and senior composers.  The musical staff consisted of founder John Duffy (formerly Mr. Meet the Composer), music director Alan Johnson, stage director Rhoda Levine, and vocal coach Patrick Mason. Also on hand were visiting composers Libby Larsen, Fred Ho, and Ricky Ian Gordon, and librettist/lyricist Mark Campbell.

Pender brought along his latest composition, the one-scene stage piece “Clever Elsie,” It’s based on his own translation and adaptation of a German tale originally collected by the brothers Grimm.

“I chose this story for two reasons: first, I couldn’t find any evidence that it had previously been set to music; and second, the repetitive structure of the story appealed to me,” says Pender.

Here’s a partial synopsis and a couple excerpts from the libretto”

Clever Elsie lives at home with her mother and father and two servants. As so often happens, especially in fiction, the story really takes off when a stranger shows up in town.

My name is Hans, and I’ve come a long, long way to ask for your daughter’s hand, but only if she’s really as clever as they say, clever as they say.

Mother & Father: Oh, she’s no fool: she’s so sharp, she can even see the breeze blowing down the street.

Ensemble: Oh, she’s no fool: she’s so sharp, she can even hear a housefly sneeze.

The central portion of the scene consists of a repeated litany expressing fear over what might happen. Clever Elsie sings alone the first time, other voices add on with each repeat so that a solo becomes a duet becomes a trio becomes a quartet becomes a quintet.

If I get Hans, and we get a kid, and it gets big, and comes down here to draw some beer, maybe this pickaxe might fall on his head and strike him dead, dead.

Now back at home in the Washington DC area, Pender admits to a post-camp let down.  It’s a feeling probably familiar to all who escape for summer intensives, whether boy scouts or composers.

“Most of my colleagues agreed with me that we all suffered from what I called ‘Duffy withdrawal,’” he says. “It left me feeling kind of lost for a week or two. Eventually, as is almost always the case, picking up the pencil and score paper made it better.”

For 35 years, Peter Haley has been the Pied Piper of opera in the Capital Region.  As founder of the 400-member Siena Opera Club, he teaches classes on the art form, leads dozens of bus trips every year to performances across the east coast, and organizes European tours.

Preparing for it all means long days immersed in music and logistical details. And Haley doesn’t even get to take the summers off.

That’s because the local opera season is concentrated during the months of July and August.  At the head of the pack is the Lake George Opera at Saratoga, which Haley and his crew call “the home team.” The company launches its 48th season tonight with a new production of “Carmen” and continues on Friday with Donizetti’s “Viva La Mama.” Meanwhile in Cooperstown Glimmerglass Opera’s opening weekend features Puccini’s “Tosca” on Friday and Copland’s “The Tenderland” on Saturday.

Still more opera is ahead at Bard College, Tanglewood, the Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy and Hubbard Hall in Cambridge and the Seagle Colony on Schroon Lake.

The Siena Opera Club will show up in force for most everything.

“They’re enthusiastic and knowledgeable opera-goers,” says Curtis Tucker, artistic director of the Lake George Opera.  “Peter Haley’s leadership of the organization has been extraordinary. He has made the Siena Opera Club an important group, serving individuals, opera companies near and far, and the art form that we love.”

“Our mission it to put people in front of live opera,” says Haley, 70.

That’s also an apt description of Haley’s life purpose.  He’s had sundry other musical pursuits, including 54 years as a church organist, starting in his teens and continuing at various parishes in the region. But opera’s been his primary focus since at least 1975 when he was recruited to teach an appreciation course in the tiny music department at Siena College in Loudonville.

Haley recalls that when he became a full time faculty member there in 1984, “I was the music department, teaching an intro class, music history and introduction to opera.”  He retired five years ago but continues a pace with the club.

According to Haley, the class in opera was surprisingly popular with undergrads, partly since it met just one night a week but was worth three credits. But it also drew a healthy contingent of adult students from the community.  In 1980, the regulars prevailed on Haley to continue offering monthly seminars and to expand the range of excursions.  Bus rides to the Metropolitan Opera have been happening ever since, sometimes a dozen times a season.

“If you live in the Albany area and are a die hard opera fan, it’s the best deal going,” says Deborah Onslow, former president and general manager of WMHT, who’s been a member for about four years. “It allows me to go to New York and not have to spend the night. Sometimes those operas are so long that there’s no hope of catching the late train back.”

