David T. Little News

New York City Opera concludes its spring 2013 BAM residency and celebrates the centennial of composer Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) with a brand-new production of Britten's chamber opera The Turn of the Screw (1954). Based on the classic ghost story by Henry James, the opera's libretto is by Myfanwy Piper. The production, conducted by Jayce Ogren, marks the opera debut of Sam Buntrock, the theater director best known for his award-winning staging of Sunday in the Park with George in the West End and on Broadway.

Lawrence Edelson, Producing Artistic Director of American Lyric Theater, announced today the national expansion of the company's core initiative, The Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP). Through the use of newly acquired HD teleconferencing technology, gifted emerging artists with an interest in writing for the opera stage will be able to participate in the CLDP, regardless of where they live in the country.

Lawrence Edelson, Producing Artistic Director of American Lyric Theater, announced today the national expansion of the company's core initiative, The Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP). Through the use of newly acquired HD teleconferencing technology, gifted emerging artists with an interest in writing for the opera stage will be able to participate in the CLDP, regardless of where they live in the country.

Lawrence Edelson, Producing Artistic Director of American Lyric Theater, announced today the national expansion of the company's core initiative, The Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP). Through the use of newly acquired HD teleconferencing technology, gifted emerging artists with an interest in writing for the opera stage will be able to participate in the CLDP, regardless of where they live in the country.

An opera has been commissioned dealing with the final day of President John F. Kennedy's life before his 1963 assassination in Dallas during the 2016 spring festival season.

Beth Morrison Projects (BMP) and HERE announce programming for the inaugural PROTOTYPE: Opera/Theatre/Now, running today, January 9-19, 2013, in New York City.

Darren K. Woods, General Director of Fort Worth Opera (FWOpera) appeared on KERA's widely popular program Think-the daily topic driven and call-in radio show hosted by Krys Boyd-this afternoon, Monday, January 7, 2013, at 1:00 p.m. (CST). During this special hour long, in-depth interview he discussed the recent announcement of the organization's new artistic vision, Opera of the Americas, a ten-year commitment to the production of thought-provoking works by contemporary composers of the Americas.

Soldier Songs is an evening-length multimedia event from composer David T. Little that combines elements of theater, opera, rock-infused concert music, and animation to portray a chilling and realistic view of our media-crazed, war machine culture, and of the nature of power in war. It delivers tough questions and tells tough stories through its poignant libretto, driving music, and surprising visual counterpoint. Created by the composer, the libretto was adapted from recorded interviews with veterans of five wars. Soldier Songs traces the shift in perception of war from the age of 6 to the age of 66. We follow the abstract character through the three phases of life: Child (playing war games) Warrior (time served in the military) and Elder (aged, wise,reflective).

"An Evening with The Coterie", a night of thirteen musical theater and opera premieres, will be presented at the National Opera Center tonight, December 15th at 7:30pm. The concert will feature soprano Lauren Worsham and lyrics by Royce Vavrek, co-founders of opera-theater company The Coterie, and two of the artists behind composer David T. Little's critically acclaimed opera "Dog Days", which premiered this September at Peak Performances @ Montclair.

"An Evening with The Coterie", a night of thirteen musical theater and opera premieres, will be presented at the National Opera Center on December 15th at 7:30pm. The concert will feature soprano Lauren Worsham and lyrics by Royce Vavrek, co-founders of opera-theater company The Coterie, and two of the artists behind composer David T. Little's critically acclaimed opera "Dog Days", which premiered this September at Peak Performances @ Montclair.

Beth Morrison Projects (BMP) and HERE have announced the full line-up for the inaugural PROTOTYPE: Opera/Theatre/Now festival, running January 9-18, 2013, in New York City. This two-week Festival, distilling the curatorial visions of artistic directors Kristin Marting (of HERE), Beth Morrison (of BMP), and Kim Whitener (of HERE), features visionary music-theatre and opera-theatre works by pioneering artists from NYC and around the world. PROTOTYPE is unique in providing a permanent theatrical home for the presentation of such quality productions, spotlighting the high-caliber creations of an exciting new generation of composers and collaborators, with a focus on chamber-sized works.

