SEPTEMBER 26, 2021 | 3pm EDT
Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, NY
YOUR FIRST LOOK AT FIVE DISTINCTIVE NEW WORKS FROM EMERGING ARTISTS IN THE WORLD OF CONTEMPORARY OPERA
Hosted by
Composers & the Voice Artistic Director,
Steven Osgood
PROGRAM ORDER
ROLES LISTED IN ORDER OF VOCAL APPEARANCE
Trigger Warning:
The scenes Protectress and Simone de Beauvoir at the Museum include disturbing topics such as sexual assault, PTSD, physical violence, and identity-based discrimination and harassment. Viewer discretion advised.
MARBLE HOUSE
Music and Libretto by Matt Frey
Stage Direction by Luke Landric Leonard
Music Direction by Kelly Horsted
Alva - Blythe Gaissert, mezzo-soprano
Mrs. Astor - Jasmine Muhammad, soprano
Consuelo - Justine Aronson, soprano
It is the summer of 1895 in the extravagantly fashionable resort town of Newport, Rhode Island. The elite of New York society arrive to open their houses for the season. At Marble House, 18-year-old Consuelo Vanderbilt is dreading a long summer with her family, having left her newly—and secretly—engaged fiancé back in New York. For her mother Alva, however, this summer represents a much-needed opportunity to reassert herself as head of the social elite following a scandalous divorce from her husband, richest man in the country, William K. Vanderbilt. This won’t be easy – “society,” headed by Alva’s longtime frenemy, The Mrs. Astor, will happily trample one of their own if it means maintaining the social hierarchy.
ALMA
Music and Libretto by Mary Prescott
Stage Direction by Luke Landric Leonard
Music Direction by Kelly Horsted
Fai - Nina Riley, soprano
Alma - Cáitlín Burke, mezzo-soprano
Fai enters the room and discovers Alma weeping and disheveled. Alma reveals her haunted past. Fai becomes terrified and filled with dread for her child and husband. Calling out for them to no response, Fai questions what Alma has done to them. Alma tells Fai to look at herself and her hands. Fai looks into Alma as a mirror and realizes that she herself has killed her husband and child. She cannot bear the grief, and kills herself in Alma's arms. Alma coaxes Fai into the deep sleep of death as she laments her own eternal fate.
PROTECTRESS
Music by Jessica Rudman
Libretto by Kendra Preston Leonard
Stage Direction by Katie Madison
Music Direction by Mila Henry
Stheno - Justine Aronson, soprano
Medusa - Blythe Gaissert, mezzo-soprano
Euryale - Nina Riley, soprano
Medusa awakes from a horrible nightmare with a scream, causing her sisters Euryale and Stheno to rush in. They try to comfort Medusa as she recounts the dream, in which she relived the trauma of her rape by Poseidon. Having achieved a partial catharsis, Medusa allows her sisters to change the subject to her recent interview in Teen Vogue. Medusa has been living openly as her immortal self and wanted to share her story with the world. Her sisters—both still posing as humans— tease her about the interview. Eventually, they wonder if Athena has read the story and gotten angry. The sisters contemplate that possibility while Medusa remembers another dream she had earlier in the week. This leads to a second outburst, where Medusa focuses on her patron goddess Athena’s betrayal: after Medusa was raped, Athena cursed her rather than supporting her. Euryale reminds Medusa that she has moved on and has a full life. Medusa confesses that she is afraid she can’t take the nightmares for much longer, causing the sisters to vow that they won’t let Athena break her. Euryale and Stheno promise to keep Athena from tormenting Medusa, realizing that they have many allies on whom they can call for help.
