contemporary opera

Keturah interviews Douglas Kearney, a renowned poet and librettist who is the inaugural recipient of the Campbell Libretto Prize through Opera America.  They talk about his work with Yuval Sharon and The Industry in LA, his work as a poet, and his philosophy of writing performative text.

Douglas Kearney: https://www.douglaskearney.com/
Anne LeBaron: https://www.annelebaron.com/
The Industry LA: 

Keturah starts with a conversation with baritone, Robert Wesley Mason, about learning and performing the role of Jan in Royce Vavrek and Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking The Waves, based on the film by Lars Von Trier.

Keturah’s next interview is with Michael Mori, the General and Artistic director of Toronto’s Tapestry Opera, a company that champions contemporary work, and has been operating LibLab, a “speed dating for librettists and composers” since 1995.  They talk about LibLab, creating contemporary opera, what the field looks like now, and what it should look like in the future.

In this episode about politics and political figures in opera, Keturah starts with an excerpt from her interview with Director, Daniel Kramer, about Pat Nixon’s aria in John Adams and Alice Goodman’s Nixon in China.

Daniel Kramer - http://danielkramerdirector.com/bio
Nixon in China (Opera) - https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nixon-in-China
Nixon in China (History) - https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/china-visit/

Keturah’s next interview is with conductor, Steven Osgood.  They discuss one moment with Jackie Kennedy in the David T. Little and Royce Vavrek Opera, J.F.K.

Steven Osgood - http://www.srosgood.com/
J.F.K. (Opera) - https://www.altnyc.org/operas/jfk

Lastly, Keturah interviews Australian composer, Melissa Dunphy, about why she considers herself a “political composer,” and what it was like composing to actual hearing transcripts for her piece, The Gonzales Cantata, about George W. Bush’s disgraced attorney general, Alberto Gonzales.

Melissa Dunphy - https://www.melissadunphy.com/
The Gonzales Cantata - http://www.gonzalescantata.com/
Jacqueline Goldfinger - http://www.jacquelinegoldfinger.com/
William Butler Yeats - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/william-butler-yeats
Alberto Gonzales - https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alberto-R-Gonzales
Arlen Specter - https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arlen-Specter
Cantata - https://www.britannica.com/art/cantata-music

Keturah begins this episode with an interview with conductor, and artistic and general director of Chautauqua Opera, Steven Osgood.  Steven has been the driving force behind the Composers and the Voice Workshop Series since its inception, when he was the artistic director of the American Opera Project.  He lays out the program for Keturah, and gives information on how to apply, and application deadlines.

Composers and the Voice at AOP: https://www.aopopera.org/composers-voice
Steven Osgood: http://www.srosgood.com/

Next, Keturah speaks with a librettist fellow from Composers and the Voice, Sokunthary Svay.  We speak about how she found opera, her poetry writing, her experiences with Composers and the Voice, and her two operas with Liliya Ugay: Woman of Letters, and Chhlong Tonle (Crossing the River).

Sokunthary Svay: https://www.sokunthary.com/
Liliya Ugay: http://www.liliyaugay.com/
Jin-Xiang (JX) Yu: https://www.jinxiangyusoprano.com/
Rob Paterson: https://robertpaterson.com/
My conversation with Royce Vavrek: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1180661/4952711
American Opera Intiative: https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/opportunities-for-artists/competitions-and-commissions/american-opera-initiative/
Antigoni Gaitana: http://www.antigonigaitana.com/
Kimiko Hahn: https://kimikohahn.com/

In this episode, Keturah ponders the topic of familial protection in opera text, pointing out her recent viewing of Kamala Sankaram and Jerre Dye’s Taking up Serpents at Chicago Opera Theater, as well as other operas that highlight a family relationship.

In her first interview, she speaks with conductor and artistic director of Houston Grand Opera, Patrick Summers, about his love of Engelbert Humperdinck and Adelheid Wette’s Hansel & Gretel, concentrating largely on the Evening Prayer, and the protection that it offers, both in words and music.

In her second interview, she speaks with singer and librettist, Roberta Gumbel, about her recent collaboration with composer, Susan Kander, Driving While Black.  They discuss what it was like to write about worrying about her son as he reached driving age, and how it felt to dramatize and sing about those feelings.

Here are some people and topics that come up in this episode:

Taking Up Serpents at Chicago Opera Theater: https://chicagooperatheater.org/season/serpents
Patrick Summers: https://www.houstongrandopera.org/about-us/people/patrick-summers/
Roberta Gumbel: https://music.ku.edu/roberta-gumbel
Susan Kander: http://susankander.net/
Driving While Black: https://www.icareifyoulisten.com/2020/11/reimagined-for-streaming-dwb-driving-while-black-examines-black-motherhood/
Urban Arias’ Production: http://www.urbanarias.org/performances/driving-while-black/
Anna Deavere Smith: https://www.annadeaveresmith.org/category/about-anna-deavere-smith/
New Morse Code Ensemble: http://www.newmorsecode.com/

Keturah begins this episode chatting with baritone, Zachary Nelson (http://www.zacharynelsonbaritone.com/), who speaks with her about Mozart and DaPonte’s Le nozze di Figaro, the Beaumarchais plays, and their tie to the French Revolution.  You can read more about these connections here: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/jan/06/classicalmusicandopera,
and here: https://sfopera.com/blog/the-marriage-of-figaro-fomenting-the-french-revolution/.

