New Works Forum 2018: Full Schedule

1:30pm EST

Registration Opens

Meet and Greet with Coffee

Saturday January 13, 2018 1:30pm - 2:00pm EST
The National Opera Center 330 Seventh Ave, New York, NY 10001

2:00pm EST

Welcome and Opening Remarks

OPERA America’s president and CEO, Marc A. Scorca, will welcome attendees, explain the goals of this year’s New Works Forum and introduce a discussion about how the opera field can become more welcoming to a diverse community of creative artists and their stories.

Speakers

Laura Lee Everett

Chief Programs Officer, OPERA America

The Chief Programs Officer for OPERA America, Laura Lee Everett has more than two decades of experience in opera production management, collaborating with some of the most renowned artists in contemporary opera. She has produced the Opera America Songbook (50 commissioned songs for... Read More →

Marc A. Scorca

President/CEO, OPERA AMERICA

Marc A. Scorca joined OPERA America in 1990 as president and CEO. Under his leadership, the OPERA America membership has grown from 120 opera companies to nearly 2,500 organizations and individuals. The organization has also administered two landmark funding initiatives in support... Read More →

Saturday January 13, 2018 2:00pm - 3:30pm EST
Marc A. Scorca Hall (The National Opera Center) 330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001

Session

3:30pm EST

Commissioning Without a Model

This session will feature case studies from several companies that recently enjoyed success commissioning and producing a new opera by working outside the traditional developmental model.

Moderators

Ed Harsh

President and CEO, New Music USA

Ed Harsh is President and CEO of New Music USA, which was created by the merger of the American Music Center and Meet The Composer. Ed had previously been President and Vice President of MTC since 2005. His background includes more than twenty years of professional experience in the... Read More →

Speakers

Robert Ainsley

Director, Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, Washington National Opera

Jecca Barry

Executive Director, Beth Morrison Projects

Jecca joined Beth Morrison Projects in 2013 as General Manager and currently serves as Executive Director. In addition, in 2017 she was named a Co-Director of the PROTOTYPE Festival. Jecca began her career as a performer of avant-garde flute music, before transitioning into finance... Read More →

Beth Morrison

President & Creative Producer, Beth Morrison Projects

Beth Morrison Projects is led by Creative Producer Beth Morrison, an opera and theatre producer, singer, and voice teacher with bachelor and master of music degrees and a master of fine arts in theatre management/producing from the Yale School of Drama, as well as many years of experience... Read More →

Sarah Williams

New Works Administrator, Opera Philadelphia

Sarah Williams is a savvy producer and recently named among the top 30 Professionals of the Year by Musical America. She commissions, develops, and explores New Works of the highest artistic aesthetic by presenting innovative programming. Williams identifies extraordinary artists... Read More →

Saturday January 13, 2018 3:30pm - 4:45pm EST
Marc A. Scorca Hall (The National Opera Center) 330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001

Session

4:45pm EST

Welcome Reception with Director-Designer Showcase Finalist Team

Meet the finalist team from the 2017 Robert L. B. Tobin Director-Designer Showcase and see their exhibition display for Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied at a light wine reception on the 8th floor of the National Opera Center.

Ashley Tata, director
Stephan Moravski, scenic designer
Liene Dobraja, costume designer
Abigail Hoke-Brady, lighting designer
Brad Peterson, projection and video designer

The team envisions a Glory Denied in which an “American dream home” is fractured, with the prisons of society, matrimony and motherhood reflecting those of a POW cell.

Speakers

Ashley Tata

Ashley Tata (director) works principally in the fields of new opera and multi-media performance. Recently: Kate Soper’s Ipsa Dixit (EMPAC and Dixon Place); the multi-media pop-up series “Out of Bounds” (PROTOTYPE Festival); Molière’s Don Juan (Fisher Center, Bard College... Read More →

Saturday January 13, 2018 4:45pm - 5:45pm EST
The National Opera Center 330 Seventh Ave, New York, NY 10001

Special Event

5:45pm EST

Dinner on own

Saturday January 13, 2018 5:45pm - 7:30pm EST
TBA

Meal, On your own

7:30pm EST

Acquanetta - Prototype Festival (tickets included)

You don't have a ticket for this event!

