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.

10 new program books in my collection

I have recently acquired the program books for the following performances :

- Michel van der Aa, After Life, Lyon, March 18, 2010
The opera was first performed in Amsterdam on June 2, 2006, and I have the program book for the new version first performed in Amsterdam on September 28, 2009.
It is a 113 pages book, with the complete bilingual libretto (English / French).
- Robert Aldridge, Sister Carrie, Milwaukee, October 7, 2016
It is a 52 pages brochure. The opera was recorded and published by Naxos.
- Ricky Ian Gordon, The House Without a Christmas Tree, Houston, November 30, 2017.
It is a 64 pages brochure.

- Hans Werner Henze, L'Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe, Lyon, June 24, 2005
The opera was first performed in Salzburg on August 12, 2003. I have the program book for the world première, the DVD recording (EuroArts) as well as the two scores published by Chester Music (vocal score and full score).
It is a 158 pages book, with the complete bilingual libretto (German / French).
- Toshio Hosokawa, Hanjo, Lyon, March 5, 2008
The opera was first performed in Aix-en-Provence on July 8, 2004.
It is a 87 pages book, with the complete bilingual libretto (English / French) and a separate 12 pages booklet with cast and biographies.
- Helmut Oehring, Kunst muss (zu weit gehen) oder der Engel schwieg, Köln, December 9, 2017.
It is a 64 pages book.

- Rachel J. Peters, Rootabaga Country, Sarasota, November 11, 2017.
It is a 80 pages book published for the 2017 Fall Season of Sarasota Opera.
- Kevin Puts, Elizabeth Cree, Philadelphia, September 14, 2017.
It is a 132 pages book for the Festival O17, including also complete cast for two other new operas : The Wake World by David Hertzberg (September 17, 2017) and We Shall Not Be Moved by Daniel Bernard Roumain (September 16, 2017).

- Andres Reukauf, König Drosselbart, Hagen, November 12, 2017.
It is a 16 pages booklet.
- Kaija Saariaho, Only the Sound Remains, Paris, January 23, 2018
The opera was first performed in Amsterdam on March 15, 2016. I have the Blu Ray recording of the Dutch production.
It is a 120 pages book, the the complete bilingual libretto (English / French).

I now have 516 program books for contemporary operas. I have scanned all the covers and uploaded them to this flickr folder.

Today : world première of 'The House Without A Christmas Tree' by Ricky Ian Gordon in Houston (TX)

Today, the Houston Grand Opera presents the world première of The House Without A Christmas Tree, composed by Ricky Ian Gordon, with a libretto by Royce Vavrek based on the original story by Gail Rock.

It is the composer's fifth opera after The Grapes of Wrath (Minneapolis, February 10, 2007), Morning Star (Cincinnati, June 2013), A Coffin in Egypt (Houston, March 14, 2014) and 27 (St. Louis, June 14, 2014).

Addie Mills is smart and energetic, just like the mother she never knew. Addie has no idea why her father resents the holidays so intensely, refusing even to allow a Christmas tree in the house. But when she brings home a tree she won in a school contest, it paves the way for a miracle of sorts — her father’s broken soul is transformed. (reproduced from the Houston Grand Opera website)

The cast includes soprano Lauren Snouffer (Addie Mills), baritone Daniel Belcher (James Addison Mills III 'Dad'), soprano Patricia Schuman (Grandma Mills), soprano Heidi Stober (Miss Thompson / Helen Mills / Adelaide Mills), mezzo soprano Megan Mikailovna Samarin (Carla Mae), soprano Elisabeth Leone (Gloria Cott) and tenor Maximilian Macias (Billy Wild). Bradley Moore conducts the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and Juvenile Chorus. James Robinson directs.

The performance should last about 80 minutes. The venue is the Resilience Theater, in the George R. Brown Convention Center.

New recordings of contemporary operas in my collection

I have recently acquired the following opera recordings on CD :

- John Carbon : Benjamin, conducted by William Wright, Zimbel, 2006 ;
- Beat Furrer : Begehren, conducted by Beat Furrer, Kairos, 2003 ;
- Ricky Ian Gordon : The Grapes of Wrath, conducted by Grant Gershon, PS Classics, 2007 ;

- Marcel Landowski : Montségur, conducted by Michel Plasson, Cybelia, 1987 ;
- John Musto : The Inspector, conducted by Glen Cortese, Wolf Trap, 2011 ;
- Gérard Pesson : Forever Valley, conducted by Vincent Leterme, assai, 2002 ; 

- Robin de Raaff : Waiting for Miss Monroe, conducted by Steven Sloane, Challenge, 2012 ;
- Joseph Summer : The Tempest, conducted by Stefan Lano, Albany, 2015.

I also bought the following DVD :

- José Luis Turina : D. Q. Don Quijote en Barcelona, conducted by Josep Pons, directed by La Fura dels Baus (Alex Ollé and Carlos Padrissa), Fundacio Gran Teatre del Liceu, 2000.

