David T. Little And Royce Vavrek's Opera DOG DAYS Recording Out Now

Composer David T. Little and Royce Vavrek's haunting post-apocalyptic tale Dog Days has been reissued by Bright Shiny Things, out now digitally and on CD. Based on a short story by Judy Budnitz, Dog Days is a groundbreaking opera that investigates the psychological unraveling of a working-class American family in a not-so-distant-future wartime scenario. Out of print for nearly two years following the closure of VIA Records/National Sawdust Tracks, Dog Days now finds new life in this reissue.

Dog Days examines the fine line between animal and human in severely trying times. The opera is told predominantly from the perspective of Lisa, a thirteen-year-old girl. The world slowly falls apart around her as her family progressively starves, her mother gives up on life, her father struggles to fulfill his own myth of the provider, and her brothers turn to beasts. When we meet Prince, a man in a dog suit begging for food, serious questions are raised about the nature of humanity: Is he mad or the only one who can still see clearly?

Recorded live during its performance run at LA Opera, produced by Beth Morrison Projects, and led by conductor Alan Pierson, the cast features baritone James Bobick, soprano Marnie Breckenridge, tenor Michael Marcotte, tenor Peter Tantsits, soprano Lauren Worsham, mezzo-soprano Cherry Duke, performance artist John Kelly, and features Little's ensemble Newspeak as the orchestra.

Dog Days Tracklist:

David T. Little/Royce Vavrek - Dog Days (2012)
Based on a short story by Judy Budnitz

1. Prologue: A Man in a Dog Suit (David T. Little, Royce Vavrek, Newspeak, Alan Pierson) [6:22]
2. Act I: Summer, Scene 1 Dinner (David T. Little, Royce Vavrek, Newspeak, Alan Pierson) [10:19]
3. Act I: Summer, Scene 2 Friends (David T. Little, Royce Vavrek, Newspeak, Alan Pierson) [12:44]
4. Act I: Summer, Scene 3 Parents - "My Legs Won't Walk Me" (David T. Little, Royce Vavrek, Newspeak, Alan Pierson) [4:07]
5. Act I: Summer, Scene 3 Parents - "We should have went" (David T. Little, Royce Vavrek, Newspeak, Alan Pierson) [3:44]
6. Act I: Summer, Scene 3 Parents - "The Fresh-dead Deer" (David T. Little, Royce Vavrek, Newspeak, Alan Pierson) [3:26]
7. Act I: Summer, Scene 4 Brothers (David T. Little, Royce Vavrek, Newspeak, Alan Pierson) [3:43]
8. Act I: Summer, Scene 5 Letter (David T. Little, Royce Vavrek, Newspeak, Alan Pierson) [2:45]
9. Act II: Fall, Scene 1 Naming (David T. Little, Royce Vavrek, Newspeak, Alan Pierson) [7:44]
10. Act II: Fall, Scene 2 Alea - "I think that everybody_s..." (David T. Little, Royce Vavrek, Newspeak, Alan Pierson) [3:02]
11. Act II: Fall, Scene 2 Alea - "Stand Up Like A Man" (David T. Little, Royce Vavrek, Newspeak, Alan Pierson) [2:42]
12. Act II: Fall, Scene 2 Alea - "This...fucked." (David T. Little, Royce Vavrek, Newspeak, Alan Pierson) [2:12]
13. Act II: Fall, Scene 3 Mirror (David T. Little, Royce Vavrek, Newspeak, Alan Pierson) [2:36]
14. Act II: Fall, Scene 3 Mirror - "Mirror, Mirror" (David T. Little, Royce Vavrek, Newspeak, Alan Pierson) [8:51]
16. Act III: Winter, Scene 1 Odds (David T. Little, Royce Vavrek, Newspeak, Alan Pierson) [6:16]
15. Act II: Fall, Scene 4 Rubicon (David T. Little, Royce Vavrek, Newspeak, Alan Pierson) [9:44]
17. Act III: Winter, Scene 2 Endgame (David T. Little, Royce Vavrek, Newspeak, Alan Pierson) [9:08]
18. Epilogue: The Three Ravens (David T. Little, Royce Vavrek, Newspeak, Alan Pierson) [10:46]

Total Time: [01:50:18]

Cast
JAMES BOBICK - Howard (Father)
MARNIE BRECKENRIDGE - Mother
CHERRY DUKE - Captain
JOHN KELLY - Prince
MICHAEL MARCOTTE - Elliott
PETER TANTSITS - Pat
LAUREN WORSHAM - Lisa

Newspeak
JAMES JOHNSTON - piano, synthesizer
TAYLOR LEVINE - guitar
EILEEN MACK - clarinets
COURTNEY ORLANDO - violin
KRIS SAEBO - bass
NATHAN SCHRAM - viola
BRIAN SNOW - cello
PETER WISE - percussion
MOLLY YEH - percussion

ALAN PIERSON - conductor

BSTC-0207
Produced by David T. Little & Alan Pierson.
Recorded June 11- 15, 2015 at REDCAT in Los Angeles.
Recorded by Nick Tipp, mixed by Andrew McKenna Lee, mastered by Joe Lambert.
Published by Hendon Music, Inc., a Boosey & Hawkes Company.