For Met performances, members are dropped off at Lincoln Center at 4 p.m., allowing time for a bit of shopping or site seeing as well as dinner before the 8 p.m. curtain.  After the show, they pile into the buses and arrive back at Siena by 1 or 2 a.m.

Membership in the Siena Opera Club is $25 a year for individuals, $40 for families.  Members can pick and chose which performances they’ll attend.  Met tickets, including transportation, are around $150. The advance seminars are free.

“My only regret is that I didn’t learn about it when it first started,” says Roland Hummel of Brunswick.  “I subscribed to the Met for 20 years and took the train. But it’s best to be with other people interested in opera.”

During his 15 years of membership, Hummel has gone on at least a dozen European tours with the club and is looking forward to trip to Spain in the fall.  Though he’s 91 years old, Hummel is not the oldest active member. That distinction goes to John Cetner, age 102.

“It’s the pure pleasure of listening to good music,” says Cetner, who still attends several performances each year. “And Peter is a gem who uses plane language to describe the plots and singers.”

While the membership tilts toward the grey-haired set, vocal students from local high schools and colleges are regularly taken along to performances for free.  Three years ago a partnership was formed with the Opera Club at Lisha Kill Middle School. It consists of students who give up recess to watch opera on DVD and sometimes tag along on the opera club outings.

“Watching the discussions about opera on the bus is my favorite part,” says Lisha Kill band instructor Karen MacWatters. “Suddenly there’s a bunch of crazy noisy kids and the seniors just light right up.”

Quietly presiding over it all is the benevolent Peter Haley.  Also a former critic for the Times Union, Haley is as discerning and experienced a listener as you’ll find, having seen “La Traviata” more than 50 times. But he mostly keeps his opinions to himself.

“I try to respect where my people are and if they’ve had a great time and I haven’t, why bother to say anything,” he explains.  “Though to my friends I’ll bitch up a storm about a bad performance and just let the blood run.”

Without a hint of condescension, Haley continues: “At midnight after we’ve been through an opera and I’m checking people onto the bus, someone will say ‘Wasn’t that wonderful?’ And I’ll just smile.  My pleasure is making pleasure for other people.”

Originally appeared in Times Union.

Photos: Cindy Schultz, Times Union

Arenas died of AIDS in 1990 at age 47 and the epidemic still seems potent material for musical exploration.  Just two years ago the Fort Worth Opera mounted the operatic version of “Angels in America.”   But AIDS is almost a minor topic in the new three hour-long work.  Freedom — artistic and sexual — is the more dominate theme.

From his bed Arenas pleads for his two muses, played by sopranos in glittery ball gowns and beehive hairdos, to take him back to his youth.  Soon he’s cavorting on the beaches of Cuba and we follow his entanglement in revolutionary politics, pursuit of love and companionship, and achievement of international fame with the overseas publication of his visionary writing.

The young baritone Wes Mason played Arenas with remarkable vocal stamina and  physical dexterity to give a vivid portrait of the character’s playful creativity and steely constitution.  The singing quality of the mostly young supporting cast, though, was very uneven.   Bass-baritone Seth Mease Carico played the revolutionary officer Victor with terrific strength and clarity and Jesus Garcia, as a fellow writer, was suitable though a bit anonymous.  Tenor Jonathan Blalock, as one of Arenas’s lovers, sang with a reedy, disembodied voice and soprano Janice Hall’s one scene as the mother was just unpleasant.   A hearty chorus of about 30 was dispatched as a militant band in the first half and disco revelers near the end.

The Manhattan and Cuban locales were evoked by projections on various scrims, which after a while gave the production a weightless, floating quality.  Riccardo Hernandez was credited with scenic design and Peter Nigrini with projections.  Maybe they intended their imagery to foreshadow Arenas’ troubled life, but the beach scenes always had a heavily clouded sky and overly bluish cast.   The stage of Bass Hall also just felt too big for the piece, with many performers exiting with long dashes into the wings.  The two all male dance numbers by choreographer John de los Santos were acrobatic, choppy, and rigid, while the narrative and Martin’s lush scoring called for sensuality and seduction.