Next, Keturah speaks with Chicago based opera singer and hip-hop artist, Khary “K.F. Jacques” Laurent. (https://www.kfjacques.com/).  They discuss genre mixing with hip hop and opera, crafting words for hip hop, and his work for Chicago Fringe Opera (https://www.chicagofringeopera.com/) on both The Rosina Project (https://www.gjcederquist.com/projects/6849633), and Corsair, which was created for the Decameron Opera Coalition (https://www.chicagofringeopera.com/event/corsair/).

Other interesting things that come up in Keturah’s conversation with Khary:

Merit Music - https://meritmusic.org/
Chicago Academy of the Arts - https://www.chicagoacademyforthearts.org/
Roosevelt University - https://www.roosevelt.edu/
Pivot Arts - https://pivotarts.org/
James Marvel - https://jamesmarvel.com/
Kechi - https://www.buzz-music.com/post/r-b-soul-artist-kechi-is-captivating-his-audience-with-latest-single-just
Rapper’s Delight - https://youtu.be/mcCK99wHrk0
Hans Zimmer - https://hans-zimmer.com/
Sledgehammer - https://youtu.be/OJWJE0x7T4Q
A Promised Land, by Barack Obama - https://www.amazon.com/Promised-Land-Barack-Obama/dp/1524763160

Keturah speaks with Ricky Ian Gordon about how he collaborates with multiple composers, as well as compositions for which he has written the libretto.

The episode begins with clips from last season:  Michael Korie discussing how Ricky helped convince him to collaborate on The Grapes of Wrath (https://www.buzzsprout.com/1180661/5613223), and Leonard Foglia talking about Ricky’s phrase “Boil it down to stock,” and how it helped him as a writer. (https://www.buzzsprout.com/1180661/5280550).  We also hear mezzo-soprano, Frederica Von Stade talking about how meaningful it was to work on A Coffin in Egypt.  (http://www.fredericavonstade.com/)

List of  Ricky’s works in order they are mentioned:

Orpheus & Euridice  (https://www.rickyiangordon.com/project/orpheus-euridice/)
Green Sneakers (https://www.rickyiangordon.com/project/green-sneakers/)
Sycamore Trees (https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2010-05-27-bs-ae-arts-sycamore-trees-20100527-story.html)
Ellen West (https://www.brightshiny.ninja/ellen-west)
My Life with Albertine (https://www.rickyiangordon.com/project/my-life-with-albertine/)
Intimate Apparel (https://www.lct.org/explore/blog/lemon-ia-ricky-ian-gordon-crafting-intimate-apparel/)
Garden of the Finzi-Continis (https://nycopera.com/shows/finzi/)
The House Without A Christmas Tree (https://www.rickyiangordon.com/christmas-tree-wsj2017/)
The Tibetan Book of the Dead (https://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/rochester/interview-ricky-ian-gordon/Content?oid=8573366)
The Grapes of Wrath (https://www.rickyiangordon.com/project/the-grapes-of-wrath/)
Rappahannock County (https://www.rickyiangordon.com/project/rappahannock-county/)
A Coffin in Egypt (https://www.rickyiangordon.com/project/a-coffin-in-egypt/)
27 (https://www.rickyiangordon.com/project/27/)

Other people/places mentioned:

UCross Artists’s Colony - https://www.ucrossfoundation.org/
Richard Nelson - https://www.broadwayplaypub.com/play-authors/richard-nelson/
Lynn Nottage - http://www.lynnnottage.com/
Frank Bidart - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/frank-bidart
Ariel by Sylvia Plath - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/395090.Ariel
Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival - https://www.bravovail.org/
Godard’s Vivre Sa Vie - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056663/

Keturah has a conversation with Canadian playwright and librettist, Kanika Ambrose.  They discuss her upcoming opera with Ian Cusson, Of The Sea, her work at the Curtis Institute on Anansi and The Great Light, her Caribbean heritage and how it informs her writing, performing in one’s own work, and much much more.

Keturah speaks with librettist, director & choreographer, John de los Santos about his path into libretto writing, comedy in contemporary opera, looking at work as a director vs. a librettist, and experiencing paranormal activity while doing research for his and Clint Borzoni’s upcoming opera, The Copper Queen.

Missy Mazzoli says she composes opera to connect people in a profound way. She joins us ahead of the Australian premiere of her adaptation of Lars Von Trier's Breaking the Waves at the Adelaide Festival.

Also, new cast members fly into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and we delve into William Shakespeare's Hamlet for our High School Playlist series with members of the current Bell Shakespeare production and students.