Today : world première of 'The Thirteenth Child' by Poul Ruders in Santa Fe

Today, the Santa Fe Opera presents the world première of The Thirteenth Child, a fairytale opera in two acts composed by Poul Ruders with a libretto by Becky and David Starobin inspired by the Brothers Grimm.

It is the composer's fifth opera after Tycho (1986), The Handmaid's Tale (Copenhagen, March 6, 2000), Kafka's Trial (Copenhagen, March 12, 2005) and Selma Jezkova (Copenhagen, September 5, 2010).

Forget about magic beans and bowls of porridge — this fairy tale is a “down-to-the-wire” thriller, inspired by the Brothers Grimm. A paranoid king banishes his twelve sons in favor of Lyra, the thirteenth child. When Princess Lyra learns about her long-lost brothers, she embarks on a quest to find them. Like all the best fairy tales, it has an enchanted forest, riddles, a handsome prince, a horrible mistake, and a nearly impossible feat for Princess Lyra to perform if everything is to be put right. (reproduced from the Santa Fe Opera website)

The cast includes soprano Jessica E. Jones (Lyra), mezzo Tamara Mumford (Queen Gertrude), tenor Joshua Dennis (Frederic), bass baritone Bradley Garvin (Drokan) and bass David Leigh (King Hjarne). Paul Daniel conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Santa Fe Opera. Darko Tresnjak directs.

The performance should last 90 minutes. The venue is the Crosby Theatre.

The full and vocal scores, as well as a recording, are already available for sale. The publisher is Edition Wilhelm Hansen. Since last April, I have the full score in my collection. It is a 230 pages volume. It contains a characters list, a detailed synopsis and the following orchestra setting :

- 2 clarintes in Bb (1st doubling bass clarinet in Bb, 2nd doubling contrabass clarinet in Bb), 2 saxophones (1st soprano in Bb doubling alto in Eb, 2nd alto in Eb doubling baritone in Eb) ; 2 bassoons ;
- 4 horns in F, 2 trumpets in Bb, 2 trombones, tuba ;
- 2 percussion, harp, piano (digital or upright for small pits) ;
- 3 full range (7-octaves synthesizers), touch sensitive and with volume slide/knob ;
- strings : for large pits minimum 10-8-6-4-2, for small pits 2 of each.

The opera was composed in 2014-15 and the full score is copyrighted 2016.

Full score and CD recording of 'The Thirteenth Child' by Poul Ruders

The new opera composed by Poul Ruders, The Thirteenth Child, with a libretto by Becky and David Starobin inspired by the Brothers Grimm has not yet been performed (the first performance is to happen on July 27 in Santa Fe, NM), but the full score has already been published by Wilhelm Hansen and a recording has been issued by Bridge.

The full score is a large 230 pages volume.

The title page reads :

Poul Ruders / The Thirteenth Child / an opera in two acts / Libretto by / Becky and David Starobin / Full Score / Duration : / Act 1, c. 45 min. Act 2, c. 45 min. / WH / Wilhelm Hansen Musikforlag

On the following pages are given the 'Personnel' (characters with age and tessituras), detailed synopsis and complete orchestral setting.


The recording fits on 1 CD, with a total playing time of 77:50 (39:36 for Act 1 and 38:13 for Act 2).

The complete cast is the following :

Sarah Shafer (soprano) : Princess Lyra
Tamara Mumford (mezzo) : Queen Gertrude
Ashraf Sewailam (bass-baritone) : Drokan
Matt Boehler (bass) : King Hjarne
Alasdair Kent (tenor) : Prince Frederic & Toke
David Portillo (tenor) : Benjamin
Alex Rosen (bass) : Corbin

The Odense Symphony Orchestra and the Bridge Academy Singers are conducted by David Starobin (vocal music & orchestra Act 2) and Benjamin Shwartz (orchestra Act 1).

The recording was made in Denmark (Carl Nielsen Hall in Odense) and the USA (American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York City and New Rochelle Studios in New Rochelle, NY), between September 2016 and December 2018.

The booklet includes the full libretto.

I have observed a discrepancy between the score and the recording, in act 2, scene 3. On page 187 of the full score, the chorus sings 'Welcome Welcome Lyra !'. On the CD (track 22, page 28 of the libretto), the words given at the 'Townfolk' are 'Welcome silent Lyra !'.

New programme book in my collection : 'The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs' by Mason Bates in Santa Fe

I have recently received the programme book for The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, an opera composed by Mason Bates, first performed on July 22nd in Santa Fe (NM).