WORLD PREMIERE, Chamber Version
In the new opera Acquanetta, the spirit of 1940s horror movies is turned inside out in a bravura, one-act deconstruction of the genre that explores how vision relates to identity. Characters include the mad scientist Doctor, the insistent Ape, the reluctant Brainy Woman, the visionary Director and the beautiful Acquanetta, aka Mildred Davenport, an actress who disguised her identity. Acquanetta examines the ways the movie camera manipulates how we see and are seen. In soaring, sometimes comic and always indelible songs that capture the heightened drama of horror films, these vivid characters reveal their inner longings and emotional shadows in what is ultimately a haunting meditation on the meaning of identity, transformation, stereotypes and typecasting, set in the heyday of Hollywood gloss.

http://prototypefestival.org/show/acquanetta/

Saturday January 13, 2018 7:30pm - 9:15pm EST
Gelsey Kirkland Studio 29 Jay St, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Performance

8:30am EST

Registration Open

Coffee and Pastries available

Sunday January 14, 2018 8:30am - 10:00am EST
The National Opera Center 330 Seventh Ave, New York, NY 10001

9:00am EST

New British Music Theater and Opera — U.K.’s New Wave

New Music Theatre Abroad: an update from our colleagues in the UK
Discover a new wave of British companies and artists producing exciting inter-genre music theater. Patrick Eakin Young, director of the U.K. company ERRATICA, will present about this new British music theater alongside creative producer Sarah Crabtree, from the Royal Opera, who will discuss how that house is fostering and developing new work. A facilitated discussion between U.K. panelists and audience members will provide a chance to explore some of the trends, issues and current thinking around new work in the U.K. sector.

Speakers

Sarah Crabtree

Senior Producer, Royal Opera House

Jo Crowley

Producer 1927, 1927

Michael Duffy

Music Programme Manager, British Council

Michael Duffy joined the British Council as Music Programme Manager in March 2017. He leads on projects in the Americas and European Union regions as well as work in classical music and opera/music theatre. Prior to joining the British Council he worked with the UK's Mahogany Opera... Read More →

Roxanne Peak-Payne

Producer, Clod Ensemble

CLOD ENSEMBLE is one of the UK’s leading interdisciplinary theatre companies, known for creating visually stunning, aurally complex performances. For over two decades, director Suzy Willson and composer Paul Clark have developed a highly original performance language, creating provocative... Read More →

Tom Spencer

Producer, Verity Standen Projects

George Warren

Producer, Erratica

Patrick Eakin Young

Director & Dramaturg

Canadian-born director and dramaturg based in London, specialising in interdisciplinary projects, particularly music and sound driven performance and installation, as well as opera, music theatre, and staged concerts and gigs.

Sunday January 14, 2018 9:00am - 9:45am EST
Rehearsal Hall (The National Opera Center) 330 Seventh Ave, New York, NY 10001

Session

10:00am EST

Facilitated Discussion

Join facilitated discussion exploring the topics suggested by attendees, responses to works seen during the Forum and the future of new work in the opera field.

Moderators

Marc A. Scorca

President/CEO, OPERA AMERICA

Sunday January 14, 2018 10:00am - 11:15am EST
Marc A. Scorca Hall (The National Opera Center) 330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001

Session

11:30am EST

Creating and Developing New Works with Colleges, Conservatories and YAPs

Many fruitful collaborations occur between opera companies and educational programs in the development of new works, and the number of these relationships is on the rise. This session features examples of projects that drew effectively on the unique resources of academic and training programs.