*TEN MINUTE INTERMISSION*
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR AT THE MUSEUM
Music and Libretto by Alaina Ferris
Stage Direction by Katie Madison
Music Direction by Mila Henry
Simone de Beauvoir, Queen of the Vampires - Sophie Delphis
Evelyn - Cáitlín Burke, mezzo-soprano
Rose - Victoria Davis, soprano
Amelia - Justine Aronson, soprano
Gustave - Timothy Stoddard, tenor
Simone de Beauvoir at the Museum follows the story of Evelyn, an aspiring writer in Brooklyn who is struggling with her life and PTSD from sexual assault. She wants to have a family and an artistic career, but is not sure she can do both — Simone de Beauvoir, after all, chose to never have children so she could write. Evelyn goes on a trip to Paris with her two best friends, Amelia and Rose, to enjoy the sites and each other’s company. At Musée D’Orsay, the group begins to discuss the painting Ramsès dans son harem, when they unexpectedly summon a feminist vampire named Gustave. He joins their analytical discussion of the painting, touching on points of gender equality. Triggered by the talk, Evelyn goes into a fugue state. When she reemerges, Gustave invites them on a tour through feminist history, starting with a literary salon in Paris, 1949, the year Simone de Beauvoir’s Le Deuxième Sexe was published.
28th AVE
Music by Michael Lanci
Libretto by Marella Martin Koch
Stage Direction by Katie Madison
Music Direction by Mila Henry
Ed - Mario Diaz-Moresco, baritone
Clara - Nina Riley, soprano
Luba - Blythe Gaissert, mezzo-soprano
It’s a spring day on 28th Ave in a working-class neighborhood in the outer NYC boroughs. Ed, a Vietnam veteran, and Manuel, his 18-year-old grandson, get on each other’s nerves in their cramped apartment. Underscored by Fox News, a minor dispute about the right way to drink milk has escalated to a screaming match, spilling out of their apartment and onto the building's front stoop. As Manuel runs off, Ed sits down to catch his breath and makes an unexpected friend: a sick possum. Ed, Clara the nosy neighbor, and Luba the landlady try to save the suffering creature’s life.
PERFORMERS
JUSTINE ARONSON - SOPRANO
Hailed by The New York Times as possessing "a deep reservoir of expressive devices", soprano Justine Aronson’s interpretations have consistently captured the
attention of those producing new music, earning her premieres with composers including David Lang, Christopher Cerrone, Daron Hagen and Ted Hearne.
Over the last eighteen months, Justine has spent a lot of time contemplating her relationship with art and how it functions in this burgeoning mid-to-post pandemic culture. She watched the flowers bloom through cracks in the sidewalks, and had the great fortune of being engaged to perform digitally and record with numerous organizations. In the Beforetimes, though this seems difficult to remember, performances included the Los Angeles Philharmonic, On Site Opera (New York, NY), The American Opera Project, Five Boroughs Music Festival (New York, NY), The Industry (Los Angeles), Eighth Blackbird, Mirror Visions Ensemble, Brooklyn Art Song Society, among others. Recent workshops include the roles of gene and actress for Iphigenia, created by Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding, and the role of The Assistant for David Lang’s prisoner of the state with the New York Philharmonic.
Previous season highlights include appearances with the LA Phil’s Green Umbrella series, National Sawdust, Beth Morrison Projects, Opera Philadelphia,
Lucerne Festival Academy, Bang on a Can Summer Festival, The Bard Music Festival, The String Orchestra of Brooklyn, and the Metropolitan Opera Guild. Justine can be heard on the NAXOS label as part of Daron Hagen’s portrait album, 21st
Century Song Cycles, with the Lyric Fest of Philadelphia. www.justinearonson.com
BLYTHE GAISSERT - MEZZO-SOPRANO
Mezzo-soprano Blythe Gaissert has established herself as one of the pre-eminent interpreters of some of the brightest stars of new classical music. A true singing actress, she has received critical acclaim for her interpretations of both new and traditional repertoire in opera, concert and chamber repertoire.
Recent performances include the role of Georgia O’Keefe TODAY IT RAINS with AOP and Opera Parallele, Gertrude Stein in Ricky Ian Gordon 27 for Intermountain Opera, Bozeman, Walker Loats in Mikael Karlsson’s ECHO DRIFT for American Opera Projects at the Prototype Festival, Hansel HANSEL UND GRETEL with San Diego Opera, Sadie in Ricky Ian Gordon MORNING STAR with On-Site Opera, Hannah After in AS ONE with AOP, Opera Colorado, Opera Columbus, Opera Idaho, Opera Memphis, New York City Opera and San Diego Opera, Beethoven 9th Symphony with the Sarasota Orchestra, Berio Folk Songs and Siegrune DIE WALKUERE with the Dallas Symphony and Berlioz L’Enfance du Christ with the Orquesta Sinfónica y Coro RTVE conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya.
