American Lyric Theater Announces Aria Access Project: A New Hub Of Free Downloadable Contemporary Arias For Singers and Music Educators

American Lyric Theater (ALT) today announced the Aria Access Project (AAP), a free hub of downloadable contemporary aria sheet music written by alumni of ALT's Composer Librettist Development Program. For more information and to explore the hub, visit www.altnyc.org/aap

The AAP aims to increase awareness of and access to arias by diverse, contemporary American composers and librettists, whose scores remain largely unpublished. The online hub includes works that have recently received their premieres, as well as operas for which the premieres are forthcoming. At launch, the AAP includes 20 different arias, all available for free download as PDFs for educational and audition purposes.

"The idea for the Aria Access Project emerged after many years of sitting in auditions where we've asked singers to include a 21st century aria," explains Lawrence Edelson, Founder, Artistic Director, and General Director of American Lyric Theater. "Unfortunately, emerging singers often don't have contemporary arias in their repertoire, or their idea of 'contemporary' is limited to mid-20th century works, and thus not representative of the current American opera scene. When singers do come prepared with 21st century arias, they are invariably the same ones from frequently performed and already published operas. Through this project, American Lyric Theater seeks to shine a light on some of the remarkable composers and librettists creating new operas, whose scores are not yet published and that haven't yet had multiple productions - building awareness of and access to these exciting works for music educators and singers alike."

At launch, the AAP hub includes arias from Buried Alive by Jeff Myers and Quincy Long; Embedded by Patrick Soluri and Deborah Brevoort; The Halloween Tree by Theo Popov and Tony Asaro, based on the novel by Ray Bradbury; The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing by Justine F. Chen and David Simpatico; The Long Walk by Jeremy Howard Beck and Stephanie Fleischmann, based on the memoir by Brian Castner; La Reina by Jorge Sosa and Laura Sosa Pedroza; The Selfish Giant by Clarice Assad and Lila Palmer, based on the short story by Oscar Wilde; Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Fallen Giant by Evan Meier and E.M. Lewis; and Why is Eartha Kitt Trying to Kill Me? by Jeffrey Dennis Smith and David Johnston. ALT plans to adds new arias to the AAP hub on a regular basis, with upcoming releases to include works by 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.

ALT is providing a licensing fee to the composers and librettists included in the AAP, ensuring that they are compensated even as barriers to access to their work are removed for educators and singers. Associate Artistic Director Kelly Kuo explains that "we hope the AAP will serve as a model for the field, inspiring other publishers and companies that are commissioning and developing new works to make similar arrangements for increased accessibility to excerpts from new operas, while still ensuring compensation for writers."

All arias on the AAP hub are available for free download, but users of the hub are required to provide contact information and agree to terms for access, so ALT can track usage and copyright infringement. Arias are provided for educational and audition purposes only; public performance of arias and complete operas remain subject to appropriate licensing.

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