Moderators

Laura Lee Everett

Chief Programs Officer, OPERA America

Speakers

Brian DeMaris

Lawrence Edelson

Founder / Artistic & General Director, American Lyric Theater / Opera Saratoga

Lawrence Edelson is highly respected not only as a critically acclaimed stage director, but also as a visionary company leader who has created programs in the areas of new works development and artist mentorship that have served as models of innovation for opera companies around... Read More →

Leigh Holman

Opera Director, Eklund Opera at CU Boulder

Marcus Küchle

Director Of Artistic Operations, Cincinnati Opera

Marcus Küchle is both an arts manager and active pianist. Küchle is the Director of Artistic Operations & New Works Development at the Cincinnati Opera, following previous engagements at San Francisco Opera and the Bayerische Staatsoper in his hometown of Munich, Germany. He is... Read More →

Beth Morrison

President & Creative Producer, Beth Morrison Projects

Sunday January 14, 2018 11:30am - 12:45pm EST
Marc A. Scorca Hall (The National Opera Center) 330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001

Session

12:45pm EST

Lunch on own

Sunday January 14, 2018 12:45pm - 2:00pm EST
TBA

Meal, On your own

2:00pm EST

Fellow Travelers - Prototype Festival (tickets included)

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Sunday January 14, 2018 2:00pm - 4:15pm EST
Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College of Criminal Justice 524 W 59th St, New York, NY 10019

Performance, Fellow Travelers

4:45pm EST

Art-Centered Partnerships – Inspiration and Experience

Part 1 – Inspiration
4:45 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.
This session will explore one side of creative place-making – creating work that emerges from mutually-beneficial partnerships that invite and engage different communities in the creation and production of the work, and that have lasting civic value after the project is completed.

Part 2 – Experience
5:45 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.
Whether it is reimagining a company’s traditional space or finding an alternative venue that has a history of its own and resonates with the theme of the opera, using the theater as part of the art-making can add meaning for new audiences and change the understanding of opera and the role it can play in the life of a community.

Moderators

Kayhan Irani

Founder / Producer, Artivista

Kayhan Irani is an Emmy-award winning writer, a producer, and a Theater of the Oppressed trainer. She creates art, media and live events to build community and engage audiences in social justice issues. Clients include NGOs, government agencies, and community organizations interested in using in story-based strategies for mobilization, engagement, and education.Kayhan... Read More →

Sunday January 14, 2018 4:45pm - 6:45pm EST
Merkin Concert Hall - Kaufman Music Center 129 W 67th Street, New York, NY 10036

Session

6:45pm EST

Dinner on own

Sunday January 14, 2018 6:45pm - 8:00pm EST
TBA

Meal

8:00pm EST

ALT Alumni: Composers and Librettists in Concert - American Lyric Theater (Tickets included)

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Sunday January 14, 2018 8:00pm - 10:00pm EST
Merkin Concert Hall - Kaufman Music Center 129 W 67th Street, New York, NY 10036

Performance, ALT Alumni Concert

9:30am EST

Light Breakfast

Coffee and pastries available.

Monday January 15, 2018 9:30am - 10:00am EST
The National Opera Center 330 Seventh Ave, New York, NY 10001

Meal, Provided

10:00am EST

Telling the Right Story

The traditions of our inherited repertoire can limit the types of stories that are told on opera stages. New stories with meaning for a new public may not meet the expectations of established audiences. At the same time, the stories of canonic works may not appeal to newcomers to the art form. This session will explore the options and strategies for new and revised story-telling in opera.
Panelists:
Fred Cohn, editor and writer | Opera America, Opera News
Robert Marx, President | The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation
Anne Midgette, Classical Music Critic | The Washington Post
John Schaefer, radio host and author | WNYC/WQXR, New Sounds
Heidi Waleson, Opera Critic | The Wall Street Journal

Moderators

Marc A. Scorca

President/CEO, OPERA AMERICA

Monday January 15, 2018 10:00am - 11:30am EST
Marc A. Scorca Hall (The National Opera Center) 330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001

Session

11:45am EST

Untold Lies - Nautilus Music Theater (Tickets included)

You don't have a ticket for this event!

