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AOPERA AMERICA

NEW OPERA SHOWCASE

Produced by OPERA Americain collaboration withTrinity Wall Street

Featuring NOVUS NY

Trinity Church Monday, January 18, 2016 | 8:00 p.m.

PRESENTS

This program has been made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Additional support has been provided by The Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation

Beowulf Music and words by Hannah Lash Nominated by Schott Music Corporation

Excerpt Act 1 The first act of the opera introduces the flashback that haunts Beowulf, and then we watch him care for his mother in her nursing home, where she is deeply suspicious of one of her nurses. At the end of the act, Beowulf makes the decision to remove his mother from the facility and to care for her in his home.

Featuring (in order of appearance) Christopher Magiera: Beowulf Margaret Lattimore: Mother Vale Rideout: Nurse

Daniela Candillari, conductor

The Invention of Morel Music by Stewart Copeland Words by Jonathan Moore Nominated by G. Schirmer

Excerpts Act 1, the first scene A fugitive from justice has found refuge on a remote island. What are these strange machines? Suddenly a group of exotic tourists arrives.

Act 1, the last scene The fugitive fears arrest and despises the intruders, but as he spies and eavesdrops, he falls in love with one of them. Why doesn’t she see him?

Featuring (in order of appearance) Christopher Magiera: Fugitive Jesse Blumberg: Narrator Jonathan Woody: Stoever Jonathan Blalock: Ombrellieri, Alec Molly Netter: Dora Margaret Lattimore: Duchess Amy Owens: Faustine Vale Rideout: Morel

Julian Wachner, conductor

INTERMISSION

PROGRAM

A Thousand Splendid Suns, the Opera Music by Sheila Silver Words by Stephen Kitsakos Nominated by American Opera Projects

Excerpts Act 1, Scene 1 — Opening argument between Mariam and Nana In a rustic shack in rural Afghanistan, Mariam, an illegitimate girl, is arguing with her mother. The year is 1972 and it is her 15th birthday.

Act 1, Scene 3 — Mariam’s lament followed by Rasheed’s manifesto Forced into marriage with an older man, Mariam is alone in her husband’s house in Kabul. Later, Rasheed explains what he expects from her.

Act 1, Scene 5 — Laila and Tariq meet on the balcony of her home Laila, a girl of 14, has been in love with her childhood friend, an older boy named Tariq. He eavesdrops unexpectedly on her private soliloquy.

Featuring (in order of appearance) Vira Slywotzky: Nana Aleksandra Romano: Mariam Ron Loyd: Rasheed Lucy Fitz Gibbon: Laila Thor Arbjornsson: Tariq

Sara Jobin, conductor Steve Gorn, bansuri flute Jonathan Singer, tabla

Dream of the Red Chamber Music by Bright Sheng Words by David Henry Hwang Nominated by San Francisco Opera

Excerpts Act 2, Scene 1 Knowing the Princess’ plan for Bao Yu and Bao Chai to marry, Dai Yu feels her world growing more bleak, as her health continues to decline. At the bank of her favorite lake, she sings a sad aria for the burial of the falling peach blossom petals.

Act 2, Scene 4 Dai Yu is sent to her once-favorite lake, where she burns the poems she and Bao Yu composed together. She realizes it is hopeless to fight against these old traditions, or to expect love and goodness to survive in this harsh world. But Bao Yu gathers his inner resolve to make one last stand for love. He’s not going to give up without a fight.

Featuring (in order of appearance) Amy Owens: Dai Yu Jonathan Blalock: Bao Yu

Julian Wachner, conductor

BeowulfSynopsis Beowulf is the story of the psychological struggle of a hero. Set in the present day, the story illuminates issues of trauma, love, death and control. Beowulf is a veteran of war; he was an army medic. He suffers from a persistent flashback, but leads a successful life now as a civilian doctor. He is caring for his aging mother, who has just suffered a stroke and has gone into a nursing facility. She is paranoid, believing one of the nurses is trying to kill her. Beowulf decides to care for her in his own home. As her mind and body continue to deteriorate, Beowulf is confronted by his own fears, not wanting to let her go, and yet realizes her life cannot continue.

SCORE AND PRODUCTION DETAILS Publisher: Schott Music Corporation World Premiere: May 20, 2016, Guerilla Opera, Boston Duration: 80 minutes Instrumental Forces: clarinet, saxophone, percussion and violin Year of Composition: 2014–2015 Based on: inspiration from the Beowulf legend Setting: present-day America

Characters Beowulf, baritone Mother, mezzo-soprano Nurse, tenor

Nominating Organization Schott Music is an international music publishing company with branches in 10 countries and main offices in Mainz (Germany), Berlin, London, New York and Tokyo. Founded in Mainz in 1770, Schott was first known as publishers of Beethoven and Wagner and is now in the top rank of music publishers in the world, offering an unparalleled range of products and services covering all aspects of music. The central core of the company is the publication of works by internationally renowned 20th- and 21st-century composers such as Carl Orff, Igor Stravinsky, Michael Tippett, Paul Hindemith, Krzysztof Penderecki, Bernard Rands, Hans Werner Henze, György Ligeti and Tobias Picker, as well as many mid-generation and young composers, including Jörg Widmann, Toshio Hosokawa, Chaya Czernowin, Howard Shore, Atsuhiko Gondai, Fazil Say, Andrew Norman and Richard Ayres, among many others. Schott’s international team of music industry professionals works closely together to develop, produce and promote the very best catalogue of music of our time. Schott is also recognized as a leading innovator in the field, reinventing music publishing with new additions to its program, including the digital edition PSNY and Notafina, a music download service.

