American Lyric Theater Presents INSIGHTALT: OPERA IN EDEN

American Lyric Theater announced today InsightALT: Opera in Eden, a performance featuring three new one-act operas on themes of temptation developed by Resident Artists in the company's nationally acclaimed Composer Librettist Development Program.

ALT's current Resident Artists (Composers Jasmine Barnes, Johanny Navarro, and Alex Weiser; and Librettists Joshua Banbury, Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, and Marcus Yi) were selected from over 200 applicants to join the CLDP this season. Opera in Eden, which is the culminating event of the first year of these artists' residency, will take place at National Sawdust in Brooklyn on Tuesday, May 17th, 2022 at 7:00pm. Tickets are $30 in advance; and $35 at the door. For more information, and to purchase tickets to InsightALT: Opera in Eden, please visit https://www.altnyc.org/public-events

The three one-act operas to be featured on the program have been developed through a workshop taught by composer/librettist Mark Adamo. "For this project, the three writing teams are all provided with the same structural outline that serves as a thematic scaffold upon which the writers develop their operas - but the stories for each opera are completely up to the artists," explained ALT's Artistic & General Director, Lawrence Edelson. "The structural outline is designed to encourage architectural and motivic thinking by librettists and composers alike. This project has been a core element of the CLDP since the program's inception and has proven invaluable in fostering collaboration throughout the writing process - from a work's early outline - through the development of the libretto - to the composition of the score. Over the past fifteen years, this project has not only strengthened composers and librettists' dramaturgical skills, but has also yielded a wide array of exciting one-act operas, many of which have gone on to full production."

The three operas to be featured in concert as part of Opera in Eden are:

I WILL FOLLOW YOU INTO THE DARK

Composer: Jasmine Barnes; Librettist: Marcus Yi

Featuring: Brittany Logan, Cierra Byrd and Vladyslav Buialskyi

THE MAGIC CABBAGE

Composer: Johanny Navarro; Librettist: Joshua Banbury

Featuring: Cierra Byrd, Jonah Hoskins, and Samson Setu

THE FOREST OF SECRETS

Composer: Alex Weiser; Librettist: Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton

Featuring: Sylvia D'Eramo, Siphokazi Molteno, and Jonah Hoskins

This year marks the first season during which ALT is collaborating with the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Development Artist Program on this project. "We are thrilled to be able to partner with the Lindemann Young Artist Program, and to have such an extraordinary group of singers join us to collaborate with our Resident Artists this season," said Kelly Kuo, ALT's Associate Artistic Director, who will conduct the performance. "Experiencing what outstanding creative interpreters can contribute to bringing an opera to life is a vital part of the learning process for our Resident Artists as they continue to hone their craft."

Launched in 2007, ALT's Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP) is the most intensive mentorship initiative for opera composers and librettists in the country, with a highly-credentialed faculty and proven track record for developing the skills of gifted artists, incubating successful operas, and fostering lasting collaborations. The CLDP has served as a model of innovation for other training and new works initiatives around the country, but remains the only full-time training program for both opera composers and librettists in the country. At the center of the CLDP is ALT's core-curriculum, which consists of classroom training and hands-on workshops with some of the country's leading working artists. This season, artist mentors have included composer/librettist Mark Adamo; librettist Mark Campbell; director and ALT's founder Lawrence Edelson; dramaturg Cori Ellison; composer Ricky Ian Gordon; librettist Michael Korie; conductor and ALT's Associate Artistic Director Kelly Kuo; composer Scott Davenport Richards; and mezzo soprano Adriana Zabala.

American Lyric Theater's mentorship programs for composers, librettists and dramaturgs are made possible by generous lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Howard & Sarah D. Solomon Foundation, The Dubose and Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund, OPERA America's Innovation Grants / The Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, the Amphion Foundation, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University.

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