The Long Beach Opera 2020 Songbook, a virtual ticketed event premiering Sunday, November 15 at 5pm, featuring the world premieres of twenty newly commissioned works created by emerging composers, reflecting on some of the experiences and events from the past year.
The evening will be hosted live by the beloved Metropolitan Opera star
Anthony Roth Costanzo, himself a proponent of new music and new projects, from his kitchen in New York City. The proceeds will support Long Beach Opera's 2021 Season of Solidarity.
The commissioned composers were selected and mentored by
Anthony Davis, Annie Gosfield,
David Lang,
George Lewis, and
Du Yun, who among them have won three Pulitzer Prizes, a MacArthur Genius Grant and a Guggenheim Fellowship and have premiered some of the most interesting and dynamic contemporary operas presented in the 21st century.
Instead of asking donors to sponsor tables to an impossible in-person Gala, LBO asked the same supporters to each commission a new short vocal piece by an emerging composer who had not yet had a major opera commission, that reflected in some way on an experience or emotion from 2020.
The diverse group of composers, who have all studied or worked in the U.S, but who hail from New Zealand, Iran, Europe, Canada and the U.S. have each created a five-minute piece that features their unique creative imprint. The only parameters given to the emerging composers was that the piece be a reflection of an event or experience from 2020, be between 3-5 minutes long, and feature voice plus instrumental or electronic accompaniment if desired.
The result of these commissions will be a 2.5 hour new music extravaganza featuring the 20 world premiere music videos - a virtual artistic time capsule -- that range in subject from the silence brought on by the pandemic; to what breathing means to sick, oppressed and climate affected citizens in 2020; to missing indigenous women and girls; to a 2020 BYU decision to rescind a decree allowing same-sex relationships; to dating and meditating during lockdown.
Some composers created traditional art songs, while others used videography as a tool in the creation of their pieces, including stop motion animation, shadow puppetry, mobile projection, altered cinematography and iconographic storytelling. The video productions are as diverse as the compositional voices, and will tell their own story about how opera and classical music can move towards more digital forms of art creation, illuminating perhaps a silver lining of the pandemic for creative artists.
All of the composers and artists involved will be compensated for their work, including two-thirds each full priced ticket going directly towards artist costs. The rest will support Long Beach Opera's artistic and educational programming and LBO's 2021 Season of Solidarity. including the additional costs brought on by producing live performances in the time of Covid-19. LBO will return to live in-person performances in the spring of 2021 with its Season of Solidarity, curated by Yuval Sharon.
For tickets at $75 and $25 available for anyone experiencing financial hardship (honor system - no proof required) per device and information please visit
www.longbeachopera.org/ungala The stream will be available for 72 hours following the premiere for anyone not able to watch live.
After the successful new "UnGalas" were launched last season, LBO continues to redefine what a fundraiser can be this season with this 2020 Songbook. With in-person fundraisers completely cancelled this fall, LBO has chosen to find a way to support the creative economy while still raising money for artistic programming and initiatives.
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