Opera Fusion: New Works

Opera Fusion: New Works (OF:NW) is a partnership between Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) dedicated to fostering the development of new American operas.[1] This collaboration is jointly led by Evans Mirageas, the Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director at Cincinnati Opera, as well as Robin Guarino, Professor of Opera at CCM. Since its founding in 2011, OF:NW has developed fourteen new American operas. [2]

Opera Fusion: New Works
Opera Fusion: New Works official logo
Formation2011
TypeCollaboration between Cincinnati Opera and University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
PurposeDevelop new American operas through a ten-day residency program
Location
Region served
United States, Ohio, Cincinnati
Co-Artistic Directors
Evans Mirageas and Robin Guarino
Parent organization
Cincinnati Opera and University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
Websitehttp://ofnw.org

Process

OF:NW provides a 10-day residency for composers and composer/librettist teams seeking to workshop their operas. Team members may use the resources (facilities, artists, and faculty) of both Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) in this workshop process. At the end of the workshop, students from CCM and professional artists from Cincinnati Opera perform excerpts from the piece at a free, public concert, followed by a Q&A session with the audience.[3][4]

Projects

Since its founding in 2011, Opera Fusion: New Works has fostered the development of fourteen new American operas.[2]

Awakenings (2020)

Awakenings, composed by Tobias Picker with a libretto by Aryeh Lev Stollman, participated in OF:NW in 2019.

Castor and Patience (2020)

Castor and Patience, composed by Gregory Spears with a libretto by Tracy K. Smith, participated in OF:NW in 2019.

Postville: Hometown to the World (2020)

Postville: Hometown to the World, composed by Laura Kaminsky with a libretto by Kimberly Reed, participated in OF:NW in 2018.

Eurydice (2020)
Main article: Eurydice (Aucoin)

Eurydice, composed by Matthew Aucoin with a libretto by Sarah Ruhl, was the 2020 opera workshopped by OF:NW. The opera is based on the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Hadrian (2018)
Main article: Hadrian (opera)

Hadrian, composed by Rufus Wainwright with a libretto by Daniel MacIvor, was the 2018 opera workshopped by OF:NW. The opera is based on the story of Hadrian, the Roman emperor, and focuses on his relationship with Antinous, a young man.

Intimate Apparel (2016)
See also: Intimate Apparel (play)

Intimate Apparel, composed by Ricky Ian Gordon with a libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage, was workshopped by OF:NW in 2016. The opera is based on Nottage's play by the same title, and surrounds the life of Esther, an African-American woman who moves to New York City in 1905 to become a seamstress.[5] The piece participated in the Metropolitan Opera/Lincoln Center Theater’s New Works program in 2017.[6]

Some Light Emerges (2016)

Some Light Emerges, composed by Laura Kaminsky with a libretto by Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed, participated in OF:NW in 2016. The opera surrounds the design and creation of the Rothko Chapel in Houston, and the lives of five characters as they enter the chapel over the course of four decades.[7] The piece premiered in 2017 at Houston Grand Opera.[8]

Shalimar the Clown (2015)

Shalimar the Clown, based on the 2005 novel by Salman Rushdie, was composed by Jack Perla with a libretto by Rajiv Joseph, and brought to OF:NW in 2015. The libretto tells a love story set in a rural Kashmiri village. When an American ambassador arrives, the love is torn apart, and the titular character seeks revenge.[9] The piece premiered in 2016 at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.[10]

Morning Star (2015)
Main article: Morning Star (opera)

Morning Star by composer Ricky Ian Gordon and librettist William M. Hoffman participated in OF:NW in 2012. The story follows a Jewish mother who immigrates to New York City, hoping to achieve the American Dream.[11] In 2015, the piece premiered with Cincinnati Opera at Cincinnati Music Hall.[12]

Meet John Doe (2015)

Meet John Doe by Mexico-born composer Daniel Catán remained unfinished after his death in 2011. The creative team responsible for finishing the work came to OF:NW, where it was then completed in 2015.[13][14]

Great Scott (2014)
Main article: Great Scott (opera)