ABOUT THE WORKS

Creator Hailed by The New York Times as “striking and resourceful” and “handsomely brooding,” Hannah Lash’s music has been performed worldwide at venues such as The TimesCenter in Manhattan, the Art Institute of Chicago, Tanglewood Music Center, Harvard University, the MusicX festival in Switzerland, the Chelsea Art Museum and American Opera Project’s stage in New York City. Commissions include The Fromm Foundation, The Naumburg Foundation, Boston Symphony Chamber Players, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra,

Carnegie Hall, American Composers Orchestra, Orchestra of the Swan, The Orpheus Duo, Talujon Percussion, The Howard Hanson Foundation’s Commissioning Fund, Case Western Reserve’s University Circle Wind Ensemble, MAYA and the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble.

Lash has received numerous honors and prizes, including the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a fellowship from Yaddo, the Naumburg Prize in Composition, the Bernard Rogers Prize in Composition, the Bernard and Rose Sernoffsky Prize in Composition and numerous academic awards. Lash obtained her Ph.D. in composition from Harvard University in 2010. She has held teaching positions at Harvard University and Alfred University, and she currently serves on the composition faculty at Yale University School of Music.

The Invention of MorelSynopsis The opera is based on La invencion de Morel, a 1940 novel by the influential Argentine author Adolfo Bioy Casares. An escaped fugitive arrives on an isolated, strange island. While exploring his surroundings, he observes a group of tourists, including one particularly beautiful woman with whom he becomes obsessed. However, something is not quite right in this paradise. He discovers these eccentric visitors exist in an alternate reality created by a futuristic invention of Morel, a mad, scientific genius who willingly leads the group to their death.

SCORE AND PRODUCTION DETAILS Publisher: G. Schirmer World Premiere: spring 2017, Long Beach Opera and Chicago Opera Theater Duration: TBD Instrumental Forces: flute, bass clarinet, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, bass trombone, 2 percussion, piano, electric guitar and strings Year of Composition: 2016 Based on: The novel by Adolfo Bioy Casares Setting: a deserted island in Polynesia

Characters Narrator, baritone Ombrellieri, tenor Stoever, bass Dora, soprano

Duchess, mezzo-soprano Alec, tenor Faustine, soprano Morel, tenor

Nominating Organization One of the United States’ most venerable music publishing names, G. Schirmer grew out of the New York-based Kerksieg and Bruesing Company, founded in 1848. By the start of the 20th century, G. Schirmer, Inc. was internationally renowned, not just for 18th- and 19th-century music, but as a champion and publisher of contemporary works. In 1964, it acquired Associated Music Publishers (AMP), gaining a significant catalogue of American composers.

The company remained in the Schirmer family for just over a century before it was acquired by publishing giant Macmillan in 1968. The Music Sales Group then acquired both Schirmer and AMP from Macmillan in 1986, taking the imprint to new heights with the Hal Leonard Corporation acting as sole print distributor. Today the Schirmer and AMP catalogues are impressive in both scope and scale, ranging from elder statesmen (Riley, Husa, Previn and Schuller) to prestigious contemporary composers (Adams, Corigliano, Harbison, Kernis, Sheng, Tan Dun, Thomas and Tower). The catalogue also includes operas by Adamo, Aucoin, Catán, Copeland, Corigliano, Dorman, Harbison, Mechum, Mazzoli, Previn, Rodriguez, Stookey, Tan Dun and Menotti, and the music of Barber, Carter, Cowell, Ellington, Gould, Ives, Kirchner, Lieberson, Piston, Schoenberg, Schumann and Thomson.

Creators Stewart Copeland has spent three decades in the forefront of contemporary music as a rock star, acclaimed film score writer and composer in the disparate worlds of opera, ballet, world music and chamber music. In 1977, Copeland formed The Police, a band that became a defining force in rock music. He spent 20 years as a successful film and TV composer, working for the likes of Francis Ford Coppola on Rumble Fish and Oliver Stone on Wall Street. Copeland went on to form Animal Logic with Stanley Clarke and Oysterhead with Trey Anastasio and Les Claypool, meanwhile

finding time to win the Archie David Cup with his polo team. His first opera, Holy Blood and the Crescent Moon, was commissioned for the Cleveland Opera in 1989. In April 2011, he wrote a short opera based on the Edgar Allan Poe story “The Tell-Tale Heart,” which premiered at the Royal Opera House in London.

This season, Copeland premieres his new percussion concerto, Tyrant’s Crush, with the Pittsburgh Symphony, followed by performances with the New West Symphony. He remounts his score for MGM’s silent film classic Ben-Hur, performing with the Seattle Rock Orchestra, Pacific Symphony and Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra. Awards include the keys to the city of Milan, the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters, five Grammys and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Through it all, a sense of humor and appreciation for his utterly unique career has shone through as Copeland has enjoyed working in a remarkable array of genres.

Jonathan Moore is an award-winning actor, writer and director. As an actor, he has played leading roles at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Court, Donmar and Royal Exchange, as well as on film, BBC TV and radio. He has directed theater and opera world premieres at the Almeida, Donmar, West End, Royal Exchange, Gate, English National Opera, Covent Garden and La Fenice in Venice, among many others. He has directed plays from contemporary to Shakespeare, as well as world premieres by composers such as Turnage, MacMillan, Henze, Schnittke, Nyman and

Copeland. His early work was sponsored by Joe Strummer of The Clash, and he collaborated with members of the punk band Killing Joke and with industrial music group Test Dept.

A published playwright and librettist, Moore has had his work performed at leading theaters, including Donmar, Royal Exchange and Gate, as well as on BBC TV and radio. Moore was asked by Mark Rylance to direct the large-scale, immersive, site-specific project for over 50 performers, titled What You Will, a co-production of Shakespeare’s Globe, The Cultural Olympiad and the Mayor’s Office. His latest play, INIGO, about Ignatius of Loyola and the Jesuits, had a successful Off West End run and was transferred to the Main House of the Pleasance. Moore is due to direct a large-scale, site-specific, immersive project for Ludovico Einaudi in Italy and a new opera project with Stewart Copeland. He has spoken on the arts at the Oxford University Union and on several BBC TV and radio programs. He is on the Artistic Advisory Committee of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He has been a Who’s Who entrant since 2007.