There’s plenty of Latin dance rhythms throughout and overall the opera’s pacing is quick with lots of short scenes that keep things moving. Martin’s orchestration is traditional but sometimes daringly light and understated.  Some pivotal choruses and ensembles were performed a capella.

The composer made his own libretto with assistance from Dolores M. Koch, who was a translator of Arenas’ writings.  Too often they have the characters announcing their feelings rather then trusting the music to communicate the emotions.  But in a rare accomplishment, almost every word is intelligible — a testament to both the singers and Martin’s skill at setting text.  The supertitles, by the way, provided the English lyrics as well as a Spanish translation.

A beautiful tune comes in the first act when Arenas and a lover sing, “Oh, our unhappy island, when will your troubles be done?”  Near the end of the show, the emotional and political themes come together in the line: “My death notice came not from a tyrant but from my lovers.”

The opera itself seems bolder in its handling of gay content than does the production by director David Gately.  When Arenas applies for sanctuary in the U.S., he’s harshly questioned about his sexuality — even asked by an official if he’s a top or a bottom and ordered to swish about to prove he’s a fag.  (As if his hip huggers and loud flowered shirt weren’t enough.) It was an awkward and painful moment to watch but not unbelievable either.

So why did the Fort Worth audience laugh?  There was nothing particularly campy or clownish in Mason’s movement and his face communicated shame.  Giving the audience the benefit of the doubt, perhaps it was a collective discomfort that came out as a chuckle.

Such powerful material in the libretto and score only highlighted the contrast to the staging, which played it safe with gay sensuality.  There were only two male-to-male kisses in the entire production. Both were pecks on Arena’s forehead, more motherly than passionate. And then there were those stiff dance numbers, with the men knocking against each other almost like football players.

Fort Worth Texas might be the most conservative area of the country after Orange County California.

Seven people were arrested for drunkenness, though numerous reports say that the individuals were pulled from the crowd randomly and violently.  A 26-year old man was hospitalized with head injuries.

The event occurred on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York.

Reports from Dallas Voice on the arrests and the ensuing investigations and protests:  7/1/09, 7/16/09, 8/7/09, 8/20/09, 10/30/09, 12/30/09

Meanwhile…

The one of the city’s premiere arts organizations, the Fort Worth Opera is gay, gay, gay.

And that’s not a redundancy. Just look at what they’re putting on stage.

In 2008 FWO presented the first full American staging of the operatic version of Tony Kushner’s landmark “Angels in America,” composed by Peter Eotvos.  A concurrent series of events throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area was titled: “More Life: The Art & Science of AIDS.”

Ava Pine and David Adam Moore, Fort Worth Opera

And on Saturday night the Fort Worth Opera presents the world premiere of Jorge Martin’s “Before Night Falls,” based on the autobiography of Reinaldo Arenas. The gay Cuban writer died of AIDS in 1990 at age 47.  His memoir was published in English in 1993. A 2000 film version was directed by Julian Schnabel and starred Javier Bardem, who was nominated for an Academy Award.

Here’s composer Jorge Martin – a gay Cuban American who lives in Vermont – talking about writing an opera about a gay Cuban:

Other coverage:  Opera News: “Long Night of the Soul” by Adam Wasserman.

Synposis, biographies, background in FWO’s newsletter “Libretto”

“Before Night Falls” runs for two performances (May 29, June 6) in repertoire with the Fort Worth Opera’s other 2010 productions, “Don Giovani” (May 30, June 4) and “The Elixir of Love” (May 28, June 5).  Look for a review on this site after the June 6 performance.

Wes Mason as Reinaldo Arenas, Fort Worth Opera

Previously on MyBigGayEars:
Darren K. Woods, Administrative star and “turn around master”

The massive scale and varied themes of Melville’s classic novel have flummoxed many who’ve tried their hands at creative adaptations.  But Gene Schere’s libretto telescopes the drama to a handful of characters and the opera is a pretty good show, thanks especially to the work of director Leonard Foglia and scenic designer Robert Brill.

Most memorable are the projections which feature stars, maps and compasses, various views of ships large and small, plus lots and lots of water. We never see the whale.  Ropes and metal scaffolding often fill the proscenium and a few too many arias and duets are delivered from precarious heights above the stage as the singers grab tight to the ironwork, holding on for their lives.  The back wall slopes downward into the main playing area like a giant slide.  When ships crash, supernumeraries spill down it as if splashing into the water.