Great Scott, by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Terrence McNally, participated in OF:NW in 2014. This comedy surrounds an opera star who returns to save her struggling local opera company by appearing in an unknown bel canto opera, which is scheduled for the same night as the Super Bowl—in which the home team is playing.[15] The piece was premiered at Dallas Opera in 2015, and was performed again by San Diego Opera in 2016.[16]

Fellow Travelers (2013)
Main article: Fellow Travelers (opera)

After a workshop with OF:NW, the opera Fellow Travelers, by composer Gregory Spears and librettist Greg Pierce, premiered at Cincinnati Opera in June 2016, and will be performed by the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2018.[17] It is set during the McCarthy era of the 1950s and focuses on the "lavender scare", a witch hunt and mass firings of gay people from the United States government. The story centers on the love affair between two men working for the federal government—Hawkins "Hawk" Fuller, a State Department official, and Timothy Laughlin, a recent college graduate working in a senator's office.[18][19]

Champion (2013)
Main article: Champion (opera)

Champion, with music by jazz composer Terence Blanchard and a libretto by Michael Cristofer, participated in OF:NW in 2012.[20] Since then, it's been performed at the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts at Webster University in 2013, Opera Parallèle in San Francisco in 2016, and the Washington National Opera in 2017.[21][22][23] It surrounds the life of Emile Griffith, a gay welterweight boxer in the 1960s, and his rivalry with Benny Paret, a fellow boxer who taunted his sexuality during a match, leading to a tragic outcome.[24]

Doubt (2013)
Main article: Doubt (opera)

Doubt, composed by Douglas J. Cuomo with libretto by John Patrick Shanley, came to OF:NW in 2011, and was the first piece to participate in the workshop. The story is based on Shanley's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Doubt: A Parable, which surrounds Church politics and race-based abuse in a Catholic school in 1964. The piece premiered at Minnesota Opera in 2013.[25]

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References
  1. "Opera Fusion: New Works". Cincinnati Opera.
  3. "About OF:NW". Opera Fusion: New Works.
  4. "Tales of Hoffman". www.operanews.com.
  5. Movers and Makers (11 October 2016). "Opera Fusion: New Works presents 'Intimate Apparel'".
  6. "Opera Fusion: New Works gives Lynn Nottage's 'Intimate Apparel' an early tryout".
  7. "Home Away from Home for the CSO".
  8. Desk, BWW News. "Houston Grand Opera Presents World Premiere Of SOME LIGHT EMERGES, 3/16-17".
  9. "Salman Rushdie's 'Shalimar The Clown' Is Now An Opera".
  10. "Check Out Our Preview Of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis' World Premiere".
  11. "OPERA NEWS - Morning Star". www.operanews.com.
  12. Rhein, John von. "Chicago-born opera 'Morning Star' shines powerfully".
  13. "Opera Fusion: New Works Enables Completion of Daniel Catán Work".
  14. "'Meet John Doe' picked for next Opera Fusion workshop".
  15. "Cincinnati's Opera Fusion Workshops New Opera".
  16. Arenstein, Anne. "This year's Opera Fusion - New Works brings together theatre and opera legends".
  17. Von Rhein, John (7 February 2017). "Lyric's new season promises to rock the house — not just with 'Jesus Christ Superstar'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  18. Da Fonseca-Wollheim, Corinna (20 June 2016). "Review: Gay Love in the Time of McCarthy". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  19. Gelfand, Janelle (18 June 2016). "Deeply felt Fellow Travelers makes powerful impression". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  20. "Onstage: Champion".
  21. Sarah Bryan Miller (June 16, 2013). "Champion lives up to its promise at Opera Theatre of St. Louis". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  22. Joshua Kosman (2016-02-21). "'Champion' fuses jazz and opera in boxing tale". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  23. Anne Midgette (2017-03-05). "Champion brings boxing — and a memorable leading man — to WNO". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  24. "Terence Blanchard Turns A Tragic Champion Into An Opera Hero".
  25. Oestreich, James R. (3 February 2013). "'Doubt,' Adaptation Performed by Minnesota Opera" – via NYTimes.com.
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