Tonight, September 29, David T. Little's long-awaited debut full-length opera, Dog Days, created in collaboration with librettist Royce Vavrek, and based on the eponymous short story by Judy Budnitz (1998), receives its world premiere, opening a run of five performances: Sep. 29, Oct. 6 at 8:00 PM; Sep. 30, Oct. 7 at 3:00 PM; Oct. 5 at 7:30 PM. The fully-staged production, directed by Robert Woodruff, premieres at Montclair State University's Alexander Kasser Theater in Montclair, NJ.

After three years in the making, David T. Little's "Dog Days" will receive its world premiere at Peak Performances' Alexander Kasser Theater, tonight, September 29-October 7.

What made news around the world this week? Check out our regional roundup for the week of September 24! Browse over to your favorite far-away city/country to see what's making news, see out productions are playing around the country and overseas and get to know new performers! Enjoy this virtual trek around the globe and stay tuned for next week's recap of regional not-to-be-missed news!

Looking ahead to winter, David T. Little's evening-length multi-media music-theatre work, Soldier Songs (2006), receives its New York City premiere as part of BMP and HERE's inaugural PROTOTYPE: Opera/Theatre/Now festival January 11-13 + 16-18, 2013, showcasing pioneering work by a new generation of opera-theatre and music-theatre composers. Created and composed by Little, Soldier Songs is based on recorded interviews with veterans of five wars, with a libretto adapted by the composer.

On Saturday, September 29, David T. Little's long-awaited debut full-length opera, Dog Days, created in collaboration with librettist Royce Vavrek, and based on the eponymous short story by Judy Budnitz (1998), receives its world premiere, opening a run of five performances: Sep. 29, Oct. 6 at 8:00 PM; Sep. 30, Oct. 7 at 3:00 PM; Oct. 5 at 7:30 PM. The fully-staged production, directed by Robert Woodruff, premieres at Montclair State University's Alexander Kasser Theater in Montclair, NJ. Watch a behind-the-scenes video with rehearsal footage and interviews with the Dog Days creative team below!

On Saturday, September 29, David T. Little's long-awaited debut full-length opera, Dog Days, created in collaboration with librettist Royce Vavrek, and based on the eponymous short story by Judy Budnitz (1998), receives its world premiere, opening a run of five performances: Sep. 29, Oct. 6 at 8:00 PM; Sep. 30, Oct. 7 at 3:00 PM; Oct. 5 at 7:30 PM. The fully-staged production, directed by Robert Woodruff, premieres at Montclair State University's Alexander Kasser Theater in Montclair, NJ.

After three years in the making, David T. Little's "Dog Days" will receive its world premiere at Peak Performances' Alexander Kasser Theater, September 29-October 7.

Beth Morrison Projects (BMP) and HERE announce programming for the inaugural PROTOTYPE: Opera/Theatre/Now, running January 9-19, 2013, in New York City. This two-week festival, distilling the curatorial visions of artistic directors Kristin Marting (of HERE), Beth Morrison (of BMP), and Kim Whitener (of HERE), features visionary music-theatre and opera-theatre works by pioneering artists from NYC and around the world. PROTOTYPE is unique in providing a permanent theatrical home for the presentation of such quality productions, spotlighting the high-caliber creations of an exciting new generation of composers and collaborators, with a focus on chamber-sized works.

Pace University has announced the 2012 / 2013 season of Pace Presents, hosted at The Michael Schimmel Center for The Arts located at 3 Spruce Street between Park Row and Gold Street in downtown Manhattan. Pace Presents is a world-class performing arts and culture series with an emphasis on music superstars from around the globe, charismatic and crowd-pleasing dance performances, spectacular theatre and contemporary cabaret. The Pace Presents season begins on September 22 with Gypsy brass superstars Fanfare Ciocarlia and culminates on April 20 with Jazz's living treasure, Hugh Masekela.