CAITLIN BURKE - MEZZO-SOPRANO
Cáitlín Burke (she/her/hers) Praised by the N.Y. Times for her “virtuoso flair”, and ability to create “three-dimensional characters”, versatile mezzo-soprano Cáitlín Burke has worked in new music with William Bolcom, Lettie Beckon Alston, and Libby Larsen and garnered rave reviews in Cosí Fan Tutte (Dorabella), Dido and Aeneas (The Sorceress), Amahl and the Night Visitors (The Mother), The Mikado (Katisha), and as The Mother Abbess at The Kennedy Center in The Sound of Music, directed by Tony award winner, Jack O’Brien.
She recently appeared as a principal with the UK’s National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company at The Royal Hall (UK) and at the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival, and frequently performs principal roles at Lincoln Center, N.Y. City Center, Symphony Space, The Filene Center at Wolf Trap, The Ahmanson Theatre, The Boston Early Music Festival, The National Arts Centre (Canada), Teatro Caio Melisso (Italy), Bayerische Concert Hall (Germany), and with the UK’s National Festival Orchestra.
JASMINE MUHAMMAD - SOPRANO
Jasmine Muhammad is a versatile vocalist, bridging the genre gap at every turn. Most recently Jasmine appeared as Hattie in Pittsburgh Opera’s world premiere of The Summer King in their 2016-17 season. During her successful three year tenure as a Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist, Jasmine appeared as Rodelinda in Handel's Rodelinda and Micaëla in Bizet's Carmen (2015); the High Priestess in Verdi's Aida, First Lady in Mozart's The Magic Flute, Eliza in Muhly's Dark Sisters and Mimi in the student matinee of Puccini's La Boheme (2013-2014). Jasmine has sung background vocals for John Legend with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and performed with Warren Haynes on the Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration Tour as well as background vocals for Chaka Khan, Anthony Hamilton, Kelis, John Batiste, and more. Jasmine's vocals are also credited on albums by Kevin Morby, Karen O Jasmine is a winner of the 2015-2016 Sullivan Foundation Award and 2015 Harlem Opera Theater Competition. Jasmine holds a masters and bachelors degree in voice from Manhattan School of Music and Roosevelt University.
VICTORIA DAVIS - SOPRANO
Victoria Davis, Soprano, has been a featured soloist in many concerts and events including the Welcoming of the First Lady of Russia with Michelle and Barack Obama and the Kennedy Center’s Young Artist in America presentation.
Victoria has been seen in the roles of Lady Billows in Albert Herring and Die Sandmännchen in Hänsel und Gretel in The Oberlin Opera theater. Ms. Davis is a proud alumnus of Oberlin Conservatory and Mannes College of Music. She has been a recipient of many awards including the fifth-place winner of Opera Ebony’s vocal competition as well as a two prize winner of the Premiere Opera Foundation’s Vocal Competition.
Recently, Ms. Davis was the winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (North Carolina District). She was also recently seen in the role of First Lady with Opera On Tap's Playground Opera Program, as well as the Masterworks Chorus as the Soprano soloist for the Brahms Requiem. In addition to that, Ms. Davis performed the title role in Puccini's Suor Angelica with Opera Susquehanna in August of 2019. In December of 2020, Victoria joined Opera on Tap as a Creative Producer, as well as The Director of Educational Programming. In addition to her vocal talents, Ms. Davis enjoys trying new recipes and writing poetry.
NINA RILEY - SOPRANO
Soprano, Nina Riley has performed with numerous opera companies receiving acclaim from many publications including The New York Times, The Times Argus, the Burlington Free Press.
Nina's experiences range from touring all over China as the soloist with the Manhattan Symphonie, to performing many operatic roles. She also enjoys exploring newer works as an energetic advocate of contemporary music. She recorded the role of Kanoa in the new opera, Island of the Moon by award winning composer Faye Chiao funded by the OPERA America's Opera Grants for Female Composers Program. She is also featured in an award winning operatic film "Connection Lost: The Tinder Opera".
