Concert Reading Of Scenes From Spears' PAUL'S CASE Held In Brooklyn 5/29, 5/30

AMERICAN OPERA PROJECTS (AOP) will present a concert reading of scenes from Paul's Case, the first opera by rising, young composer Gregory Spears, on Friday, May 29 and Saturday, May 30, 8pm at South Oxford Space, 138 South Oxford Street in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

Based on Pulitzer Prize-winning author Willa Cather's story of the same name with a libretto by the composer and Kathryn Walat, Paul's Case represents the first opera composition from Mr. Spears whose music has been called "dreamy" (The New York Times) and "remarkable" (The Philadelphia Inquirer). He has had recent works premiered at Carnegie Hall and choreographed by such dance luminaries as choreographers Mark Morris, Christopher Williams and Rebecca Lazier.

Paul's Case chronicles the dissolution of a high school dandy living in sooty turn-of-the-century Pittsburgh. Equal parts angry teenager, anti-capitalist, decadent aesthete and cold realist, Paul is also an American symbol of passive dissent in the tradition of Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience, Melville's Bartleby the Scrivener, and Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. Mr. Spears began development on Paul's Case during the composer's 2007-08 tenure with the AOP series Composers & the Voice.

The evening will also feature new music from composer Richard Wargo's (The Music Shop) opera-in-development Sharon's Grave, an Irish family drama based on the play by John B. Keane. A panel discussion and post-show reception with both composers and the cast will take place after each performance.

Singers slated to perform include Marcus DeLoach (New York City Opera) and Chad Johnson (BAM, Glimmerglass Opera) under the musical direction of Jennifer Peterson (Paul's Case) and Steven Osgood (Sharon's Grave), with stage direction by Ned Canty.

Tickets to each performance are $15 and may be reserved by calling 718-398-4024 or by visiting www.operaprojects.org.