New York City Opera today announced full casting details for the 12th season of its celebrated annual new music festival, VOX Contemporary American Opera Lab. The festival kicks-off on Saturday, May 14 with performances at NYU's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts (Skirball), and continues on Sunday, May 15 with a new series called Second Stage, where the second day of the festival will move to the more intimate club setting of Le Poisson Rouge. The VOX program gives composers and librettists an opportunity to workshop pieces that are in early stages of development or have been composed for smaller ensembles. All of the selected works will be performed by an orchestra and soloists.
City Opera's 2011 VOX festival will feature performances from several City Opera artists including Meredith Lustig who recently made her debut as Giannetta in The Elixir of Love, Nicholas Pallesen who appeared as Robert Storch in Intermezzo, and Yunah Lee, best known for her portrayal of Cio Cio San in Madama Butterfly.For the first time in VOX history, the festival features two works that have been developed out of UVOX's UWords First librettist program. Words First began in 2009 as a way to support a working group of established playwrights with an interest in writing opera librettos. The two selections chosen from the Words First program include Arlene Sierra and Lucy Thurber's Faustine and Paola Prestini and Donna di Novelli's De Deo.The ten selected operas showcase the many distinguishing traits that make contemporary American opera unique. Featured works include musical theater composer Andrew Gerle's The Beach; Huang Ruo and Candice Chong's Sun Yat-Sen, which will have its world premiere in fall 2011 at Opera Hong Kong; and David T. Little and Royce Vavrek's Vinkensport, which was commissioned by Dawn Upshaw's Graduate Vocal Arts Program at Bard College, and had a workshop production in February 2010.Saturday, May 14
1:00-2:00 p.m.
Panel Discussion: Producing art in alternative spaces, moderated by Beth Morrison
Performances will be followed by an interactive discussion with New York City Opera's General Manager and Artistic Director George Steel, Music Director George Manahan, and Director of Artistic Planning Ed Yim.
Ryan McAdams Conductor
Jason Abrams Devil
Jennifer Roderer Muriel
Deanna Breiwick Ella
Amanda Pabyan Anna
Ian Greenlaw Harry
Mary Shelley
Music by Allan Jaffe
Libretto by Deborah Atherton
Based on the life of novelist Mary Shelley, this retelling follows the life of the famed Frankenstein author and the personal effects of the literary monster she created.
Kazem Abdullah Conductor
Jon-Michael Ball Shelley
Joshua Jeremiah Byron
Nicholas Coppolo Polidori
Yunah Lee Mary
Jennifer Tiller Clare
Matthew Curran Monster
Benjamin P. Wenzelberg Child
Sun Yat-Sen
Music by Huang Ruo
Libretto by Candice Chong
While fleeing an assassination attempt, Sun Yat-Sen, the leader of the Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, marries the daughter of a friend and fellow revolutionary without his consent. After a botched attempt to overthrow the old government, the old friends are reunited and the marriage is blessed.
George Manahan Conductor
Guang Yang Ni Gui-Zhen
Dong-Jian Gong Charles Song
Yingxi Zhang Yat-Sen
Xi Wang Lu Mu-Zhen
George Manahan Conductor
Caroline Worra Adele
Jane Shaulis Margaret
Nicholas Pallesen Jean-Luc
Bailey Grey Dede
William Ledbetter William
Vinkensport
Music by David T. Little
Libretto by Royce Vavrek
A motley assortment of contestants participates in a finch-sitting competition to see who has the most melodious bird. Although a seemingly simple and gentle competition, the competitors' inner monologues and flashbacks to their preparations reveal deep-seated rivalries, painful loneliness, and blossoming romance.
George Manahan Conductor
Amanda Hall Farinelli's Trainer
Jennifer Tiller St. Francis' Trainer
Michael Marcotte Hans Sachs' Trainer
Joshua Jeremiah Gabriel III's Trainer
Kerri Marcinko Sir Elton John's Trainer
SELECTION DESCRIPTIONS
Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10012
Tickets: $15
nycOpera.com/vox
Blood Rose
Music and Libretto by Hannah Lash
The classic Beauty and the Beast legend is turned on its head in this updated drama. To alleviate Beast's sense of rage from the devastation of his garden, he uses the blood of Beauty to water his broken flowers in an attempt to make them bloom again.
Robert Trevino Conductor
Meredith Lustig Roma
Marcello Guzzo Matteo
Amy Shoremount-Obra Beatrice
Robert Mack Pietro
Matthew Curran Thug/Shepherd/Jailer
Maren of Vardo
Music by Jeff Myers
Libretto by Royce Vavrek
Inspired by real events in 17th century Norway, a young girl's supposed alliances with the devil lead to betrayal and vengeance in their unrequited romance.
Robert Trevino Conductor
Deanna Breiwick Maren
Nicholas Pallesen Satan
Yunah Lee Bodil
Matthew Burns Priest
Three Weeks
Music by Yoav Gal
Libretto by Reuven Namdar
This docu-opera traces the events surrounding the three-week period leading up to the Ninth of Av Day of Atonement, marking the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the year 70AD. Partly historical, partly legend, this episode still reverberates today, especially in its mirror relationship to the rebirth of the modern state of Israel.
Robert Trevino Conductor
Judith Berkson Narrator/Daughter of Nakidimon
Cherry Duke Martha/Soprano
Jon-Michael Ball Yochanan/Tenor
Ian Greenlaw Messenger/Baritone
Heather Green Aspasianus
About NYU Skirball Center
The Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts is the premier venue for the presentation
of cultural and performing arts events for New York University and lower Manhattan. Led by
executive producer Jay Oliva (President Emeritus, NYU) and senior director Michael
Harrington, the programs of the Skirball Center reflect NYU's mission as an international
center of scholarship, defined by excellence and innovation and shaped by an intellectually
rich and diverse environment. A vital aspect of the Center's mission is to build young adult
audiences for the future of live performance. www.skirballcenter.nyu.edu
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