A Thousand Splendid Suns, the OperaSynopsis Set in contemporary Afghanistan, A Thousand Splendid Suns is an intimate and inspiring story about women living “behind the veil.” Adapted from the novel by Khaled Hosseini, it follows the lives of two women: Mariam, the bastard child of a rich man, and Laila, the daughter of an enlightened schoolteacher. Twenty years apart in age, each is forced into marriage with the same older, troubled and cruel man when they are just teenagers. Cold to one another at first, the women grow to find consolation and courage in each other as the damaged nation around them mirrors the violence and confusion in their own household. Striving for a better life for themselves and their children, their acts of sacrifice and heroism reveal the indestructible bond of love that binds them together, like mother and daughter.

SCORE AND PRODUCTION DETAILS Publisher: Argenta Music World Premiere: TBD; scheduled for completion in 2018 Duration: 140 minutes Instrumental Forces: 2.1+1.2.2 - 4.2.1+bass.1 –2 perc, str, tabla, bansuri Year of Composition: 2013–2018 Based on: the novel by Khaled Hosseini Setting: Kabul, Afghanistan, in the 20th and 21st centuries

Principal Characters Mariam, mezzo-soprano Laila, soprano Rasheed, baritone Tariq, tenor

Secondary Characters Nana, dramatic soprano Fariba, mezzo-soprano Hakim, baritone Aziza, girl age 4–8 (non-singing) Zalmai, boy age 4–6 (singing) Wajma, soprano Jalil, tenor Abdhul Sharif, tenor

Wakil, tenor Mullah, bass Wife #1, mezzo Wife #2, soprano Wife #3, soprano 3 Market Women, sopranos Neighbors

Nominating Organization Founded in 1988, American Opera Projects is at the forefront of the contemporary opera movement, commissioning, developing, presenting and producing opera and music-theater projects, collaborating with young, rising and established artists, and engaging audiences in unique and transformative theatrical experiences. AOP has produced over 30 world premieres, including Kaminsky’s As One, Okoye’s Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line to Freedom and Auerbach’s The Blind, a co-production with Lincoln Center Festival. Other operas premiered with co-producers include Weisman’s The Scarlet Ibis at PROTOTYPE, Perla’s Love/Hate at ODC Theater with San Francisco Opera and Schwartz’s Séance on a Wet Afternoon at New York City Opera. AOP’s core programs comprise Composers & the Voice, First Chance, OPERAtion Brooklyn, I Hear America Singing and AOP Helping Hands.

Creators Sheila Silver’s compositions have been commissioned and performed internationally. Germany’s Wetterauer Zeitung wrote of Silver: “Only a few composers in any generation enliven the art form with their musical language and herald new directions in music. Sheila Silver is such a visionary.” Recent honors include a 2014 OPERA America Discovery Grant for Female Composers, funded by The Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, and a 2013 Guggenheim Fellowship — both for the opera she is currently composing, which is based on A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Other honors include the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Prize in Composition; Bunting Institute Fellowship; Rome Prize; Prix de Paris; American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Composer Award; and awards and commissions from The Rockefeller Foundation, Camargo Foundation, The MacDowell Colony, New York State Council on the Arts, Barlow Foundation, The Fromm Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Cary Trust.

Silver recently returned from a six-month stay in Pune, India, where she studied Hindustani music with Pandit Kedar Narayan Bodas. Her intention is to incorporate an authentic Hindustani color (Hindustani music is at the core of the music of Afghanistan, where her opera takes place) into her Western voice. Over the past 25 years, Silver has composed several substantial works for Gilbert Kalish: Sonata for Cello and Piano (1988, CRI/New World Records), Six Preludes for Piano on Poems of Baudelaire (1992, CRI/NWR), Twilight’s Last Gleaming (2007, Bridge), for two pianos and percussion, and Two Songs for Diane, in memoriam (2012), for soprano and piano.

Stephen Kitsakos is a librettist, author and theater journalist. For the American composer Sheila Silver, he wrote the libretto for the chamber opera The Wooden Sword (2009), winner of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Prize in Composition; a cantata for women’s vocal quartet, The White Rooster: A Tale of Compassion (2010), commissioned by the Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries; and the opera A Thousand Splendid Suns (2015), based on the international bestselling novel by Khaled Hosseini. An advocate of the transformational power of art, Kitsakos

explores in his work the connection between the healing power of the performing arts and the use of sacred texts to inspire contemporary storytelling.

A graduate of NYU and a writer member of ASCAP, the Dramatists Guild and the BMI Lehman Engel Workshops, Kitsakos has received writing commissions and support from the New York State Council on the Arts, the Catskill Watershed Corporation, the BMI Foundation, The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art and the Episcopal Diocese of New York. His recent novel The Accidental Pilgrim, set at an archaeological dig in Northern Israel, explores the intersection between science and religion. It was released by ASD Publishing in 2015. A contributing writer to The Sondheim Review, as well as Music in American Life, Kitsakos is the former assistant chair of the Department of Theatre Arts at SUNY New Paltz, where he taught courses in performance and theater studies from 1999 to 2013. Currently, he splits his time between Key West and New York City.

Dream of the Red ChamberSynopsis Dream of the Red Chamber, a masterpiece of Chinese fiction, is a detailed, episodic record of the lives of members of the Jia clan, whose good fortune is assured when one of its daughters becomes an imperial concubine, and then declines after her death. The story centers on a love triangle consisting of the main character, Bao Yu, his beautiful cousin Dai Yu, and his future wife, another beautiful cousin named Bao Chai. Bright Sheng and David Henry Hwang have adapted Cao Xueqin’s epic 18th-century Qing Dynasty novel, with a focus on eight central characters, to tell the tale of the illustrious Jia clan and trace the Jias’ fall from the height of their prestige. Often considered a semi-autobiographical novel, the tale is framed by Sheng and Hwang with a prologue and epilogue led by The Monk, who may be the author himself.

