On January 13, 2017, Opera America presented the New Opera Showcase at the historic Town Hall in New York City.This special one night only concert features excerpts from five new operas currently in development by some of today’s most exciting opera composers — including Michelle DiBucci, Randall Eng, Julian Grant, Wang Jie and Rene Orth — joined onstage by SONOS Chamber Orchestra and Choral Chameleon. Featuring Erik Ochsner, music director, and Eric Malson, assistant conductor.
ON THE PROGRAM
Rated R for Rat
Wang Jie, composer and librettist
In this original story, a zodiac goddess experiences humans’ soulful music for the first time, and forsakes her place in the heavens to join her divine musical power with that of men.
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Charlotte Salomon: Der Tod und die Malerin
Michelle DiBucci, composer
This work is based on Life? Or Theater?, a series of 769 paintings by the German-Jewish artist Charlotte Salomon, who was killed during the Holocaust.
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Machine
Rene Orth, composer; Jason Kim, librettist
Machine follows the chilling story of an Asian-American scientist who elects to plant a chip in her head and become the world’s first perfect, emotionless human.
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Before the Night Sky
Randall Eng, composer; Donna Di Novelli, librettist
Twins separated and united create the structure of this updated Greek myth that reimagines the Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux, and their overlooked sisters, Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra.
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The Nefarious, Immoral but Highly Profitable Enterprise of Mr. Burke & Mr. Hare
Julian Grant, composer; Mark Campbell, librettist
In the late 1820s, Edinburgh’s anatomy schools experienced a severe shortage of cadavers to study, so Burke and Hare served this niche market by murdering the disenfranchised and selling their corpses. In this opera, the victims of the anatomy murders finally have their say, from beyond.
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FEATURING PERFORMANCES BY
Joseph Bellino, Keith Browning, Heather Buck, Andrew Cook-Feltz, Evan Crawford, Blythe Gaissert, Claire Maloney, Nick Masters, Liam Moran, Brenda Patterson, Amy Marie Stewart, Vale Rideout, Amy Shoremount, Michael Slattery, Chad Sloan, Nian Wang, Jorell Williams, Lauren Worsham and Olivia Yokers
