Today : world première of 'Ellen West' by Ricky Ian Gordon in Saratoga

Today, the Opera Saratoga presents the world première of Ellen West, a chamber opera composed by Ricky Ian Gordon with a libretto by Frank Bidart based on his own poem.

It is the composer's sixth opera after The Grapes of Wrath (Minneapolis, February 10, 2007), A Coffin in Egypt (Houston, March 14, 2014), 27 (St. Louis, June 14, 2014), Morning Star (Cincinnati, June 30, 2015) and The House Without a Christmas Tree (Houston, November 30, 2017).

The opera delves into the story of a girl named Ellen West, and the attempts by people around her to save Ellen from herself. Through the evocative poetry of Pulitzer Prize winner Frank Bidart and the beautiful music of Ricky Ian Gordon, Ellen West reveals both the emotional roller-coaster of a woman fighting her own body and mind, battling starvation and obsessive control.  Eventually she returns to the home she shared with her husband, where he and her doctors intervene in an exploration of the emotional, psychological and physical challenges of a woman struggling with her perceptions of her body, her relationship with food, and the world closing in around her. (reproduced from the Beth Morrison Projects website)

The cast includes soprano Jennifer Zetlan (Ellen West) and baritone Keith Phares (Dr. Binswanger). Lidya Yankovskaya conducts. Emma Griffin directs.

The venue is the Spa Little Theater in Saratoga Springs.

July 10th : world première of Jeremy Howard Beck's 'The Long Walk' in Saratoga (NY)

Today, Jeremy Howard Beck's first opera, The Long Walk, with a libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann, based on Brian Castner's book The Long Walk : A Story of War and the Life that Follows, commissioned by American Lyric Theater, will be performed for the first time at the Spa Little Theater in Saratoga Springs (NY), as part of the Opera Saratoga 2015 Summer Season.

Castner's book is the intertwined story of two journeys: an outward struggle of surviving the urban combat of modern war in order to return home at all costs, and the inward journey to find the new person that emerges after undertaking such a task (reproduced from Brian Castner's website).

The opera is a deeply personal exploration of a soldier’s return from Iraq where he served as an officer in an Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit and his battle with what he calls “the Crazy” as he tries to reintegrate into his family life upon returning from the war. (reproduced from Opera Saratoga website).

The cast includes baritone Daniel Belcher (Brian), mezzo-soprano Heather Johnson (Jessie), tenor David Blalock (Ricky), tenor Javier Abreu (Castleman), and bass-baritone Justin Hopkins (Jeff). Steven Osgood conducts and David Schweizer directs.