SCORE AND PRODUCTION DETAILS Publisher: G. Schirmer World Premiere: fall 2016, San Francisco Opera Duration: 135 minutes Instrumental Forces: 2.2.2.2-2.2.1.0-hp.pf-str-2 Chinese instruments Year of Composition: 2011–2015 Based on: the novel by Cao Xueqin Setting: 18th-century China

Characters Bao Yu/Divine Stone, lyric tenor Dai Yu/Crimson Petal Flower, lyric coloratura soprano Bao Chai, light mezzo-soprano Mme. Wang, full lyric mezzo-soprano

Granny Jia, alto Princess Jia, full lyric soprano Aunt Xue, mezzo-soprano The Monk, male actor

Nominating Organization Founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola, San Francisco Opera is internationally recognized as one of the great opera companies in the world. San Francisco Opera’s mission is to present opera performances of the highest international quality available to the widest possible audiences; to perpetuate and enrich the operatic art form; to be creative and innovative in all aspects of opera; and to take a leadership role in professional training, arts education and audience development. The company’s succession of leaders include Kurt Adler, Terence McEwen, Lotfi Mansouri and Pamela Rosenberg. David Gockley became the sixth and current general director in January 2006. Matthew Shilvock, San Francisco Opera’s current associate general director, was named general director designate, effective August 1, 2016. Gockley is the undisputed champion of new work, having commissioned over 40 operas during his career, 10 at San Francisco Opera.

Creators Bright Sheng is respected as one of the leading composers of our time, whose stage, orchestral, chamber and vocal works are performed regularly by the greatest performing arts institutions throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Proclaimed by the MacArthur Foundation in 2001 as “an innovative composer who merges diverse musical customs in works that transcend conventional aesthetic boundaries,” Sheng creates music with a strong Asian influence. However, it is the synthesis with Western musical traditions that makes his work truly distinctive

and original, an outcome from his profound understanding of both cultures. As Sheng admits, “I consider myself both 100 percent American and 100 percent Asian.”

In September 2016, San Francisco Opera will premiere Sheng’s commissioned opera Dream of the Red Chamber, featuring a libretto by David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly and Chinglish) and Sheng based on a beloved Chinese novel by the 18th-century writer Cao Xueqin. In addition to composing, Sheng enjoys an active career as a conductor and concert pianist, and he frequently acts as music advisor and artistic director to orchestras and festivals. He is currently the Leonard Bernstein Distinguished University Professor at University of Michigan and the Y. K. Pao Distinguished Visiting Professor at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where, in 2011, he became the founding artistic director of The Intimacy of Creativity — The Bright Sheng Partnership: Composers Meet Performers in Hong Kong. Sheng was born in 1955 in Shanghai and moved to New York in 1982 to pursue graduate work, study composition and conduct privately with his mentor Leonard Bernstein. Bright Sheng’s music is exclusively published by G. Schirmer, Inc.

To call David Henry Hwang a major American dramatist is something of an understatement. Described by The New York Times as “a true original” and by Time magazine as “the first important dramatist of American public life since Arthur Miller,” Hwang is best known as the author of M. Butterfly. That enduring 1988 work, which won a Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, John Gassner Award and Outer Critics Circle Award, was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His play Golden Child premiered Off Broadway at the Joseph Papp Public Theater, received an Obie

Award and subsequently played on Broadway, where it received three Tony nominations. Yellow Face, which premiered at Los Angeles’ Mark Taper Forum and New York’s Public Theater, also won an Obie Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Chinglish premiered at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, where it won a 2011 Jefferson Award for Best New Work before moving to Broadway and being named Best New American Play of 2011 by Time magazine.

According to Opera News, Hwang is America’s most-produced living opera librettist. He has written four works with composer Philip Glass, including 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, and his libretti have been performed at the Metropolitan Opera, The Santa Fe Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Lincoln Center, Spoleto Festival USA and elsewhere. The Deutsche Grammophon recording of his libretto for Ainadamar won two Grammy Awards after having spent time at the top of Billboard magazine’s classical music charts. His most recent libretto is for An American Soldier, with music by Huang Ruo. The opera premiered at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater in June 2014.

A Grammy-nominated conductor and acclaimed composer, Julian Wachner has transformed both the baroque and contemporary musical landscapes in New York City through his position

as director of music and the arts at Trinity Wall Street. At Trinity, he oversees an annual season of hundreds of events, with duties including conducting Trinity’s flagship weekly series, Bach at One, canvassing the entire sacred output of J. S. Bach. In addition, Wachner curates the longstanding and cherished series Concerts at One, presenting an eclectic program for Lower Manhattan and beyond through its live HD webcasting. Also at Trinity Wall Street, Wachner serves as the principal conductor of NOVUS NY (Trinity’s resident contemporary music orchestra), as well as Trinity Baroque Orchestra and the Choir of Trinity Wall Street, both of which were nominated for a 2012 Grammy award for Handel’s complete Israel in Egypt on the Musica Omnia label.In 2010, Wachner made New York City Opera history when he was selected as both conductor and composer at the company’s annual VOX festival of contemporary opera, leading to the invitation to be the sole conductor of this festival in 2012. His extensive catalogue of compositions has been variously described as “jazzy, energetic and ingenious” (Boston Globe), having “splendor, dignity, outstanding tone combinations, sophisticated chromatic exploration … a rich backdrop, wavering between a glimmer and a tingle…” (La Scena Musicale), being “a compendium of surprises” (The Washington Post), and as “bold and atmospheric,” having “an imaginative flair for allusive text setting” (The New York Times). The American Record Guide noted that “Wachner is both an unapologetic modernist and an open-minded eclectic — his music has something to say.”