Nina held two solo Tohoku Relief benefit concerts in Tokyo and Fukushima, Japan, with an additional mini-concert at a temporary housing shelter for the victims of the tsunami in Fukushima. Her performances were praised in several articles by the Fukushima Minpo Newspaper.
More at www.ninarileysoprano.com
SOPHIE DELPHIS - MEZZO-SOPRANO
Franco-American mezzo-soprano Sophie Delphis has performed with SongFest as a Stern Fellow, National Sawdust, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra, UMS (University Musical Society), the iSING Festival, Bronx Opera, Bare Opera, Opera on the James, Dell'Arte Opera Ensemble and Monk Parrots, among others. An avid recitalist, Sophie has performed programs and fundraiser concerts for musical and cultural organizations in the United States and China. In addition to classical repertoire, she enjoys collaborating with composers, improvisers and theatre artists on new works. She can be heard as a soloist on the Grammy Award-nominated Naxos recording of Milhaud’s Oresteia trilogy, produced by UMS in association with the University of Michigan's School of Music, Theatre & Dance, and as the Mother/Witch in the original English cast recording of Matti Kovler’s Ami and Tami. She currently resides in New York City.
TIMOTHY STODDARD - TENOR
Idaho-born Timothy Stoddard has been hailed by Opera News as having a “clear-voiced tenor.” He has sung the roles of Izzy Wright in Sankaram’s MIRANDA with Tri Cities Opera, Liberto/Lucano in Monteverdi’s POPPEA with Bare Opera, Milord Fideling in the American premiere of Salieri’s La cifra with dell’Arte Opera Ensemble, Tamino/1st Armored Man/Second Priest in The Magic Flute with both Opera in Williamsburg and the Muses Creative Artistry Project, and Song Seller/Gherardo in Puccini’s Il trittico with Utah Festival of Opera. He’s premiered roles with Experiments in Opera, Rhymes with Opera, Gramercy Opera, and SoBe Arts. As concertist, he appeared with Chatham Baroque in Purcell’s Welcome to all the pleasures + Odes to Saint Cecilia, the Utah Festival of Opera in Bach’s B Minor Mass, the Choral Society of Grace Church in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and the Lucerne Festival Academy in Berio’s Coro. In 2018, he made his WQXR debut on the Young Artists Showcase. He has been featured in community engagement projects with The Metropolitan Opera, The Metropolitan Opera Guild, and Opera Idaho. He is currently in residence with the American Opera Project’s Composers and the Voice fellowship. Award highlights include those of the Anna Sosenko Assist Trust, the American Scandinavian Society, and the Arleen Auger Foundation.
MARIO DIAZ-MORESCO - BARITONE
Described as “flawless” by Opera News, baritone Mario Diaz-Moresco is an active interpreter of Art
Song and new music.
Highlights include recitals with pianist Spencer Myer at the Mendocino Music Festival, the Chamber
Music Festival of Saugatuck, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Series, InConcert Sierra, the Gustav Mahler
Society of New York, the Rocky River Chamber Music Society and with the Brooklyn Art Song Society;
To My Distant Love with On Site Opera, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte with the Dubuque Symphony
Orchestra, singing the Baritone role in Phillip Glass and Allen Ginsberg’s Hydrogen Jukebox with
Chautauqua Opera, playing the lead role in Robert Ashley’s Dust, which was named one of the 10 best
classical music performances of 2017 by the New York Times, two cycles as a resident singer with
American Opera Project’s Composers & the Voice, performances at Roulette Intermedium and Issue
Project Room, performing the music of Joan La Barbara at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and
performances of the music of Alex Wiser.
Mr. Diaz-Moresco has been a young artist with Chautauqua Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Central
City Opera, a Stern Fellow at Songfest and a vocal fellow at the Ravinia Steans Music Institute, and holds
degrees from the University of Colorado, the University of Southern California and from Mannes The
New School. He is a student of Diana Soviero.
COMPOSERS / LIBRETTISTS
ALAINA FERRIS - COMPOSER
Alaina Ferris is a composer, poet, and music educator who specializes in composing for choir, theater, and opera. Her work is inspired by a love of Renaissance chorales, video game soundtracks, and her daily practice of teaching piano, voice, and harp lessons.
