The Officers
Music and libretto by Steve Potter
A deadpan discourse subtitled "Scenic Music for
Regulatory Voices and Instruments," The Officers follows the characters
Parvula Consequence and Mister F as they travel from Venice, Italy to Venice,
California to determine whether God is still "dead." Steve Potter has
written for diverse ensembles such as Lontano (London),
Teatro Lirico Sperimentale (Spoleto, Italy), and ASKO Ensemble (Amsterdam), and he is currently working on a
PhD in composition at King's College London under the supervision of Silvina
Milstein and George Benjamin.
4:45-5:30pm
Dice Thrown
An opera by John King
A striking aleatoric soundscape built from chance operations
and based on a poem by Stéphane Mallarmé. Composer and guitarist King has
collaborated with companies like Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Stuttgart
Ballet, and New York City Ballet, with presentations at festivals like
tba/Time-Based Arts Festival in Portland
and BAM's Next Wave Festival.
VOX 2008
SELECTION DESCRIPTIONS
May 10 and 11, 2008
2 - 5:30 p.m.
Skirball
Center for the Performing
Arts
New York
University
566 LaGuardia
Place (Washington
Square Park
South)
New York,
NY 10012
The titles, composers and librettists selected for VOX 2008:
Showcasing American Composers are as follows.
May 11
12:00-1:30pm
Panel Discussion: Singing New Music
Moderator: Cori Ellison, City Opera Dramaturg
Featured singers in this year's VOX and special guests
discuss their approach to new opera, as well as the challenges and joys of
singing new music.
2:00-3:10pm
Charlie Crosses the Nation
A jazz opera by Scott Davenport Richards
Set in the Big Band era of the '30s and '40s, this jazz
opera tells the story of a fictional mixed-race jazz musician and his struggle
for artistic freedom and survival across America. Composer Scott Davenport
Richards is the recipient of Jonathan Larson and Frederick Loewe Awards. He is
assistant professor at Montclair State's Cali School of Music and a member of the
faculty at NYU's Tisch
School of the Arts
Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program.
Criseyde
Music by Alice
Shields
Libretto by Nancy Dean
An opera set in
"funky middle English" that offers a feminist reinterpretation of
Chaucer's version of the Troilus and Criseyde legend. Composer and classical
singer Alice Shields has received awards from the National Endowment for the
Arts, the National Opera Institute, and Meet the Composer; her lyrical style
encompasses Gregorian chant, Indian ragas, and electronic music.
3:30-4:15pm
Jeanne
Music and libretto by Justine F. Chen
A fractured retelling of Joan of Arc's story by composer and
violinist Justine F. Chen, whose computer-enhanced chamber opera The Maiden
Tower was featured in VOX 2006. New York-based Chen received a doctorate in
composition from Juilliard and is Composer-in-Residence at North Carolina's Long Leaf Opera.
Soldier Songs
Music and text by David T. Little
A theatrical cantata based on actual interviews, Soldier
Songs explores different aspects of a soldier's experience in a war-based
society. Little is a young composer, performer, and band leader whose
compositions have earned him awards and fellowships from the Tanglewood, Aspen, and Cabrillo Music Festivals, the American Academy
of Arts and Letters, BMI, and ASCAP.
4:30-5:30pm
Dylan and Caitlin
Music by Robert Manno
Libretto by Gwynne Edwards
A lyrical account of the last year in the life of poet Dylan
Thomas and his volatile relationship with his wife Caitlin, told entirely in
their own words. Manno's music includes over 30 chamber works, a concerto for
horn and orchestra, two song cycles, pieces for chorus, solo piano pieces, art
songs and arrangements, and he is the recipient of several Meet the Composer
and ASCAP awards.
