Seven Artists Selected For American Lyric Theater's Composer Librettist Development Program

Three composers, three librettists, and one dramaturg have been selected as Resident Artists to participate in the company’s nationally acclaimed Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP) beginning in September 2024. The artists selected for this prestigious residency and training program are librettists Laura Barati, C.S. Hanson, and Sam Norman; composers Ivette Herryman Rodríguez, Kathleen Tagg, and Del’Shawn Taylor; and dramaturg Dezi Tibbs.

“Every opera we love was once a new work,” says Edelson. “That cycle must continue. To be a catalyst for new opera, we must mentor diverse artists who have the potential to create our new American operatic repertoire. Historically, opera companies have dedicated significant resources to support and train emerging singers. Until recently, opera companies have not invested the same resources in the training of writers for the stage. ALT was among the first to drive this change. In 2007, we created the Composer Librettist Development Program - the first - and still the only - full-time, tuition-free, professional mentorship initiative for gifted emerging operatic writers in the country. The program trains both composers and librettists - as well as opera dramaturgs - and has served as a model of innovation to the field. Alumni of the CLDP have written operas that have now been produced by over 70 companies internationally. We are thrilled to welcome seven new artists to the CLDP this season - artists who join our distinguished alumni on our collective journey to change the face of American opera.” 

Through a combination of intensive mentorship and direct financial support, ALT provides a unique environment for artists to develop their craft, forge new collaborations, and take exciting risks. 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. For the 2024-25 season, faculty mentors will include composer/librettist Mark Adamo; composer Scott Davenport Richards; librettists Deborah Brevoort, and  Mark Campbell; dramaturg Cori Ellison; mezzo soprano Adriana Zabala; stage director Lawrence Edelson; and conductor Kelly Kuo, who joined ALT as Associate Artistic Director in 2021.

Several public events will be presented by ALT in New York City to introduce the work of Resident Artists to the public this season, including The Living Libretto, at The National Opera Center’s Scorca Hall on Sunday, March 2nd, 2025; and Opera in Eden, at Symphony Space’s Thalia Theater on Saturday, June 14th, 2025. Further details about these events and the rest of ALT’s performance season will be announced in late August.

Biographies

LAURA BARATI (she/her) is a librettist and deviser of new works. Barati’s experience as the queer daughter of a Jewish Colombian mother and a Muslim Iranian father fuels her desire to make untold stories and complex identities come alive onstage. She delights in pushing the limits of traditional genres and picking apart the messy intersections of gender, race, and sexuality through a critical but joyful lens. Operas in development include CARAVANA DE MUJERES with composer Nicolás Lell Benavides (MassOpera’s New Opera Workshop) and THE INTERACTION EFFECT with composer Pamela Stein Lynde (Fresh Squeezed Opera). Her works include the operas 75 MILES with composer Matt Boehler, THE COST OF HEALING with Edward Shilts, HENNA LEAVES and UPRISING with composer Aleksandra Weil, THIRST with composer TJ Rubin, the musicals HOW TO CREATE A YOUNG GIRL with composer TJ Rubin, MISS HAVISHAM’S WEDDING with lyricist David Gomez and composer Jude Obermüller, and The Electric Brain’s WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU THAT REZA IS DEAD.  Her writing has been performed in New York City at the American Opera Project, Opera America, The Tank, Prospect Theater Company, NYMF, The Duplex, and Don’t Tell Mama; and regionally at Washington National Opera, The Atlanta Opera, Lowbrow Opera Collective, Barrington Stage Company, Two River Theater, Stage Femmes, and Music Theatre Kansas City. She is a founding member of the Chicago- based devising collective The Electric Brain. She received her M.F.A. in Graduate Musical Theatre Writing from NYU Tisch.