Originally from Slovenia, Daniela Candillari is a sought-after conductor, pianist and composer. In the 2015– 2016 season, Candillari conducts the world premiere of Stefania de Kenessey’s

opera Bonfire of the Vanities at Museo del Barrio in New York City and a concert of American music at Bruno Walter Auditorium, while also serving as Czech diction coach for the Opera Department at Manhattan School of Music. Additionally, she serves as assistant conductor to Julian Wachner for the New Opera Showcase produced by OPERA America and Trinity Wall Street and as assistant conductor to Pierre Vallet at Manhattan School of Music. She premieres two new compositions: Extremely Loud, for bass trombone and piano, and a realization of Rachmaninoff’s Vespers with Gravity Shift. Candillari is also scheduled to record a CD of arrangements of Serbian folk songs with Alma Micic. She is the founder, artistic director and conductor of the New York-based Chamber Orchestra Gravity Shift, which recently performed a staged version of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater at The Crypt in New York City.As a collaborative pianist, Candillari has collaborated with Bryn Terfel, Dame Felicity Lott, Stephanie Blythe, Elizabeth Futral, Håkan Hagegård, Carol Vaness, Martina Arroyo, Roger Vignoles, Dominic Argento, William Bolcom, Anton Nanut, Marko Letonja and Vasiliy Petrenko. In the 2013–2014 season, Candillari served as assistant conductor for Sarasota Opera, pianist and coach for Puccini’s Tosca with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and as coach and assistant conductor for Mozart’s Così fan tutte at St. George’s Hall with the European Opera Center in collaboration with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. She has also served as the assistant music director for two concerts with the European Opera Center.

CONDUCTORS

Grammy-nominated conductor Sara Jobin has a passion for opera, new and American repertoire, and sacred music. In 2004, she had the honor of making history as the first woman to conduct

mainstage subscription performances at San Francisco Opera, conducting Tosca with Carol Vaness and Der fliegende Holländer with Nina Stemme, and she has returned to their podium for 16 performances of five different productions since then, including Philip Glass’ Appomattox and the world premiere production of The Secret Garden. She is chief conductor of the Center for Contemporary Opera in New York, interim resident conductor of the Toledo Symphony and associate conductor of the Toledo Opera. She has guest conducted for the opera companies in Arizona, Pittsburgh, Santa Barbara, Anchorage, Tacoma and Idaho (where she is music director of the Made In America series). She has led American operas in Szeged and Avignon and brought one in workshop form to Shanghai. Her first full-length recording, the hilarious Volpone by John Musto, was nominated for a 2010 Grammy for Best Opera Recording. Her discography also proudly includes a Brubeck premiere with beloved mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade. Her upcoming engagements include Il barbiere di Siviglia with Lyric Opera Baltimore, concerts with the Toledo Symphony and the premiere of Louis Karchin’s Jane Eyre with the Center for Contemporary Opera.Named a Leonard Bernstein Music Scholar by Harvard College, Jobin tends to defy traditional categories. Tired of operas where the women die victimized by society, Jobin founded the Different Voice Opera Project in collaboration with Carol Gilligan.

A native of Iceland, tenor Thor Arbjornsson began his vocal studies in Iceland before moving to the U.S. in 2003 to study first at Oklahoma University and then at Oberlin College Conservatory, where

he received his degree. He has been a Studio Artist with Sarasota Opera, an Opera Tampa New Artist and an apprentice with The Santa Fe Opera and Aspen Music Festival. He has also been a fellow at the Music Academy of the West. He made his U.S. debut with The Cleveland Orchestra in Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol under the baton of Pierre Boulez. Arbjornsson is a frequent performer of oratorio music, which has brought him to distinguished music halls such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Severance Hall in Cleveland, Knight Concert Hall in Miami and Orpheum Theater in Vancouver. He has been a recitalist throughout Iceland and the U.S., and as a “crossover” artist, he sang over 200 performances of Musica della Notte at Lowes Portofino Bay Hotel, Universal Orlando.

Tenor Jonathan Blalock has earned critical praise for his recent portrayal of the title role in Paul’s Case by Gregory Spears. Steve Smith of The New York Times stated that Blalock was “riveting in the title role:

his voice sweet and true, his thin smile telegraphing Paul’s honeyed contempt for his working class surroundings in a steel-dominated Pittsburgh.” In the 2013–2014 season, he debuted with Washington National Opera in the world premiere of An American Soldier, joined the Portland Symphony for “The Magic of Christmas,” debuted in Paul’s Case at the PROTOTYPE Festival and debuted in Fantastic Mr. Fox with OPERA San

Antonio. Blalock recently completed two seasons as an apprentice with The Santa Fe Opera, where he covered two Rossini roles: Rodrigo (La donna del Lago) and Condulmiero (Maometto II). In addition, he sang scenes as Peter Quint (The Turn of the Screw) and the title role in Le Comte Ory, as well as covered the Bailiff in the world premiere of Theodore Morrison’s Oscar.

Baritone Jesse Blumberg is equally at home on opera, concert and recital stages, performing repertoire from the Renaissance and Baroque to the 20th and 21st centuries. His performances have

included the world premiere of The Grapes of Wrath at Minnesota Opera, Niobe, Regina di Tebe with Boston Early Music Festival, Bernstein’s MASS at London’s Royal Festival Hall, and appearances with The Atlanta Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Utah Opera and Boston Lyric Opera. Recital highlights include appearances with the Marilyn Horne Foundation and New York Festival of Song, and performances of Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise with pianist Martin Katz. He has performed major works with American Bach Soloists, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Boston Baroque, Oratorio Society of New York, Apollo’s Fire, Charlotte Symphony and TENET/Green Mountain Project, as well as on Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series.