Received in the mail this morning : program books from Mannheim and Cincinnati

This Thursday morning, I have received two program books for contemporary operas :

- Ricky Ian Gordon : Morning Star, Cincinnati, June 30 ;
- Lucia Ronchetti : Esame di mezzanotte, Mannheim, May 29.

The first one is a 96 pages book. It contains the complete program for the 2015 season at the Cincinnati Opera. 5 pages are dedicated to Gordon's opera. It is entirely in English. It contains :

- complete cast and crew ;
- synopsis, written by stage director Ron Daniels ;
- Ricky Ian Gordon : The Birth of 'Morning Star' ;
- biographies of all season artists, with black and white headshot.

The second is a 104 pages book. It is entirely in German. It contains :

- complete cast and crew ;
- color photos of the piano dress rehearsal (May 19) ;
- an article by composer Lucia Ronchetti on libretto source and librettist Ermanno Cavazzoni ;
- Le tentazioni di Girolamo, by librettist Ermanno Cavazzoni ;
- detailed synopsis ;
- Helga de la Motte-Haber : Nachtmahre ;
- director Achim Freyer : Gedanken zur Uraufführung ;
- Bibliotheksmusik, a dialogue with composer Lucia Ronchetti and dramaturge Elena Garcia Fernandez ;
- Stefano Nardelli : Lucia Ronchetti : zeitgenössisches Empfinden mit barocken Wurzeln ;
- complete bilingual (Italian and German) libretto.

There are no biographies.
The covers of all the program book for contemporary operas I have can be seen in this flickr folder.

June 30th : world première of Ricky Ian Gordon's 'Morning Star' in Cincinnati

Today, Ricky Ian Gordon's new opera, Rising Star, with a libretto by William M. Hoffman after Sylvia Regan's 1940 play, will be performed for the first time in Cincinnati, at the SCPA's Corbett Theater.

It is the composer's 11th opera, after The Grapes of Wrath (2007), A Coffin in Egypt (2014) and Twenty-Seven (2014).

1910. New York’s Lower East Side. Their homeland now a memory, Becky Felderman and her children find hope in the promise of life in the New World. As decades unfold, their dreams are tarnished by hardships — the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, World War I, and the Great Depression. Their story is one of triumph and tragedy, struggle and sympathy, and a family that abides the trials of a lifetime. (reproduced from the Cincinnati Opera website)

The cast includes soprano Twyla Robinson (Becky), mezzo Elizabeth Pojanowski (Sadie), soprano Jennifer Zetlan (Fanny), soprano Elizabeth Zharoff (Esther), baritone Morgan Smith (Aaron Greenspan), tenor Andrew Bidlack (Irving Tashman), baritone Andrew Lovato (Harry Engel), Kenneth Shaw (Rabbi Engel), Jeanine De Bique (Pearl) and Larry D. Hylton (Prince). Christopher Allen conducts the Chorus and Orchestra. Ron Daniels directs.

The performance (2 acts) should last about 2 hours and 30 minutes, including one intermission.

New recordings in my collection

I have recently acquired the following recordings of contemporary operas :

- Charles Wuorinen : Brokeback Mountain, Engel / van Hove, BelAir Classiques (DVD)

- Dominick Argento : Postcard from Morocco, conducted by Rossen Milanov (Albany) ;
- Jack Beeson : Dr. Heidegger's Fountain of Youth conducted by Thomas Martin and Hello out There conducted by Frederic Waldman (Albany) ;
- Philippe Boesmans : Au Monde, conducted by Patrick Davin (Cypres) ;

- Ricky Ian Gordon : 27, conducted by Michael Christie (Albany) ;
- Ned Rorem : Miss Julie, conducted by David Agler (Albany).

Today : World première of 'Twenty-Seven' by Ricky Ian Gordon in St. Louis (MO)

Today, the new opera of composer Ricky Ian Gordon, Twenty-Seven will be performed in St. Louis (MO).

It is the composer's sixth opera, after The Tibetan Book of the Dead (1996), The Grapes of Wrath (2007), Rappahannock County (2011), Morning Star (2013), A Coffin in Egypt (2014).

Royce Vavrek wrote the libretto. Here is the overview of this new opera, according to the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis website (http://www.opera-stl.org) :

Paris roared in the 1920s, inspiring the art and literature of a Lost Generation of expatriates. At the epicenter of this creative explosion was Gertrude Stein, whose salon at 27 Rue de Fleurus became a second home for such luminaries as Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Picasso. 

The cast includes Stephanie Blythe (Gertrude Stein), Elizabeth Futral (Alice B. Toklas), Theo Lebow (Picasso and Fitzgerald), Tobias Greenhalgh (Leo Stein and Man Ray), Daniel Brevik (Hemingway and Matisse). Michael Christie conducts and James Robinson directs.