Opera News from PSNY Composers

by Ted Gordon on April 30, 2014, 4:54 p.m.

Our PSNY composers are keeping busier than ever, and we'd like to share three projects that are making headlines across the nation. Starting with a bi-coastal collaboration, California-based composer (and librettist) Ken Ueno is working with Boston-based Guerilla Opera on a new project entitled Gallo [Chicken], directed by Sarah Meyers. Premiering at the end of May, this evening-long chamber opera "investigates how the landscape and man shape and transform each other, and addresses the fundamental question of ontology: 'the chicken or the egg?'" 

A week earlier, in Washington, D.C., David T. Little's Soldier Songs will be performed at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. Recently featured in The Washington Post, this work is a tour-de-force multimedia event, bringing out Little's signature compositional voice and disturbing subject matter. Check out Little's Last Nightfall, for soprano and ensemble, to get a taste of Little's powerful, political writing. 

And, for those who haven't heard, Kamran Ince has premeired a new monodrama, entitled Abandoned, as a part of Opera Memphis' "Ghosts of Crosstown"  festival. Writing through "the perspective of an abandoned building speaking to the sun at night," this work inhabits the world of the Sears Crosstown Building in downtown Memphis, abandoned in 1993. 

Introducing the PSNY Greenroom

by Ted Gordon on April 21, 2014, 11:24 a.m.

We're thrilled to announce the launch of the PSNY Greenroom; a new series which makes it easier than ever to discover new music and see what ensembles across the country are listening to and performing.

The Greenroom highlights the ensembles and artists who are defining the landscape of contemporary music. Each month, an ensemble or artist will select works from the PSNY catalogue that they are excited about performing, listening to, or both. The Greenroom is your backstage pass into the ears and creative minds of your favorite artists; a place of discovery for anyone interested in contemporary music, driven by artists, for artists. 

Our first visit to the Greenroom is with Present Music, and features director Kevin Stalheim's favorite selections from the PSNY catalog. Based in Milwaukee since 1982, Present Music has just been awarded an NEA Art Works grant for its 32nd season finale concert, Home Place, in collaboration with Milwaukee artist Reginald Baylor's Typeface Project. As part of Home Place, Present Music partners with Milwaukee Opera Theatre to present a major public concert event on June 21, featuring Shelter by David Lang, Julia Wolfe, and Michael Gordon, which is accompanied by a film by Bill Morrison. The concert also includes a performance of Ahyem by Bryce Dessner, as well as a performance of original music and art by students and senions in Milwaukee. 

So, needless to say, Present Music is on the cutting edge of commissioning new music, along with developing innovative performance opportunities that reach out to the wider community. Have a listen to director Kevin Stalheim's favorite PSNY works below, and stop by the Greenroom to read more about his selections. 

"Invisible Cities" named 2014 Pulitzer Prize Finalist!

by Nick Comparato on April 16, 2014, 12:35 p.m.

After its tremendously successful premiere production last year at Los Angeles’ Union Station, Christopher Cerrone’s opera, Invisible Cities, was announced this week as a finalist for the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Cerrone's Invisible Cities finds itself in good company: also named as a finalist is John Adams for The Gospel According to the Other Mary, with the 2014 Prize awarded to John Luther Adams for Become Ocean. Cerrone joins the ranks of Schott composers to be acknowledged by Pulitzer jurors, including Andrew Norman (whose The Companion Guide to Rome was a 2012 finalist) and Joseph Schwantner (who received the prize in 1979 for his Aftertones of Infinity).

Check out a recent trailer for Invisible Cities below: 

Cerrone has also recently been awarded a project grant from New Music USA for the production of a premiere studio recording of the opera, to be released by The Industry Records. Check out the New Music USA project site for more information.

The opera’s overture, Invisible Overture, is for sale now from PSNY, and a vocal score will be available shortly. The full opera will soon be published and available worldwide from Schott Music.