Noted for her “dazzling, virtuoso singing” (Boston Globe) and “musically stunning and dramatically chilling” performances (Twin Cities Daily Planet), soprano Lucy Fitz Gibbon is a dynamic

musician whose repertoire spans the Baroque to

ARTISTS

the present. Recent concerts include solo appearances with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, American Classical Orchestra, Tulsa Symphony and American Symphony Orchestra (in her Carnegie Hall debut). Believing that creating new works and recreating those lost from centuries past is integral to classical music’s future, Gibbon is a champion of the unexplored corners of music history as well as new frontiers. Upcoming performances include works ranging from Agostino Agazzari’s 1606 proto-opera Eumelio (Eumelio) to new compositions for voice and ensemble by Loren Loiacono, Kate Soper and Oliver Knussen. Following two summers at the Tanglewood Music Center, she will be in residence at the Marlboro Music Festival in 2016.

Grammy-nominated mezzo-soprano Margaret Lattimore has been praised for her “glorious instrument” and dubbed an “undisputed star … who has it all — looks, intelligence, musicianship,

personality, technique and a voice of bewitching amber color” by the Boston Globe. While she began her career singing works of Handel, Rossini and Mozart, Lattimore has expanded her repertoire in recent seasons to include the works of Mahler, Verdi and Wagner, making her one of the most versatile mezzo-sopranos performing today. This season, Lattimore sings Mrs. Patrick DeRocher in Dead Man Walking at New Orleans Opera, Bach’s B-Minor Mass with Soli Deo Gloria under Maestro John Nelson, Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody with Riverside Choral Society and Verdi’s Requiem with Opera Grand Rapids. As a champion of contemporary works, Lattimore has worked with some of the most gifted American composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, including John Harbison, Jake Heggie, Ricky Ian

Gordon, Nico Muhly, John Musto, Stephen Paulus, Daniel Kellogg and Lawrence Siegel.

Ron Loyd has been recognized by The New York Times as a “robust baritone” and “agile comedian” and by The Sondheim Review for his “opulent baritone and nuanced phrasing.” His recent

performances include Gilgenstock in Richard Strauss’ Feuersnot with the American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, Tonio in Pagliacci with Mobile Opera, Ford in Falstaff with Winter Opera St. Louis, Leporello in Don Giovanni with Opera Southwest, Sweeney Todd with LOOK Musical Theatre; and Rigoletto with Salt Marsh Opera. He was a soloist with Ridgefield Symphony for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and with Helena Symphony for Copland’s Old American Songs and Kile Smith’s Psalm 46. Loyd is often recruited for first readings of new American works with organizations such as Music-Theatre Group (The Wing Wherewith), Ardea Arts (BOUNCE) and American Opera Projects (A Thousand Splendid Suns). His upcoming appearances include recitals with Baltimore Concert Opera and a return to the little OPERA theatre of NY as Scarpia in Puccini’s Tosca this spring.

Christopher Magiera has been noted for possessing a “manly, vibrant baritone of uncommon distinction” (Opera Today). He has been seen on stages throughout the world in leading baritone

repertoire with renowned conductors such as Kent Nagano, Riccardo Frizza, Asher Fisch, Vladimir Jurowski, Emmanuel Villaume, Stephen Lord, Pier Giorgio Morandi and Frederic Chaslin.

Acclaimed performances of Magiera’s include the Captain in The Death of Klinghoffer with English National Opera and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis; Valentin (Faust) and Zurga (Les Pêcheurs de perles) with The Santa Fe Opera; the title role in Eugene Onegin with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis; Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Conte Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) and Papageno (Die Zauberflöte) with the Dresden Semperoper; and the title role of Don Giovanni with Opera Colorado. In February, Magiera will appear as a soloist in concerts of Bach cantatas with Toledo Symphony Orchestra.

Molly Netter enlivens complex and beautiful music with a voice described as “crisp and clear, white yet warm” (Seen and Heard International). Known for having “exquisite poise” (The New York Times)

and imbuing “every word of the text with signification” (The Examiner), she has performed as a soloist with the Grammy-nominated Choir of Trinity Wall Street, Les Canards Chantant, the Clarion Music Society, Geneva Light Opera, Yale Opera, Heartbeat Opera and Experiments in Opera, as well as with Julliard415 at Lincoln Center, touring internationally to Japan, Singapore and Myanmar under Masaaki Suzuki and with the Triplepoint contemporary jazz ensemble. Netter holds a Bachelor of Music degree in composition and contemporary voice from Oberlin Conservatory and a master’s degree in early music voice and oratorio from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, where she studied with James Taylor and Ted Taylor. Between degrees, she taught English in Kyoto, Japan.

Soprano Amy Owens is establishing herself as a versatile performer with comedic flair, a knack for new music and a soaring high range. During her two-year residency with Utah Opera,

she was praised in Opera News for her “vivacious enthusiasm,” “engaging, bell-like soprano,” and “high-flying vocals.” Her 2015–2016 season includes appearances with the Utah Symphony as Le Feu, La Princesse and Le Rossignol in L’Enfant et les sortilèges and Mater Gloriosa in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8. In summer 2016, she will join Wolf Trap Opera, where she will sing Lucia in The Rape of Lucretia and Porporina in Gassmann’s L’opera seria. Last season included appearances with Wolf Trap as Florestine in The Ghosts of Versailles and Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro. Owens is the recipient of a Sullivan Award and a George London Foundation Encouragement Award. She is also a two-time New York District winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

Praised by The New York Times as a “luminous tenor,” Vale Rideout will perform in the 2015–2016 season as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte with Opera Coeur d’Alene and Alfred in Die Fledermaus with New

Orleans Opera. Recent highlights include his return engagements with Florentine Opera as Edgar Linton in Floyd’s Wuthering Heights, Davey Palmer in Dove’s Siren Song with Hawaii Opera Theatre and Mendelssohn’s St. Paul at Carnegie Hall with New York Choral Society. Past engagements have included Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings at Trinity Wall Street, conducted by Julian Wachner; Britten’s War

Requiem with The Washington Chorus, New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic; La Damnation de Faust with Richmond Symphony; the title role in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex at Rutgers University; Alfredo in La traviata with Eugene Opera; and Roméo in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette with Kentucky Opera.