Alaina’s work has appeared at HERE, SoHo Rep, Barnard College/Columbia University, Abrons Arts Center, The Connelly Theater, and St. Ann’s Warehouse. She has worked with artists César Alvarez, Coco Karol, Sxip Shirey, Ellen Winter, Amanda Palmer, Jason Webley, Steve Earle, Anne Waldman, Eliza Bent, Mia Rovegno, William Burke, Joshua William Gelb, Mac Wellman, Tyler Gilmore (Blank For.ms.), and more. She has is one-part of the folk duo, Physical Kids, alongside Matt Schlatter.
Alaina was selected as a 2019 National Sawdust Summerlab Musician, and was a co-winner of the 2019/2020 Brooklyn Youth Chorus Composer Competition, for whom her trio of pieces will premiere December 2021 in Brooklyn. She is a 2019-2021 Composer Fellow at The American Opera Project. She earned her B.A. in Music and Creative Writing from the University of Denver and her M.F.A. in Poetry from New York University.
MARELLA MARTIN KOCH - LIBRETTIST
Marella Martin Koch (she/her) is a librettist noted for her ability to “sketch complete characters
in swift, sure lines” (Anne Midgette, The Washington Post). Pepito (music by Nicolas Lell
Benavides) was commissioned by Washington National Opera's American Opera Initiative.
Since its Kennedy Center premiere under the baton of Maestro Steven Osgood, Pepito has been
performed across the country, recorded as a cast album “full of nuance and emotional pull”
(Chris Ruel, Operawire), and released by New Opera West as an “entrancing” animated short
film (Claudia Kawczynska, The Bark). Ten Minutes in the Life or Death of... (music by Tyler J.
Rubin) was lauded as “quizzical and wonderstruck” (Steven Winn, San Francisco Classical
Review) at West Edge Opera’s Snapshot 2021.
Upcoming: Elinor & Marianne (music by Aferdian) for The Rally Cat; For Mom (music by
Michael Lanci) for Parea Series; Tres Minutos (music by Benavides) for Music of Remembrance;
and Dolores (music by Benavides), winner of the inaugural West Edge Opera Aperture
commission.
MFA, NYU/Tisch. BA, UC Berkeley. www.marellamartinkoch.com
MATT FREY - COMPOSER
Brooklyn-based composer Matt Frey is currently the recipient of a 2019-21 Composers & the Voice fellowship with The American Opera Project. This comes on the heels of the release of his first album One-Eleven Heavy, a chamber opera featuring soprano Jenny Ribeiro and Grammy-award-winning tenor Karim Sulayman. Frey’s catalog of vocal works also includes the musical Mary, written with playwright Melisa Tien; the chamber opera The Fox and the Pomegranate, winner of the 2014 Pellicciotti Opera Prize; and the co-written oratorio Moby Dick: Extracts on Death and Other Curiosities, commissioned by Contemporaneous and MATA. His vocal music has been performed at programs including Fort Worth Opera’s Frontiers, Opera From Scratch, the John Duffy Composers Institute, and the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop. Frey is a graduate of the masters program in Music Composition at New York University where he studied with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Julia Wolfe.
MARY PRESCOTT - COMPOSER
Mary Prescott (she/her) is a Thai-American interdisciplinary artist, composer and pianist who explores the foundations and facets of identity and social conditions through experiential performance. Featured in “21 for ‘21: Composers and Performers Who Sound Like Tomorrow,” The Washington Post describes her work as “masterfully envisioned… a bright light cast forward.”
Prescott is an awardee of the McKnight Composer Fellowship, National Performance Network Creation and Development Fund, New Music USA, The American Opera Project Composers and the Voice Fellowship, The Puffin Foundation, Opera America, and several state and regional arts councils. She has been commissioned by American Composers Forum, Roulette, Living Arts, Public Functionary, White Snake Projects, Shepherdess Duo, Piano Teachers Congress, and Duo Harmonia; and has held residencies with Roulette, Lanesboro Arts, Avaloch Farm Music Institute, Hudson Hall, The League of Independent Theater, and Arts Letters and Numbers.
