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.