Mezzo-soprano Aleksandra Romano, hailed as representing “the best of the new operatic training and integrated performance,” is currently in her second season of Washington National

Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program. Her recent performance in Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince was described as “a warm, exquisite fox, played and sung in dazzling style” (The Georgetowner). Winner of a 2015 Sullivan Foundation Career Development Grant, Romano appears with Washington National Opera in 2015–2016 as Mercedes in Carmen and Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, while also covering the role of Wellgunde in Das Rheingold. She joined the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program in the 2014–2015 season, singing the Fox in The Little Prince, Sister Mathilde in Dialogues des Carmélites and Angelina (cover) in La Cenerentola. In summer 2015, Romano appeared at The Glimmerglass Festival to sing the Second Lady in The Magic Flute, Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti (performed as a part of the Meet Me at the Pavilion series) and Marzia (cover) in Vivaldi’s Catone in Utica.

Soprano Vira Slywotzky has sung with Seattle Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Chelsea Opera, the Center for Contemporary Opera, Light Opera of New York, Sarasota

Opera and Boston Midsummer Opera. Favorite roles include Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Nedda (Pagliacci), Tatyana (Eugene Onegin), Helena (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Komponist (Ariadne auf Naxos), Giorgetta (Il tabarro), Roxanne (Cyrano de Bergerac), Magda (The Consul) and the title role in Vanessa. Since 2008, Slywotzky has been the soprano of Mirror Visions Ensemble, a vocal trio that is internationally recognized for its innovative programming, nuanced performances and extensive commissioning. Slywotzky is a founding member of the New York-based Victor Herbert Renaissance Project — LIVE!; she performs three Herbert shows with the company each season. In 2009, she represented the USA at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. Slywotzky serves on the board of the Berkshire Opera Festival.

Called “charismatic” and “riveting” by The New York Times, bass-baritone Jonathan Woody is a sought-after performer of early and new music across the United States. He is a member of the

Grammy-nominated Choir of Trinity Wall Street and has performed in recent seasons with New York Baroque Incorporated, Bach Collegium San Diego, Nashville Symphony, Pegasus Early Music, Spire Chamber Ensemble, the Carmel Bach Festival, the Oregon Bach Festival, Opera Lafayette, New Amsterdam Presents and Beth Morrison Productions. Woody holds degrees from the University of Maryland, College Park, and McGill University and currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.

violin 1 Miho Segusa Anna Elashvili Karen Kim Jennifer Choi Regi Papa

violin 2 Adda Kridler Asmira Woodward-Page Salley Koo Sarah Zun Edson Scheid

viola Jessica Meyer Mark Holloway Stephanie Griffin Nathan Schram

cello Raman Ramakrishnan Ashley Bathgate Michael Katz

bass Brian Ellingsen Kris Saebo

guitar Nadav Lev

flute 1 Barry Crawford

flute 2 Anna Urrey

oboe 1 Stuart Breczinski

oboe 2 Arthur Sato

clarinet 1 Romie de Guise-Langlois

clarinet 2 Benjamin Fingland

bassoon 1 Brad Balliett

bassoon 2 Christopher Wickham

horn 1 Eric Reed

horn 2 Chad Yarbrough

horn 3 Steven Sherts

horn 4 Julia Umphress

trumpet 1 Gareth Flowers

trumpet 2 Jeff Missal

trumpet 3 Walker Beard

trombone 1 Nicole Abissi

trombone 2 Amanda Hudson

bass trombone John Ferrone

tuba Ben Vokitz

percussion 1 Jared Soldiviero

percussion 2 John Ostrowski

percussion 3 Andy Blanco

harp Caroline Cole

piano/keyboard/celeste Kelly Lin

NOVUS NY JULIAN WACHNER, PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR

Beowulf Ensembleviolin Miho Segusa

saxophone Geoffrey Landman

clarinets Romie de Guise-Langlois

percussion Jared Soldiviero

violin Miho Segusa Adda Kridler

viola Jessica Meyer

cello Raman Ramakrishnan

bass Brian Ellingsen

guitar Nadav Lev

flute Barry Crawford

clarinet Rome de Guise-Langlois

clarinet and bass clarinet Benjamin Fingland

bassoon Brad Balliett

trumpet Gareth Flowers Nicole Abissi

bass trombone John Ferrone

percussion John Ostrowski Jared Soldiviero

keyboards Kelly Lin

Invention of Morel Ensemble

Trinity Wall Street is an Episcopal parish that has been a part of New York City since 1697. Located in the heart of Manhattan’s Financial District, Trinity has created a dynamic home for great music. Serving as director of Trinity’s Music and the Arts Program — as well as principal conductor of the Grammy-nominated Choir of Trinity Wall Street, period-instrument Trinity Baroque Orchestra and contemporary music ensemble-in-residence NOVUS NY — Julian Wachner also oversees all liturgical, professional and community Music and Arts programming at Trinity Church and St. Paul’s Chapel. The music at Trinity ranges from large-scale oratorios to chamber music, from intimate a cappella singing to jazz improvisation. All concerts at Trinity Wall Street are professionally filmed and webcast live at trinitywallstreet.org.

Trinity Wall Street Staff The Rev. Dr. William Lupfer, Rector The Rev. Phillip A. Jackson, Vicar

Music and the Arts Staff Julian Wachner, Director Melissa Attebury, Associate Director Melissa Baker, Administrator Avi Stein, Organist and Chorus Master Joshua Slater, Program Manager for Liturgical Arts Walker Beard, Stage Manager and Program Coordinator Harrison Joyce, Music Librarian Ariana Dimock, Music Librarian Assistant

Media Production and Operations Joshua Deeter, Stage Manager Michael McGuinness, Director Luke Mess, Robotic Camera Operator Rich Lamb, Recording Engineer Casey Savage, House Audio Engineer

ABOUT TRINITY WALL STREET

NOVUS NY is Trinity Wall Street’s contemporary music orchestra. Hailed by The New Yorker as “expert and versatile musicians,” NOVUS NY conquers a variety of new music repertoire meeting “every challenge with an impressive combination of discipline and imagination” (New York Classical Review).