MICHAEL LANCI - COMPOSER
Michael Lanci is a composer and performer currently residing in Saratoga Springs, New York. His music is viscerally engaging and stylistically diverse, drawing from a wide range of influences. Michael's short comedic chamber opera Admissions, written in collaboration with librettist Kim Davies as part of the American Opera Initiative program with the Washington National Opera, was premiered in January 2020 at the Kennedy Center. He was a finalist for the 2018-19, Beth Morrison Projects Next Generation competition that included the commissioning and premiere of his first opera Crude Capital, with libretto by Ajax Phillips. Michael is currently a fellow of the Composers & the Voice program with The American Opera Project. Michael is also working on a variety of projects within the world of Folk, Indie Rock and Pop music.
JESSICA RUDMAN - COMPOSER
Jessica Rudman’s music inspires empathy for social issues through stories of myth, magic, and the modern world. Described as a “new music ninja” (Hartford Advocate), she blends lyrical melodies, sensual harmony, and vibrant color to draw listeners into her dramatic narratives. Her chamber opera Marie Curie Learns to Swim (libretto by Kendra Preston Leonard) focuses on the notable scientist’s experiences as a woman in a male-dominated field and an immigrant in her adopted country. Other compositions include the mini-opera Trigger, which depicts a woman’s response to domestic violence; A Curious Incident with the Queen, a choral work using a children’s story to explore economic oppression and political powerlessness; and Gaslight Variations, a solo for microtonal flute with glissando head joint that treats thematic variation as an analogy for gaslighting. More information about Rudman (she/they) and her work can be found at http://www.jessicarudman.com.
KENDRA PRESTON LEONARD - LIBRETTIST
Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her) is a poet, lyricist, and librettist whose work is inspired by the local, historical, and mythopoeic, and which addresses social justice issues, particularly those involving women; the environment; and the nature of compassion. Her first chapbook, Making Mythology, was published in 2020 by Louisiana Literature Press, and her work appears in numerous publications including vox poetica, lunch, The Waggle, and Lily Poetry Review, among other venues. Leonard collaborates regularly with composers on works for voice including new operas and song cycles, and her lyrics and libretti have been set by composers including Lisa Neher, Jessica Rudman, Rosśa Crean, and Allyssa Jones. Leonard is also a musicologist and music theorist whose academic work focuses on women and music in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; and music and screen history. Follow her on Twitter at @K_Leonard_PhD or visit her site at https://kendraprestonleonard.hcommons.org/.
DIRECTORS
DEBORAH COWELL - FILM DIRECTOR AND EDITOR
Deborah Cowell is a product of the public school system, first grade through graduate school. She is an editor, writer, camera person/artist. She was born and raised in New York City.
LUKE LANDRIC LEONARD - DIRECTOR
LUKE LANDRIC LEONARD is a director known for his evocative, thought-provoking, and stylized productions. His critically acclaimed stage productions have been seen in Australia, Italy, and the United States and are described as "outstanding" (The New York Times), and “bold and experimental...pure theatrical experience” (nytheatre). Specializing in experimental theater and contemporary opera, Luke is also a playwright, filmmaker, actor, visual artist, teacher, and the Founding Artistic Director of the New York theater company Monk Parrots. L.L.L./Monk Parrots are recipients of grants from Creative Engagement, Tides Foundation, Manhattan Community Arts Fund, Hatch Fund, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, USA Projects, and recipients of Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Artist Residencies. Luke holds a Master of Fine Arts in Directing from The University of Texas at Austin.
