Three opera countertenors sing arias and discuss the facets of their unique voices in a special master class.
About this Event
The American Opera Project's vocal writing training program Composers & the Voice opens its doors for a special guest session on the countertenor voice. C&V Artistic Director Steven Osgood leads a workshop with opera countertenors Jordan Rutter, Eric S. Brenner, and Ju-eh and music director Kelly Horsted in which the singers will perform classic and contemporary songs and discuss the particulars of their individual voices. Guests are welcome to observe as our eight composer and librettist fellows from this year's program ask questions and gain knowledge in how to write for the countertenor voice.
AOP's Composers & the Voice is a two-year, tuition-free fellowship for composers and librettists that provides experience writing for the voice and opera stage. In closed sessions, fellows learn to write for the operatic voice through detailed group feedback sessions of their work with the American Opera Projects' Resident Ensemble of six professional singers who have been selected based on their superior technical and musical skills, as well as their commitment to developing and performing new works. The ensemble is comprised of one each of the basic operatic/vocal categories: Coloratura Soprano, Lyric Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Tenor, Baritone and Bass.
The composers and librettists work with each singer, one at a time, in rotation, learning how their particular voice works throughout its range, addressing issues of tessitura, negotiating the passagio, demands for vowel modification, and how these affect their performance of text. The participants write solo works with piano accompaniment for each singer which are performed and discussed by the entire group on how well suited the composition is to the voice, and the clarity of its text setting.
TICKETS: $20 General Admission / FREE for C&V alumni
ABOUT THE GUEST SINGERS
Eric S. Brenner, countertenor, has been hailed for his "penetrating eloquence," "astonishing solo singing" (NY Times), & "auto-tuned Mr. Roboto majesty" (Stage Mage). Eric is countertenor soloist in recent performances & recording of Hannah Lash’s Requiem (Naxos), as well as Du Yun's Pulitzer Prize Winning Angel's Bone (VIA Records). Other engagements include: alto soloist in Vivaldi’s Introduction & Gloria at St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue; soprano & alto soloist in Handel's Messiah at Avery Fisher (Geffen) & Alice Tully Hall; Bernstein's Chichester Psalms at St. Thomas Church, St. John the Divine, & St. Ignatius Loyola; soprano with Les Canards Chantant; & alto with Western Wind. www.ericsbrenner.com
Ju-eh is a true 21st century artist. As an operatic countertenor, composer and overall conceptual curator, he has written operas, performed music, and created collaborative projects that defy genre, period or easy categorization. His identity as a citizen of the world is most evident in the diversity of the themes and elements found in his works. Ju-eh has been very active as a writer, performer, and curator in the United States. In the 2019 season, he wrote, produced, and starred in his most recent engagement The Living Dying Opera, a musical drama based on the story of his life. It is rare for a modern day opera singer to both compose and perform in an opera, so Ju-eh stands in his own category. Other recent engagements include Meredith Monk's opera Atlas at the L.A. Philharmonic (in which he sang 6 soprano high Cs), The Night Falls with the American Opera Project, and appearances with the Vault Allure Music Festival and the Asian American Arts Alliance Foray. In his most recent engagement with the Prototype Festival, Ju-eh starred as the moon in Garrett Fisher's opera Blood Moon, a hybrid opera inspired by a traditional Japanese Noh play. http://ju-eh.com/
Last season, Jordan Rutter made his company debut with Chicago Opera Theater as Doodle in The Scarlet Ibis (Weisman / Coté) and rejoined The American Opera Project and NYU for The Stonewall Operas. Additional highlights include Three Way (Paterson / Coté), which he performed in its world premiere at Nashville Opera. This season, Mr. Rutter joined On Site Opera to sing Miles in The Turn of the Screw and will make his American Lyric Theater debut in a workshop of The Opposable Thumb (Ugay / Crouch). Mr. Rutter has developed the roles of Lola (Legendary, Rubinstein / Kim), Kyle (Three Way), and Ashima (Jing Jing Luo) with AOP. www.jordanrutter.com