Conductor Michael Christie Leads World Premiere Recording of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, Now Available On Pentatone

In their astounding new opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, composer Mason Bates and librettist Mark Campbell explore the spiritual evolution of one of the most influential men of modern times as he creates a revolutionary new world of technological empowerment, then discovers a larger world within himself.

In 2017, conductor Michael Christie led the world premiere performances of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs at The Santa Fe Opera, "with suave assurance" as praised by the San Francisco Chronicle, with "precision and pizzazz" by the Santa Fe New Mexican, and "preside[d] over an expertly executed performance," according to The Financial Times. PENTATONE releases The Santa Fe Opera's world premiere recording of the work today, June 15.

Deeply committed to bringing new works to life, Michael Christie has championed commissions by leading and emerging composers alike, including, in addition to Bates, Mark Adamo, Michael Daugherty, Osvaldo Golijov, Mark Grey, Daron Hagen, Matthew Hindson, Marjan Mozetich, Stephen Paulus, Kevin Puts, and more.

"It is a pleasure and an honor to be part of another phenomenally talented American composer's first opera," Michael Christie says. "Mason is a true theater composer, blending voice, drama and his revelatory musical vision."

The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs is directed by Kevin Newbury and begins at a critical moment in Jobs' life, examining the people and experiences that shaped him: his father's mentorship, his devotion to Buddhism, his relationships, his rise and fall as a mogul, and finally his marriage to Laurene Jobs, who showed him the power of human connection.

The role of Steve Jobs is sung by baritone Edward Parks, joined by mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke as his wife Laurene Powell, baritone Kelly Markgraf as his father Paul Jobs, bass Wei Wu as Kôbun Chino Otogawa, Jobs' spiritual advisor, and tenor Garrett Sorenson as Woz, his friend and business partner.

Michael Christie is a thoughtfully innovative conductor, equally at home in the symphonic and opera worlds, who is focused on making the audience experience at his performances entertaining, enlightening, and enriching. The New York Times reports, "Michael Christie is a director open to adventure and challenge," and the Cincinnati Enquirer declares, "If Michael Christie represents the future of music in this country, the future looks promising indeed."

Performance highlights for the 2017-18 season included engagements with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Rhode Island Philharmonic, and Santa Rosa Symphony. During his final season as Music Director of Minnesota Opera, he led productions of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking, and Verdi's Rigoletto. In 2018-19, Christie will make guest appearances with IU Opera and Ballet Theater (Mason Bates' (R)evolution of Steve Jobs), Opéra de Montréal (Wagner's Das Rheingold), Lyric Opera of Chicago (Verdi's La Traviata), Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera (Verdi's Rigoletto), and Michigan Opera Theatre (Ricky Ian Gordon's The Grapes of Wrath).

In 2011, Christie led the Minnesota Opera in the world premiere performances of Kevin Puts' Silent Night, which was awarded the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Anthony Tommasini praised his "supple pacing and vitality" in The New York Times when Christie led the work in 2013 with Opera Company of Philadelphia. He conducted the European premiere of the opera in October 2014 at the Wexford Festival Opera in Ireland and led the opera again in May 2015 with the Opéra de Montréal.

Other recent highlights include Christie's San Francisco Opera debut in the world premiere performances of Mark Adamo's The Gospel of Mary Magdalene; the world premiere of Twenty-Seven, a new opera by Ricky Ian Gordon commissioned by Opera Theatre of St. Louis; and the world premieres of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec's opera The Shining, based on the novel by Stephen King, and Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell's new opera, The Manchurian Candidate, at the Minnesota Opera. Notable past performances include the European premieres of The Ghosts of Versailles at the Wexford Festival Opera; as well as various performances at Opernhaus Zürich, Finnish National Opera, Scottish Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Christie's nearly 20-year conducting career has included serving as Music Director of the Phoenix Symphony and Brooklyn Philharmonic and as Chief Conductor of the Queensland Orchestra in Australia, as well as guest appearances leading top orchestras around the world. Christie also served as Music Director of the Colorado Music Festival from 2000-2013.

Michael Christie first came to international attention in 1995 when he was awarded a special prize for "Outstanding Potential" at the First International Sibelius Conductors' Competition in Helsinki. Following the competition, he was invited to become an apprentice conductor with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra where he subsequently worked with Daniel Barenboim as well as at the Berlin State Opera. Christie holds a bachelors degree in trumpet from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music.

Christie lives in the Twin Cities with his wife, Alexis, a physician, and their children. A licensed pilot for over 15 years, Christie often flies his Mooney Airplane Company single engine aircraft to his conducting engagements across the U.S. He volunteers for Angel Flight Central, flying people in need with serious medical issues to receive care.

PENTATONE is a classical music label specializing in high-end recordings with top International Artists. It was founded in the Netherlands in 2001 by three former Philips Classics executives. More than a decade later, PENTATONE continues to realize its vision, pushing boundaries to produce the highest quality recordings. PENTATONE's reputation for excellence is supported by a catalogue of some of the very best that classical music has to offer.

PENTATONE's catalogue includes performances of conductors like Marek Janowski, Vladimir Jurowski, Andre?s Orozco-Estrada, Jakub Hrusa, Sir Neville Marriner, Yakov Kreizberg, Lawrence Foster, Philippe Herreweghe, Marc Albrecht, Kazuki Yamada, Gustavo Gimeno, Paavo Ja?rvi, Kent Nagano and Mikhail Pletnev; artists like Arabella Steinbacher, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Bejun Mehta, Thomas Hampson, Julia Fischer, Denis Kozhukhin, Martin Helmchen, Nareh Arghamanyan, Mari Kodama, Johannes Moser, Matt Haimovitz, Melody Moore, Lisa Delan, Alice Coote, Elisabeth Kulman, Nikolai Schukoff, Christian Elsner and Lester Lynch; and orchestras like the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Festival Strings Lucerne, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and the Wiener Symphoniker.

To post a comment, you must register and login.