C.S. (CYNTHIA) HANSON (she/her) is a playwright with off Broadway and regional credits. Her plays have been produced in New York City (Cherry Lane,Theater for the New City, Theater Row,NY International Fringe Festival, The Brick, Metropolitan Playhouse,Estrogenius, among others); Miami (City Theatre); Washington, D.C. (TheSource); Pittsburgh (New Works Festival); Denver (The Three Leaches); and Montreal(Gleams Theatre, Montreal Fringe Festival). Hanson’s newest play, BRING YOUR AUTHENTIC SELF TO WORK DAY, a 2024 O’Neill semi-finalist, has been awarded a residency at Nancy Manocherian’s the cell theatre. Her plays have been developed at The Lark, Bechdel Group,Lake George Theater Lab, EST, La MaMa, Abingdon Theatre, Naked Angels, and NJRep. Her short play STALK ME, BABY has been produced at universities and colleges throughout the world. Hanson is grateful to have received commissions from the Experimentals at La MaMa, Working Theater, Nomad Theatrical, and America-in-Play. Her work has been published by Smith and Kraus and by Applause Theatre and Cinema Books. She is a proud member of Honor Roll and the Dramatists Guild of America.

Sam Norman (he/him) writes for the stage and screen. As a musical theatre bookwriter and lyricist, he has written COME DINE WITH ME: THE MUSICAL, the authorized stage adaptation of the hit TV show, which is slated to tour the UK and conclude in a five-week off- West End run. His screenplay GAMESTOP won the ScreenCraft TV Pilot Fellowship 2024, and his screenplay SPERM was shortlisted for the BFI Short Film Fund 2023. A 2023-4 American Opera Initiative Fellow, he is the librettist of HAIRPIECE, which premiered at the Kennedy Center in early 2024. Other operatic work includes MUCKRAKERS (NYU/AOP Lab 2024) and THREE PENELOPES (Britten Theatre 2022). Heis a Johnny Mercer Foundation Songwriter, a Broadway Future Songbook writer,a winner of the Stephen Spender Prize for Poetry in Translation, and a finalist for the Stiles & Drewe Best New Song Prize, the Mazumdar One-Act Play Competition and the Mercury Theatre Songwriting Competition. Many years ago, he authored a book of comic poems, A Teen’s Guide to Modern Manners (Little, Brown). Sam loves writing in a variety of genres. His work has been called “well-paced and keenly sharpened” (The Washington Post),“delightfully funny” (Buzzfeed), and “witty, hilarious and completely delightful” (The Huffington Post). Residing in New York City, he is a graduate of Oxford University and NYU Tisch, where he received an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing.

IVETTE HERRYMAN RODRÍGUEZ (she/her) – composer, educator, and pianist – was born on the Island of Youth, Cuba, in 1982. As a composer, Ivette is interested in writing soulful music inspired by her Cuban roots, and that combines elements from different musical traditions. Her music has been described as “absolutely exquisite” and “breathtakingly beautiful” by conductor Kevin Noe. She is the composer of a bestseller piece for women’s choir, and the winner, among other awards, of a 2023 Fromm Foundation Commissioning Grant, the 2023 President’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities at SUNY Potsdam, a Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant (2021), the Illinois State Music Teachers Association Composer Commissioning program (2019), a Brandon Fradd Fellowship in Music Composition (2015), and a Cubadisco Special Award (2010). Ivette feels fortunate to receive commissions regularly by distinguished performers,ensembles, and institutions of higher education in the U.S., and to have her music performed frequently by highly esteemed ensembles including the LA Philharmonic under conductor Gustavo Dudamel. Ivette’s music has been featured in commercial CDs and DVDs released by Neuma Records, Colibrí Productions, Mark Records, and MSR Classics. She is passionate about composing, and music from Cuba and LatinAmerica. She finds great reward in helping her students thrive, and a big part of her time is spent teaching composition, theory, aural skills and Latin music at the Crane School of Music. She enjoys watching movies based on real life stories and strongly believes in always treating others with kindness.