KATIE MADISON - DIRECTOR
Katie is a composer, writer and musical theatre artist currently based in the land that belonged to the Canarsie and Munsee Lenape tribes which many know now as Brooklyn. She’s a 2021 New York City Artist Corps Grant Recipient, was chosen by The Downtown Alliance in collaboration with En Garde Arts and The Tank to re-open New York City in their first live performance post pandemic. She was a Critical Breaks Resident with Hi-Arts in April 2021. Her work has been commissioned by the University of Michigan’s Musical Theatre Department, Crossroads Theatre Company’s Genesis Festival of New Plays, The Civilians, Skylight Music Theatre and Judson Memorial Church. Her show [ taking ] space was 2019 Sundance Theatre Lab Finalist and she was one of three finalists for the National Black Theatre’s Soul Producing Residency in 2019 // instagram: @kvmad // soundcloud:kvmad // www.kvmadison.com
MUSIC DIRECTORS
MILA HENRY - MUSIC DIRECTOR AND PIANIST
Mila Henry is a music director, pianist and conductor, as well as Artistic Director of The American Opera Project. Hailed “a stalwart contributor to the contemporary opera scene” (Opera Ithaca) and a “terrific” pianist (Opera News), she provides musical dramaturgy to AOP works and serves as Head of Music for Composers & the Voice. She maintains an active and versatile career, leading works spanning folk operas to rock musicals to crossover collaborations, and performing at venues such as The Apollo, BAM, Circle in the Square, Dutch National Opera, LA Opera, Library of Congress, Opera Philadelphia and Pittsburgh CLO. Her recording credits include Looking at You (Bright Shiny Things), Love & Trouble (Roven Records), Thumbprint (National Sawdust Tracks) and Voices of Women (Affetto Records). She is also a member of the alt-country band Opera Cowgirls. A native of the Philadelphia area, Mila holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and Elizabethtown College. milahenry.com
KELLY HORSTED - MUSIC DIRECTOR AND PIANIST
KELLY HORSTED enjoys an active career in NYC as an accompanist and vocal coach. Kelly’s long relationship with AOP most recently included participating as a music director for The Stonewall Operas, a joint collaboration with the Tisch GMTWP’s advanced Opera Lab. Other favorite AOP projects include Herschel Garfein’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, directed by Mark Morris, Tarik O’Regan’s Heart of Darkness, and Paula Kimper’s Patience & Sarah for the Lincoln Center Festival. He has also collaborated with Chelsea Opera, Center for Contemporary Opera, Madison Lyric Stage, Wintergreen Festival, New Jersey Opera Theater, Friends and Enemies of New Music, and Five Words in a Line. He has taught at Mannes College of Music, The Hartt School, Hunter College, Intermezzo, Five Towns College, OperaWorks, and the Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts. His Bachelor and Master of Music degrees are from the Eastman School of Music where he was a fellowship recipient and a 1st place Kneisel Competition winner. Kelly has been a music director for Composers & the Voice since 2006. www.KellyHorsted.com
Performers
Justine Aronson, Cáitlín Burke, Victoria Davis, Sophie Delphis, Mario Diaz-Moresco,
Blythe Gaissert, Jasmine Muhammad, Nina Riley, Timothy Stoddard
Music Directors
Mila Henry and Kelly Horsted
Directors
Luke Landric Leonard and Katie Madison
Composers
Alaina Ferris, Matt Frey, Michael Lanci, Mary Prescott, Jessica Rudman
Librettists
Kendra Preston Leonard and Marella Martin Koch
Film Director and Editor
Deborah Cowell
Second Camera Operator
Isaac Madison
ABOUT COMPOSERS & THE VOICE
AOP's Composers & the Voice (C&V) is a two-year, tuition-free fellowship for composers and librettists that provides experience writing for the voice and opera stage. Created and led by C&V Artistic Director Steven Osgood, the fellowship includes a year of working with the company’s Resident Ensemble of Singers and professional instructors followed by public performances and career development through AOP and its strategic partnerships. Since launching in 2002,C&V has fostered the development of 79 composers & librettists.