For much of the first act, which runs almost two hours, Heggie’s score surges like the sea with constant rhythmic life.  The music is always pleasant and tuneful and has some imaginative orchestral touches, such as the sound of whale’s spout created by a trumpet blown without a mouthpiece. The second act begins with a lively sea chanty.  But over all the opera floates on a shallow ocean.  There’s never much undercurrent to the orchestral writing nor much counterpoint to be found, even in the vocal parts despite plenty of ensemble numbers.

Star tenor Ben Hepner in the lead role of Captain Ahab deserves credit just for managing that peg leg.  He’s a hulking authoritative presence with a knitted brow, but certainly not any kind of menacing embodiment of evil. One wonders if he’d command so much stage attention if he wasn’t spotlighted all the time.  Musically the role has lots of melismatic lines, which Hepner sings with a rather unvaried mezzo-forte dynamic, until one hushed and arresting duet. That comes midway through the second act with baritone Morgan Smith, who has an attractive emotional and dynamic range and is the best of the supporting cast.

The other characters, always in Ahab’s orbit, are officers and sailors and one cabin boy played with style by the sole female in the cast, soprano Talise Travigne. The cast also includes bass Jonathan Lemalu as Queequeg, a quasi-shamanic figure, and tenor Stephen Costello as the introspective and troubled Greenhorn.  They all get a little stir crazy and seemingly every aria and scene ends with religious exhortation. The all-male environment, combined with the regular references to Christian values, makes the Pequod feel like a monastery on the water.

The large orchestra was conducted by Patrick Summer and played with surety and ease.  The acoustics of the 2,200-seat Winspear Opera House are proving to be a curious, however.  From a seat near the rear of the orchestral level, the sound of the instrumental ensemble seemed capped and distance.  Snatching seats on the fifth row after intermission solved that problem. But most of the theatrical tricks in “Moby Dick” came in the first half and a few too many introspective arias made the second act slow and disappointing, even if Ahab did finally spot that big white whale.

“Moby Dick,” the latest opera from Jake Heggie (“Dead Man Walking”)

Ben Hepner leads the cast as Capt. Ahab.  Libretto is by Gene Sheer.  Patrick Summers conducts. Stage direction by Leonard Foglia.

I’ll be attending a performance on May 8, as part of the annual convention of the Music Critics Association.  Look for a review on here in the days following.

In the meantime, here’s a preview story and a video of the creative team yacking about the collaborative process (compliments of the Dallas Opera).

Ahab Sings! (The Whale Does Not) by Matthew Gurewitsch (New York Times)

At least that’s the impression given by the subtitle to a 2008 piece.

But the work’s name – “Kidnapping Water: Bottle Operas” – is actually deceptive. Rather than mass-produced take-home music, the piece is more about making audiences go the distance.

Like a musical Christo and Jeanne-Claude, the 39-year old Seattle-based composer created a series of 64 musical miniatures, each for a singer and a percussionist.  They’re mean to each be performed in a different body or pool of water.  It’s never actually been done in one continuous trek, but was debuted in eight installments, taking place in lakes, ponds and streams of the Pacific Northwest during the 2008 Bumbershoot Festival of the Arts. A concert version of excerpts is coming up on May 1 at Seattle’s Town Hall.

Raised on musical theatre and action flicks, I became interested in drama and martial arts. Classical music, avant-garde techniques and sacred ceremonies also inform my mix of lyrical melodies with surprising twists. Living in the Pacific Northwest, where the mountains, trees and water remain powerful, further inspires my approach to writing.

With his current theatrical work in process, Au Yong goes from the expansive outdoors to everyone’s worst nightmare of confinement. “Stuck Elevator” is based on the true story of a Chinese food delivery man in New York City who got trapped in an elevator – for three days!  The piece has been accepted for the Yale Institute for Music Theatre in June, which will culminate in two public performances, June 25-26.

As the son of Chinese immigrants in America, I search for ways music connects people with the places they call home. I listen to stories and sounds to find meaning in a world filled with beauty and terror…

Interested in the interplay between nature, architecture, sound, noise, chaos, and repetition, I find musical gestures in everyday actions. These gestures form the basis of ceremonial works created to honor the ritual of people who gather to listen.