KATHLEEN TAGG (she/her) is a New York-based pianist, composer, producer who has performed on four continents, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center. Commissions include a song cycle, THIS BE HER VERSE, (words: Lila Palmer, commissioners: soprano Golda Schultz/Jonathan Ware; recorded for Alpha Classics) heard at the Lucerne Festival, Festival d'Aix-en-Provence; Kölner Philharmonie; Melbourne Opera House, Wigmore Hall, and PLEASE DREAM: IN HIS WORDS for the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival. With David Krakauer, she co-composed and produced the score for the film MINYAN by Eric Steel (Berlin Biennale 2020) and the immersive multimedia concert experience with video designer Jesse Gilbert, THE TIES THAT BIND US, for Berlin’s Boulez Saal. The Fretless Clarinet: Concerto for Klezmer Clarinet and Orchestra, co-composed with Krakauer, (commissioners:Santa Rosa & Eugene Symphonies, Adele and John Gray Endowment Fund) premiered with the Santa Rosa Symphony/maestro Francesco Lecce-Chong, with European premiere at the Paris Philharmonie with Krakauer and Orchestre de Chambre Nouvelle Aquitaine/maestro Jean-Francois Heisser, as well as performances with Sinfonia Varsovia and Orchestra Nationalde Bretagne. Other works include KEEPERS OF THE FLAME, an evening-length theatrical music event for Poland’s Borderlands Foundation, and co-creation of GOOD VIBES EXPLOSION (Table Pounding Records/Label Bleu) profiled for NPR and RFI, and heard at venues including Paris’ Théâtre du Châtelet and major festival stages. Her musical, ERIKA’S WALL with Sophie Jaff, received a developmental production by The Music Theater Company, Chicago. She was a 2014- 2015 fellow of the Dramatist Guild and 2017 ConEd Exploring the Metropolis Composer in Residence.

DEL’SHAWN TAYLOR (he/him) – is an award-winning musician, children’s book author, and arts equity advocate. As a baritone, he has earned accolades from competitions including the American Prize, the NATS National Musical Theatre Competition, and the Metropolitan International Music Festival. He has made solo debuts on stages both nationally and internationally, such as Lincoln Center, Chicago Symphony Center, and the Musical Eisteddfod in Wales. In January 2023, he premiered the role of George in Tim Hick's and Kendra Leonard’s opera WATER RISING. As a composer, Del'Shawn has had his works premiered by numerous organizations and ensembles, including the Cincinnati Song Initiative, Julius Quartet, Wyoming New Music Festival, Operation Opera Festival, Source Song Festival, and Babεl. He was one of ten Black composers selected for the inaugural NATS Composer Mentoring Program in 2020. In March 2023, his one-act opera, COOK SHACK, with librettist Samiya Bashir, premiered with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis' inaugural New Works Collective cohort. In June 2024, Experiments in Opera premiered SERIAL KILLERS IN THE CITY, written with librettist Joanie Brittingham, as part of their Writers’ Room series. As an arts equity advocate and children’s book author, Del’Shawn works passionately with community arts organizations to ensure children, regardless of socio-economic background, have access to the transformative power of the arts. He is currently a board member of Art Song Colorado and Inside the Orchestra and has previously served on the DEI committees of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra and Thompson Street Opera Company.

DEZI TIBBS (they/she) is a New York-based theatre artist specializing in deepening our relationship with dramatic text. They are dedicated to using their skills to bolster innovative artists' voices. Primarily working as a Dramaturg, Dezi received their MFA in Dramaturgy from Columbia University, where they developed a theatrical framework inspired by Erving Goffman's “The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life”. This analytical lens has transformed how their dramaturgy interacts with directors, actors,writers, and designers. Throughout their career as a freelance dramaturg, Dezi has had the opportunity to workshop dozens of original and established plays and musicals. Their work has been featured on stages and festivals nationwide, including the New York Theatre Workshop, the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Powerhouse Theatre, Joe's Pub, Lincoln Center, Wilma Theater, Breaking the Binary, the Baryshnikov Arts Center, and the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Dezi also delights in using their skills to inspire the next generations. They've worked as a mentor and tutor at Philadelphia Young Playwrights, Columbia University, and the University of the Arts. Dezi believes in the theatre's ability to inspire. As a reflection of life, the theatre allows an arena for audiences to better understand the world around them. To emphasize this power, Dezi created their blog "Dezi's Thought Bubble" to engage with the theatre scene critically and encourage audiences to view the theatre as a place that challenges their mind and opens their hearts.

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