2019-21 FELLOWS
Alaina Ferris, Composer
Matt Frey, Composer
Amanda Hollander, Librettist
Michael Lanci, Composer
Mary Prescott, Composer
Tony Solitro, Composer
Jessica Rudman, Composer
Jay St. Flono, Librettist
2019-21 RESIDENT ENSEMBLE OF SINGERS
Justine Aronson, Soprano
Jasmine Muhammad, Soprano
Augusta Caso, Mezzo-Soprano
Timothy Stoddard, Tenor
Mario Diaz-Moresco, Baritone
Brandon Coleman, Bass
2019-21 INSTRUCTORS
Steven Osgood, Artistic Director
Matt Gray, Head of Drama
Mila Henry, Head of Music
Mark Campbell, Libretto Writing
Mary Birnbaum, Acting
Terry Greiss, Improv Studies
Kelly Horsted, Music Director
2019-21 MENTORS
Du Yun, Ricky Ian Gordon, Huang Ruo, David T. Little, Missy Mazzoli, Tobias Picker, Kimberly Reed, Royce Vavrek
CHAUTAUQUA OPERA COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM
In July/August 2016, AOP and Chautauqua Opera launched a multi-year Composer-in-Residence initiative. Each summer an alumnus of AOP’s Composers & the Voice Fellowship is invited to be in residence for Chautauqua Opera’s entire 8-week season. The Composer-in-Residence is a prominent public face for the Chautauqua Opera, speaking passionately about the company’s season, and exploring the role of a composer in today’s society.
Frances Pollock (2020 and 2021), Gilda Lyons (2019), George Lam (2018), Gity Razaz (2017), Jeremy Gill (2016)
The Steinway Grand Piano being played for today's event is courtesy of Sing For Hope.
Piano design by Jieun Yang.
Piano Title: Reflections, 2021.
Today's wine has been generously provided by The Greene Grape,
the official wine of The American Opera Project.
Lodging for our Composers & the Voice fellows has been generously provided by The Even Hotel in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, the official hotel of The American Opera Project.
Special thanks to:
the Fort Greene Park Conservancy, the City of New York Parks & Recreation, and the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York
Composers & the Voice is made possible in part by a generous multi-year award from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, a Grants for Arts Projects award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a leadership gift from Jane A. Gross. SCENE AND HEARD 2021 is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN OPERA PROJECT
138 South Oxford Street, 3B, Brooklyn, NY 11217 Tel: 718-398-4024, Fax: 718-398-3489 info@aopopera.org I www.aopopera.org
Founded in 1988, The American Opera Project (AOP) has been at the forefront of contemporary opera for over 30 years. AOP's mission is to develop and present new and innovative works of lyric theater, provide a creative home to emerging and established artists, and engage contemporary communities in a transformative operatic experience. Its works have received critical acclaim at opera companies and venues around the world, establishing a new musical canon that recognizes the operatic story in every life. AOP further expands the operatic field through its training programs The NYU Opera Lab, in partnership with NYU and for students and alumni in The NYU Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, and C&V, AOP’s in-house, two-year fellowship program for emerging composers and librettists that provides experience writing for the voice and opera stage.
STAFF
Matt Gray General Director
Mila Henry Artistic Director
Meagan Brus Director of Marketing and Communications
Joel Kalow Associate General Manager
Charles Jarden Director of Strategic Planning
Yuriko Shibata Administrative Assistant
Naomi Ramirez Accounting Consultant
W. Wilson Jones Resident Production Stage Manager and Database Administrator
Adrienne Danrich Executive Producer and Creator of Music as the Message original series
Intuitive Production Management Production Services
W. Wilson Jones Stage Manager
Rosamund Dyer Production Assistant
Sam Fougere Audio Engineer
Meagan Brus Creative Content Producer
Laura Jobin-Acosta Merchandise
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Anthony Roth Costanzo, Sarah Moulton Faux, J. David Jackson, Charles Jarden, W. Wilson Jones, Mark Kalow, Emily Manzo, Christina B. Murphy, Kevin R. Myers (President), Norman Ryan
ARTISTIC ADVISORY COUNCIL
Mark Campbell, Thom Collins, Sasha Cooke, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Alexandra Enyart, Susan Gonzalez, Briana Hunter, J. David Jackson, Laura Kaminsky (Chair), Jessie Montgomery, David Michalek, Ravi Rajan, Kimberly Reed, Huang Ruo, Craig Zobel
The American Opera Project’s current season is made possible by generous support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, Amphion Foundation, The BMI Foundation, The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, the New York State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
AOP is a member of OPERA America, Fort Greene Association, the Downtown Brooklyn Arts Alliance, the New York Opera Alliance, and Alliance of Resident Theatres/ New York (A.R.T./NY).
The American Opera Project (American Opera Projects, Inc.) is an IRS recognized 501(c)3 non-profit corporation.