In its first season, NOVUS NY was featured in Trinity’s observance of the 10th anniversary of the events of 9/11. Of the weeklong tribute The New York Times wrote, “If there is such a thing as a musical blessing, Trinity Church conferred it on a neighborhood and a city still in need of one.” The orchestra is an integral part of Trinity’s musical outreach, which has included such critically acclaimed series as Twelve in ’12, the Stravinsky Festival, Celebrating Britten and Lamentatio.

NOVUS NY recorded Elena Ruehr’s Averno for the Avie label and released a three-CD set of Julian Wachner’s orchestral works on the Musica Omnia label. The orchestra was also featured in Ellen Reid’s Winter’s Child with the PROTOTYPE Festival, as well as a concert reading of Du Yun’s new opera Angel’s Bone, which will have its staged world premiere in 2016. NOVUS NY recently made its milestone Carnegie Hall debut with Charles Ives’ Symphony No. 4 and Ginastera’s Turbae ad Passionem Gregorianam.

In 2015–2016, NOVUS NY will be featured in the world premiere of Trinity’s Mass Reimaginings commissions as well as performances with OPERA America. NOVUS will also be an integral part of Revolutions, Trinity’s festival celebrating the centenary of Ginastera’s birth.

OPERA America leads and serves the entire opera community, supporting the creation, presentation and enjoyment of opera. The organization provides artistic services that help opera companies and artists improve the quality of productions and increase the creation and presentation of new works; information, technical and administrative services that strengthen leadership among staff, trustees and volunteers at opera companies; and education, audience development and community services that enhance all forms of opera appreciation.

Founded in 1970, OPERA America has a worldwide membership network that includes nearly 200 Company Members, 300 Associate and Business Members, 1,000 Individual Members and more than 15,000 subscribers to the association’s electronic news service. In response to the critical need for suitable audition, rehearsal and recording facilities, OPERA America opened the first-ever National Opera Center in New York City, which now welcomes over 75,000 people each year. With a wide range of artistic and administrative services in a purpose-built facility, OPERA America is dedicated to increasing the level of excellence, creativity and effectiveness across the field.

Visit operaamerica.org/Join to learn more about becoming a member of OPERA America.

New Works Showcase Videos Cara Consilvio, Director/Producer Kat Croft, Cinematographer David Kaplowitz, London Cameraman Rachel Carey, Editor

These videos were generously funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

OPERA America Showcase Production Team Laura Lee Everett, Executive Producer Justin Giles, Production Crew Jeffrey Larson, Supervising Producer John Lynd, Technical Manager Alyssa Meyers, Stage Manager Ben Newman, Special Events and Catering Coordinator Nicholas Roberts, Opera Center Manager Audrey Saccone, Digital Media Manager Ben Young, Audio Engineer

Special thanks to Trinity Church and NOVUS NY for their collaboration and contributions to producing the New Opera Showcase.

The New Opera Showcase is presented as part of OPERA America’s 2016 New Works Forum. Generous support for the Forum, Showcase and New Works Exploration Grants are all provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. We are grateful for their continued support for the development of new work.

ABOUT OPERA AMERICA

Upcoming OPERA America Events and OpportunitiesNew Works Exploration Grants OPERA America’s New Works Exploration Grants provide financial support for Professional Company Member representatives to attend a performance or workshop of a new North American work and meet with the piece’s creative artists and administrators. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through June 15. Learn more at operaamerica.org/Grants.

Masters at Work: Crafting an Opera with Carlisle Floyd The dean of American opera sits down with OPERA America President/CEO Marc A. Scorca to discuss his latest work, Prince of Players, set to premiere this spring at Houston Grand Opera. Join us for this special series in which we will explore the genesis of his opera-in-progress. March 18 and April 15, 2016

Onstage at the Opera Center: Spring Season We invite you to join us for the 2016 spring season of Onstage at the Opera Center, featuring stars and emerging artists from our field. Featured artists include soprano Sondra Radvanovsky (March 3), composer Jake Heggie (March 15), mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard (April 7) and baritone John Brancy (May 5). All events take place at the National Opera Center. For more information, visit operaamerica.org/Onstage.

Opera Conference 2016: Global Strategies/Local Actions As part of Opera Conference 2016 in Montréal, taking place from May 18 to 21, OPERA America is planning a variety of new works activities, including a New Works Forum meeting, the New Works Sampler and other sessions specific to new works. For more information and to register, visit conference.operaamerica.org.

New Works Forum 2017 OPERA America will present the sixth New Works Forum from January 11 to 14, 2017. To receive regular updates about the meeting, be sure to sign up for the New Works listserv. To be added to the list, contact Laura Lee Everett at LEverett@operaamerica.org.

Thank you for attending OPERA America’s New Opera Showcase.

Visit our home at the National Opera Center, an ideal location for your rehearsal, recording and performance needs. First-time visitors receive 25% off their first booking with code 25NOS.

Offer valid for first-time renters reserving space through March 31, 2016. Subject to availability.

330 Seventh Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10001 | 212.796.8630 | operaamerica.org/OperaCenter

OPERA AMERICA MEMBERSHIPYour entry point to the entire opera field.

OPERA America’s Individual Members are a community of more than 1,000 artists, administrators and audience members whose commitment to opera contributes to the vibrant future of the art form.For just $75 per year, enjoy:• A one-year subscription to Opera America Magazine

and OperaLink e-newsletter• Priority access and savings on rentals at the National

Opera Center• Discounts on programs, such as Onstage at the Opera

Center performances, Recording Days and moreTake advantage of the unique benefits while supporting OPERA America’s service to the field.Visit operaamerica.org/Join or call 646.699.5248.

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