MSM Students to Offer Sneak Peek of New Opera THE LEOPARD

Brooklyn's American Opera Projects (AOP) and the Manhattan School of Music (MSM) will present scenes from a new opera The Leopard by composerMichael Dellaira (The Secret Agent) and librettist J. D. McClatchy (Emmeline), an adaptation of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's internationally acclaimed 1958 novel. The staged scenes will be performed on Sunday, March 13 at 2:30 PM and Thursday, March 17 at 7:30 PM at the Manhattan School of Music's Greenfield Hall (122nd Street and Broadway, New York, NY 10027). An additional performance will be held Friday, March 18 at 8:00 PM at South Oxford Space (138 South Oxford St., Brooklyn, NY 11217) in Fort Greene and will be presented alongside music from Rated R for Rat, a new opera about the Chinese zodiac by composer Wang Jie that is also in development at AOP. Each performance will feature a Q&A with the operas' creators. Tickets are $10-$20 for the March 13 performance and free with reservation for the March 17 and 18 performances at www.aopopera.org.

In 1860, Garibaldi has invaded Sicily and is sweeping the country towards a unified Italy. Don Fabrizio Corbera, Prince of Salina, known as "The Leopard", now faces a society in upheaval, and is forced to choose between the downfall of the nobility and the future of his family. "The story is as relevant today as it would have been a thousand years ago, and as it will be a thousand years hence," says composer Michael Dellaira. "This is the stuff from which great opera is made, opera that captures the hearts and imaginations of audiences for generations to come." The Leopard will be Dellaira's third opera with J. D. McClatchy, following The Secret Agent (2011) and The Death of Webern (2013). It has been commissioned by American Opera Projects and is currently in development, in part, through generous funding by The Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation and The Paul Underwood Charitable Trust.

The staged performances of The Leopard will feature singing by tenor Blake Friedman and MSM vocal students Oliver Sewell, Michael Gracco, Anna Dugan, Janet Todd, Tim Sirinunthikul, Hidenori Inoue, Brittany Bellacosa, Kayla Fuentes, Philipe L'Esperance, Stephanie Johnson, Yesul Yeon, Marie-Gabrielle Arco, and Martin Case. Andrew Altenbach conducts and Anne Shikany directs, with Scott Rednour as music director.

The March 13 performance is presented as part of the annual Opera Index series New American Opera Previews, From Page to Stage, and marks the 12th consecutive year that an opera being developed in AOP's First Chance development program has been invited to perform in the series. The afternoon also features a performance of music from Encompass New Opera Theatre and a post-show discussion with the audience creators. Previous AOP operas presented by MSM in the Opera Index Series include composer Gregory Spears' Paul's Case (World Premiere: Urban Arias, 2013, and PROTOTYPE Festival and Pittsburgh Opera, 2014), Jack Perla's Love/Hate (ODC Theater with San Francisco Opera, 2012), and composer Daniel Sonenberg's The Summer King (Pittsburgh Opera, 2017).

The March 18 performance in Brooklyn will also feature excerpts from Rated R for Rat, a new family-friendly chamber opera by composer Wang Jie and librettist Anne Babson, comprised of two tales about the 12 animal gods of the Chinese Zodiac. Excerpts will be performed by soprano Mary Mackenzie with the composer at the piano. It is followed by a surprise operatic monologue: "A Prayer - Lord? Please Don't Let Me Die In a Funny Way!" by Wang Jie and New Yorker contributor Paul Simms.

Founded in 1988, American Opera Projects is at the forefront of the contemporary opera movement, commissioning, developing, presenting, and producing opera and music theatre projects, collaborating with young, rising, and established artists, and engaging audiences in unique and transformative theatrical experiences. AOP has produced over 30 world premieres, including the Nathan Davis/Brendan Pelsue dance chamber operaHagoromo starring Wendy Whelan (BAM, 2015), Kaminsky/Reed/Campbell's As One(BAM, 2014), Nkeiru Okoye's Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line to Freedom(Irondale Center, 2014), and Lera Auerbach's The Blind (co-production with Lincoln Center Festival, 2013). Other notable premieres include Kimper/Persons' Patience & Sarah (1998), Weisman/Rabinowitz's Darkling (2006), Lee Hoiby's This Is the Rill Speaking (2008), and Phil Kline's Out Cold, also at BAM (2012). AOP-developed operas that premiered with co-producers include Stefan Weisman's The Scarlet Ibis at PROTOTYPE Festival (2015), Gregory Spears' Paul's Case at Urban Arias (2013) and PROTOTYPE Festival and Pittsburgh Opera (2014), Jack Perla's Love/Hate at ODC Theater with San Francisco Opera (2012), Stephen Schwartz's Séance on a Wet Afternoonat New York City Opera (2011), Tarik O'Regan's Heart of Darkness at London's Royal Opera House (2011) and Opera Parallèle (2015).

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