It is a 168 pages book that contains articles on all operas performed in Santa Fe this year. Ten pages are dedicated to this new opera :

- complete cast and crew ;
- story ;
- The Music of Communication, notes from composer Mason Bates ;
- The Evolution of '(R)evolution', notes from librettist Mark Campbell ;
- Looking into the Black Mirror, by director Kevin Newbury.

I now have 483 programme books for contemporary operas in my collection. All scanned covers are available in this flickr folder.

Today : world première of 'The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs' by Mason Bates in Santa Fe

Today, the Santa Fe Opera presents the world première of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, an opera in one prologue and nineteen scenes by Mason Bates, with a libretto by Mark Campbell.

It is the composer's first opera.

Many of us want to change the world. Steve Jobs did. An enigmatic public figure, he could be magnetic yet unapproachable, empathetic yet cruel, meditative yet restless. He helped connect us all while building a firewall around his own emotions. This is the story of a man who circles back to the formative events in his life while learning to acknowledge his own mortality. (reproduced from the Santa Fe Opera website)

The cast includes baritone Edward Parks (Steve Jobs), mezzo Sasha Cooke (Laurene Powell Jobs), bass Wei Wu (Kôbun Chino Otogawa), baritone Kelly Markgraf (Paul Jobs), tenor Garrett Sorenson (Woz) and soprano Jessica Jones (Chrisann Brennan). Michael Christie conducts the Orchestra of the Santa Fe Opera. Kevin Newbury directs.

New recordings in my collection : American operas released by Pentatone

I have recently acquired two recordings of American operas released by Pentatone :

- John Corigliano : The Ghosts of Versailles, recorded live at the Los Angeles Music Center in February and March 2015. James Conlon conducts a cast including Kristinn Sigmundsson (Louis XVI), Christopher Maltman (Beaumarchais), Patricia Racette (Marie Antoinette), Lucas Meachem (Figaro), Lucy Schaufer (Susanna), Joshua Guerrero (Count Almaviva) and Guanqun Yu (Rosina).

- Jennifer Higdon : Cold Mountain, recorded live at the Santa Fe Opera in August 2015.Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducts a cast including Nathan Gunn (W. P. Inman), Ada Monroe (Isabel Leonard), Emily Fons (Ruby Thewes), Jay Hunter Morris (Teague) and Roger Honeywell (Solomon Veasey).

New in my collection : from the Santa Fe Opera Festival

I have recently acquired several items from the Santa Fe Opera Festival :

- Desirée Mays : Opera Unveiled 2009 (76 pages) , with an article on The Letter, new opera composed by Paul Moravec ;
- Desirée Mays : Opera Unveiled 2013 (80 pages) , with an article on Oscar, new opera composed by Theodore Morrison ;
- Desirée Mays : Opera Unveiled 2014 (80 pages), with an article on Dr. Sun Yat-sen, new opera composed by Huang Ruo ;
- Desirée Mays : Opera Unveiled 2015 (80 pages), with an article on Cold Mountain, new opera composed by Jennifer Higdon ;

- Gene Scheer : Cold Mountain, libretto for the opera composed by Jennifer Higdon (78 pages) ;
- programme book for the 2015 season at the Santa Fe Opera (168 pages)

It contains only 8 pages entirely dedicated to this opera with :

- complete cast and crew (with B&W headshots) ;
- synopsis ;
- Ascending Cold Mountain, by librettist Gene Scheer ;
- A Note from the Director, by Leonard Foglia.

August 1st : world première of Jennifer Higdon's 'Cold Mountain' in Santa Fe

Today, Jennifer Higdon's first opera, Cold Mountain, with a libretto by Gene Scheer after Charles Frazier's novel, will be performed at the Santa Fe Opera Theater.

Jennifer Higdon has been working on the opera since 2009, and completed it in September 2013. It was originally commissioned by the San Francisco Opera, but several right issues postponed it for several years. In December 2012 and December 2013, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia (where Higdon teaches) organized workshop performances of some excerpts.

The libretto tells the story of W. P. Inman, a wounded deserter from the Confederate army near the end of the American Civil War who walks for months to return to Ada Monroe, the love of his life. (reproduced from Wikipedia)

The cast includes Jay Hunter Morris (Teague), Nathan Gunn (Inman), Isabel Leonard (Ada), Emily Fons (Ruby), Anthony Michaels-Moore (Monroe) and Kevin Burdette (Stobrod). Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducts and Leonard Foglia directs.

The opera will also be performed in Philadelphia in February 2016 and then at the North Carolina Opera during the 2017-2018 season. Ultimately, a recording of the New Mexico performances is to be published by Pentatone.

Received in the mail this Monday morning

This Monday morning, I have received the following in the mail :

- Nice Côte d'Azur, Opéra : 2014-2015 season program book ;
- Santa Fe, Opera : 2014 season brochure.