Daron Hagen News

OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, is pleased to announce it has awarded grants to nine opera companies through its Opera Fund: Repertoire Development grant program. These grants provide vital financial support to opera companies developing new North American opera and music-theater works.

According to published reports, Kevin Alansson Hagen passed away on July 13. He was 57 years old. Hagan was the former conductor of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra. His brother is noted opera composer Daron Hagen.

Ghenady Meirson's annual young vocalists program begins with a recital of Rachmaninov art songs and more

American Opera Projects (AOP) announces the return of its popular Composers & the Voice program for its 2013-14 season. Created and led by Composers & the Voice Artistic Director Steven Osgood, six composers or composer/librettist teams will be selected for a year-long fellowship, working with the company's Reside nt Ensemble of Singers and Artistic Team. Applications and additional information can be found at AOP's website www.operaprojects.org/composers_voice. The deadline for applications is May 17, 2013. All sessions will be at AOP's home base in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

On Saturday, March 23, 7:30pm, composer Zach Redler and librettist Sara Cooper, the creative team behind next month's musical 'The Memory Show' at the Duke Theater, will premiere their latest work 'Windows' featuring singers Sumayya Ali (The Gershwins' Porgy & Bess) and Etai BenShlomo (Wicked). Part of AOP (American Opera Projects) and Opera on Tap's new music series, 'OPERAtion Brooklyn' the 40-minute staged song-cycle will be followed by excerpts from two new operas - Decoration and Smashed. The performances will take place on multiple floors of ART-NY's South Oxford Space (138 S. Oxford St., Brooklyn 11217) in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Tickets are $20, available at www.operationbrooklyn.com. The evening will run 1 hour, thirty minutes.

On Saturday, March 23, 7:30pm, AOP (American Opera Projects) and Opera on Tap will present a new installment of their acclaimed series, 'OPERAtion Brooklyn' a semi-annual festival that highlights Brooklyn as the cultural epicenter for progressive works of opera and classical music. Audiences will be guided around multiple floors of ART-NY's South Oxford Space (138 S. Oxford St., Brooklyn 11217) in Fort Greene, Brooklyn to hear music from new operas by local talents Mikael Karlsson, James Barry and Zach Redler. Tickets are $20, available at www.operationbrooklyn.com. The evening will run 1 hour, thirty minutes.

OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, has announced that it has awarded grants to 10 opera companies and four teams of artists through two funding programs: The Opera Fund: Repertoire Development and the Robert L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Showcase. These grants support the production of new North American opera and help develop the careers of promising directors and designers, respectively.

On Wednesday, November 7, from 5:00 - 6:00pm, Sarasota Opera will host a special 'Meet the Artists' panel discussion focusing on the creation of Sarasota Opera's upcoming world premiere of Little Nemo in Slumberland at the Sarasota Opera House. Maestro Victor DeRenzi will moderate the discussion. The panel will include the opera's composer Daron Hagen, librettist J.D. McClatchy, stage director Martha Collins and scenic designer Michael Schweikardt.

Sundance Institute today announced the seven artists selected for its 2013 Playwrights Retreat at Ucross Foundation, February 4-22, 2013. The annual writing colony at the 20,000-acre working cattle ranch outside of Sheridan, Wyo. provides a supportive environment for artists to create new work and receive guidance and reactions to it at an early stage. Under the supervision of Philip Himberg, Artistic Director of the Theatre Program, and Producing Director Christopher Hibma, the Playwrights Retreat is made possible through the generosity of Ucross Foundation.

Sarasota Youth Opera will present the world premiere of a brand new work, Little Nemo in Slumberland, with music by Daron Hagen and words by J.D. McClatchy, commissioned by the Sarasota Opera Association. This will mark the Sarasota Youth Opera and Sarasota Opera Association's 5th commission since the programs inception in 1984. The child principal roles will be performed by members of the Sarasota Youth Opera program and the adult principal roles will be performed by members of the Sarasota Opera Apprentice and Studio Artists Program. In addition, singers and performers from Booker High School, Out of Door Academy and Sailor Circus will help to round out the cast making for a total of 107 Sarasota young people on the stage of the Sarasota Opera House.

Sarasota Opera joins opera organizations nationwide to celebrate NATIONAL OPERA WEEK (October 26 - November 4), coordinated by OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, with support of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Saturday, October 27, from 4:30pm - 5:30pm, Ringling College and Sarasota Opera will host a panel discussion on the works of Windsor McCay and the creation of the new opera Little Nemo in Slumberland at the Selby Gallery located on the campus of the Ringling College of Art and Design. Maestro Victor DeRenzi will moderate the discussion and the panel will include composer Daron Hagen, librettist J.D. McClatchy, and members of both the artistic team and cast of Little Nemo in Slumberland.

Washington National Opera (WNO) presents American baritone Nathan Gunn in concert as part of its Celebrity Series today, September 23 at 4 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Accompanied by the WNO Orchestra under the baton of Tony Award winner Ted Sperling, Gunn will perform selections from operas by Mozart, Rossini, and Bizet, plus songs by Sondheim and other Broadway composers. American tenor William Burden will join him for a few duets. All three artists will make their WNO debuts with this performance.

Affirming its place as an emerging leader in the development of new operatic works, the Opera Company of Philadelphia announced today that Nathan Gunn, internationally-renowned baritone, has been appointed as the director of its newly-formed American Repertoire Council.

Washington National Opera (WNO) presents American baritone Nathan Gunn in concert as part of its Celebrity Series on Sunday, September 23 at 4 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Accompanied by the WNO Orchestra under the baton of Tony Award winner Ted Sperling, Gunn will perform selections from operas by Mozart, Rossini, and Bizet, plus songs by Sondheim and other Broadway composers. American tenor William Burden will join him for a few duets. All three artists will make their WNO debuts with this performance.

Single tickets go on sale online at www.sarasotaopera.org to the general public Wednesday, August 1st, 2012 for Sarasota Opera's 2012-2013 Fall and Winter Festival seasons, the company's 54th consecutive season. Sarasota Opera continues its tradition of assembling casts of international talent to perform a mixture of classic favorites paired with rarely performed works of artistic excellence in the beautiful historic Sarasota Opera House.

The 2012 fall season will include the Sarasota Youth Opera world premiere of LITTLE NEMO IN SLUMBERLAND. The 2013 Winter Festival will feature three Sarasota Opera premieres: Puccini's TURANDOT; Verdi's A KING FOR A DAY (Un giorno di regno); and Carlisle Floyd's OF MICE AND MEN.

Today, May 20 and Monday, May 21, 2012 at 8pm American Opera Projects (AOP) will present COMPOSERS & THE VOICE: FIRST GLIMPSE 2012, the first public presentation of compositions developed during this season's Composers & the Voice program. Audiences will hear songs written by five emerging composers - Sidney Marquez Boquiren, Mikael Karlsson, Robert Paterson, Rachel Peters, and Ronnie Reshef - and one composer/librettist team, Zach Redler and Sara Cooper, who were chosen by AOP to spend a year creating new works focusing on the operatic voice. The performances will be held at South Oxford Space in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, the home of AOP. Tickets are $15 general admission, $10 for students/seniors and are available at www.operaprojects.org.

Marc Straus in New York City will open its galleries May 5 - 6 to offer an early look at items featured in 'Paper Trails', a unique auction of manuscripts, sketches, notes and drafts from selected artists that will help support Yaddo's artists' residency program.