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. 

Paul's Case by Gregory Spears Now Available From PSNY!

by Ted Gordon on July 8, 2013, 11:33 a.m.

Paul's Case, a 1905 short story by Willa Cather, examines the life of an unsatisfied Pittsburgh dandy who longs for a life of the theater, music, and luxury-- a longing which will eventually destroy him. Cather's story, a rumination on desire, love, and self-expression, has been adapted to the world of Opera-- the very world which Paul loved so dearly. Composer Gregory Spears and co-librettist Kathryn Walat have created this new work, developed by American Opera Projects, which recently had its World Premiere at UrbanArias. It is scored for 7 singers, 2 clarinets, harp, piano, and string quartet. Scenes from that production can be seen below:

We are delighted to announce that Paul's Case is now available from PSNY, both as a vocal score for purchase and for full performance licensing. In addition to the full score, several arias from the opera are available as individual titles: "The English Teacher's Aria," "The Gauntlet's Been Thrown," and "The Red Carnation."

Paul's Case will see two new productions in the 2013-2014 season in New York and in Pittsburgh, the two locations in which the opera takes place. In January 2014, Prototype, a new festival for contemporary opera in New York, will produce Paul's Case, conducted by Robert Wood and directed by Kevin Newbury. For more information on this production, visit Prototype's website. And in February-March 2014, Pittsburgh Opera will also produce Paul's Case, to be directed by Paul Cederquist, their Resident Artist Stage Director. This production is part of Pittsburgh Opera's Second Stage Project, which features performances by their resident artists. With three new productions within the space of a year, Paul's Case is quickly becoming a celebrated work in the world of new opera-- and now, everyone has access to both the score and several of its key arias. Keep an eye out for this work in the future!

Lei Liang Premieres Collaborative Opera; New Works from Andrew Norman and Joseph Schwantner!

by Ted Gordon on May 6, 2013, 11 a.m.

Fans of New Music, performers, conductors, devoted PSNY Blog readers-- did you miss us? A few ways to excuse our relative silence: springtime is finally here; we've been going to too many concerts; and, of course, we've been busy preparing tons of new work for publication! 

For Andrew Norman fans (and really, who isn't a fan of Andrew?), we have a newly-published study score for his recently-premiered work, Music in Circles III, which premiered to rave reviews at Los Angeles' Brooklyn Festival last month. Music in Circles III was commissioned by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra as a part of their "Sound Investment" project, funded by audience members and awarded annually to a rising composer. (2014's Sound Investment, by the way, has been awarded to Hannah Lash! So keep your eyes out this time next year!).

Joseph Schwantner's Angelfire, for amplified violin and orchestra, is also now available as a full score. Originally commissioned for Anne Akiko Meyers, this piece has been recorded on Hyperion and remains a theatrical favorite of the solo violin repertoire. We're also pleased to make available the full score to Taking Charge, for Flute/Piccolo, Percussion, and Piano. Taking Charge premiered in 2012 at Northwestern's Bienen School of Music; a full video recording of the premiere can be seen here. 

Lei Liang is taking part in a collaborative chamber opera project, Cuatro Corridos, which addresses human trafficking, one of the most pressing human rights issues of our time. Cuatro Corridos was spearheaded by soprano Susan Narucki and author Jorge Volpi, and has had support from the Yellow Barn Foundation, the UCSD Department of Music, UC Mexis and the MAP Fund. It brings together four composers, including Lei Liang, each to write one of four acts, which tell the story of women trapped in a cycle of prostitution and slavery in the San Diego/Tijuana border area. Lei has written a blog post about his own experience with human trafficking as an Chinese ex-pat living in America, and we greatly look forward to hearing his contribution to this important work. The World Premiere takes place on May 8th at the Conrad Prebys Music Center's Experimental Theater on the UCSD Campus, and performances run until May 11th. Tickets can be purchased here.