Center for Contemporary Opera to Present 3 New Opera's 'In Progress' July 20-27

More about the operas-in-progress and the World Premiere:

KAFKA'S WOMEN by Jiri Kaderábek explores the relationship between Franz Kafka and the four women in his life. Cast: Judith Kellock, Judith Barnes, Sarah Miller, Cris Frisco, Scott MacLeod, Richard Cassell, Jessica Thompson, and Jodi Karem. Stage Director is Heidi Lauren Duke; music director I CCO's Grammy-nominated Maestra Sara Jobin.

Composer Jiri Kaderábek, born 1978, is one of the most sought-after Czech composers of his generation. His music has been commissioned and performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, Prague Philharmonia, New Juilliard Ensemble, Slovak Philharmonic Choir, and others. His many awards include The Shipley Arts Festival Composition Competition in Great Britain, Zenith Composers Competition in The Netherlands, Czech Radio Composition Competition, Dean of the Music Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague Award, and he was a finalist of the Musica Nova International Composition Competition, and a nominee for the Gideon Klein Award, all within the past few years.

Librettist Melina Jelinek is one of the most famous writers from the Czech Republic. Her name is associated with the golden generation of Czech filmmakers, known as Czech New Wave. In the U.S. she taught screenwriting at Columbia University.

'NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD' by Todd Goodman and libretto by Stephen Catanzarite, based on the classic George Romero film. Cast includes Sara Wallander Ross, Eric McKeever, james Baumgardner, Michael Jones, with Renee Heitman and Carl Fisher. Music Director is Richard Owen; Stage Director is Eugenia Arsensis.

Todd Goodman, born in 1977 in Pennsylvania, received his training at the U of Colorado at Boulder, Duquesne U. in Pittsburgh, Kent State U, Aspen, and at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris. His principal composition teachers have been Pulitzer prize winning composer George Tsontakis, David Stock, Frank Wiley, and Richard Tensing. Currently resident composer for the Lincoln Park P.A. Center in Pa, Goodman has also composed several works for winds, including a Concerto for Piccolo and Orchestra and Concerto for Bass Clarinet and Orchestra.

'JANE EYRE' by Louis Karchin. Cast includes Marcy Richardson as Jane Eyre, Scott Joiner, Karen Joilcouer, Jami Leonard, Sharon Harms, and Mark Wilson. Sarah Mayers is Stage Director; Michael Fennelly is Music Director.

American composer, conductor and educator, Karchin has composed over 60 works including unaccompanied and chamber music, symphonic works, and opera. His music has been recognized by awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, National Endowment for the Arts, and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, as well as commissions from the Serge Koussevitzky, Fromm, and Barlow Foundations. Karchin is currently a professor of Music at NYU.

**Friday & Saturday, July 26 & 27

'ORATION' World Premiere by Line Tjørnhøj. The native of Denmark describes her chamber opera as "a speech for humanity. Oration gives a unique description of the human experience and the love and hate, hope and despair, suffering and joy we see in our lifetimes." Cast features Alexandra Chemyshova, Marshall Coid, Leanne Gonzalez Singer, Barbara Le May, Gabriel Monro, and Kate Objerjat. Jeremy Bloom is Stage Director; Lidiya Yankovskaya is Music Director; Brian Rady is Scenic Director; Christopher Weston is Lighting Designer.

Line Tjørnhøj, native of Denmark, is a composer, sound-artist and performer. Since 1995 she has composed for theater, dance, musicals, and radio and TV. Her work with voices and sounds crosses the bordeers of style, tradition, expression and aesthetics, and her many interests include working in the areas of jazz, ethnic music, Bulgarian womens' voices, and throat singers. A member of the Danish Composers Society, her works include Antigone, performed in NY in 1996; I sing the body electric, performed by Den Anden Opera in Copenhagen; and Anorexia Sacra (for 6 voices, doublebass and liveprocessed stagesounds), also performed in Copenhagen.

"Oration" is made possible with generous support from the Danish Composer's Society/KODA's Fund for Social and Cultural Purposes.

Audience members are invited to two additional events, one before and one after each performance. The evenings will begin with a short panel discussion with the composer and creative team, and performances will then be followed by a wine reception in which audience members can meet the cast and creative team and offer their feedback.

Center for Contemporary Opera is very appreciative to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for their support of the CCO Development Series.
www.centerforcontemporaryopera.org