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Mark Adamo to be First Featured in New Composer's Voice Series, March 6
By: BWW News Desk Feb. 03, 2006
"The Composer's Voice will feature some of the greatest living composers coaching some of America's most renowned singing-actors as they prepare roles for the stage," state press notes. Edelson explains that, "unlike traditional master classes in which a celebrity artist coaches aspiring young artists, The Composer's Voice puts the celebrity artists in the 'hot-seat', providing audiences with a unique, voyeuristic opportunity to see great singers and actors prepare their roles under the guidance of the very composers who wrote them. Imagine having the opportunity to see Bernstein or Gershwin, or even Verdi or Mozart work one-on-one with the artists who brought their works to life on stage. ALT is making this possible for a new generation of audiences."
An Evening with Mark Adamo will feature Adamo working individually with guest artists from New York City Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, and the Broadway stage as they prepare roles from his two critically acclaimed works: Little Women and Lysistrata.
Edelson explains that "composers are selected to participate in the series based on the theatrical nature of their work, and when possible, in tandem with opportunities to see fully staged productions. The selection of Mark for the inaugural event provides an ideal introduction for audiences to Lysistrata, which will receive its New York premiere at New York City Opera between March 21st and April 5th."
"Founded in January 2005, American Lyric Theater's mission is to diversify and build public participation in lyric theater. ALT carries out its mission by developing and presenting new works of opera and music theater that appeal to contemporary American audiences; by providing professional development opportunities for young composers and librettists; and by developing new presenting strategies that actively address the depopularization of opera in American society."
ALT is launching its new educational master class series, The Composer's Voice, in March of 2006; and will announce its first major commission in the summer of 2006. ALT is also developing an innovative new Composer/Librettist Development program in collaboration with some of New York City's finest theater and opera companies including The Vineyard Theatre, Primary Stages, New York Theatre Workshop and New York City Opera.
Adamo began his education at New York University, where he received the Paulette Goddard Remarque Scholarship for outstanding undergraduate achievement in playwriting. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Music Degree cum laude in composition in 1990 from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he was awarded the Theodore Presser prize for outstanding undergraduate achievement in composition. He was recently named Composer-in-Residence at New York City Opera where he curates the contemporary opera workshop series VOX: Showcasing American Composers. Adamo served as Master Artist at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in May 2003 and has annotated programs for Stagebill, the Freer Gallery of Art, and most recently for BMG Classics. His criticism and interviews have appeared in The Washington Post, Stagebill, Opera News, the Star-Ledger, and The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
Tickets for The Composer's Voice are $20, and half price tickets ($10) are available in advance, in person at the box office for everyone under 35: at www.skirballcenter.nyu.edu, through Ticket Central (212) 279-4200 and in person at the Shagan Box Office at the Skirball Center (566 LaGuardia Place, off Washington Square South).
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