About the Performance
UNTOLD LIES tells the story of two farmhands, Ray Person (married to Minnie) and young Hal Winters. In conversation, Hal asks Ray for advice, which results in emotional soul-searching on Ray's part, questioning his own life choices.
Dramaturgically, UNTOLD LIES honors familiar operatic conventions. There's a folk song, arias, duets, a power trio, and a passionate operatic scena (in cavatina/cabeletta form) full of emotional highs and lows. The overt storytelling of Anderson’s novel is reflected in the neo-Brechtian use of direct audience address; characters turn mid-scene and deliver inner musings directly to the audience, as well as an out-of-time-and-place prelude and interlude. The audience experiences the singers both as storytellers in the moment, and as characters created by Anderson (and re-imagined by Payne and Elhai).
The score is rooted in musical Americana, including “roots“ orchestration, in a vernacular “folk“ style consistent with the characters’ rural culture and psychological state. Melodic clarity and rhythmic invention drive the score, seasoned throughout with harmonic pungency, with enough musical complexity and vocal punch to be thought of as a “folk opera”.
UNTOLD LIES an unconducted chamber piece scored for piano, violin, accordion, and string bass. For the New Works Forum, it will be performed with piano, violin, and the original cast of soprano, tenor, and baritone in a semi-concert format.

Speakers

Robert Elhai

Composer, Nautilus Music Theater

Ben Krywosz

Artistic Director, Nautilus Music-Theater

Producer/Director/Dramaturg BEN KRYWOSZ is the co-founder of Nautilus Music-Theater, for which he serves as Artistic Director. The company’s work blurs the distinction between classical opera, American musicals, and innovative alternative work. In addition to directing fully-staged... Read More →

James Payne

librettist, UNTOLD LIES

Monday January 15, 2018 11:45am - 1:00pm EST
Marc A. Scorca Hall (The National Opera Center) 330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001

Performance

1:00pm EST

Lunch on own

Monday January 15, 2018 1:00pm - 2:15pm EST
TBA

Meal, On your own

2:15pm EST

Freedom Ride - Juventas New Music Theater (Tickets included)

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About the Performance
In April 2018, Juventas New Music will produce the world premiere of Dan Shore’s opera Freedom Ride at The Strand Theater in Boston. Through lush, beautiful harmonies, Freedom Ride celebrates and communicates a critical historical moment for America’s Civil Rights Movement. The themes and issues at the heart of Freedom Ride are still incredibly relevant today as our society grapples with the persistent presence of institutional racism in America.
Freedom Ride tells the story of Sylvie Davenport, a young African-American student from New Orleans, as she slowly becomes involved in the Civil Rights Movement in the summer of 1961. The Congress of Racial Equality is looking for volunteers to help desegregate transportation in the South by riding to Jackson, where they face imprisonment for these actions. These journeys later become known as “Freedom Rides”. Initially reluctant, Sylvie becomes infatuated with activist Clayton Thomas and tentatively agrees to join the Freedom Rides, despite catastrophic personal consequences.
This showcase production features an abbreviated version of the opera, with selections from several scenes from Acts 1 and 2. The showcase follows Sylvie as she gains the courage to both confess her love to Clayton and embark on her Freedom Ride, despite warnings and admonishments from friends, families and strangers. The excerpts feature several soloists and the chorus, and taken together, they reflect not only the rich musical language of the opera but also the moving emotional arc of the story. The opera calls for an African-American cast of principals, a mixed-race chorus, and African American Production Team. In a field that remains predominantly Caucasian, operas that insist on full racial representation are essential.

Monday January 15, 2018 2:15pm - 3:15pm EST
Marc A. Scorca Hall (The National Opera Center) 330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001

Performance

3:30pm EST

Is There a New American Opera Sound?

Composers new to opera are melding new musical language(s) into a “classical music” art form. Does the rich new mixture of musical voices define a new American style of opera? This “fishbowl” discussion will explore the dimensions of this new style and challenge attendees to consider whether the existing opera community is prepared to embrace it.

Moderators

Ed Harsh

President and CEO, New Music USA

Kurt Howard

Director of Programs and Services, OPERA America

After three years as OPERA America's managing director, Kurt Howard shifted into the position of director of programs services in 2017. Howard is responsible for professional development programs, annual conference planning and execution, supervision of grant programs (specifically... Read More →

Monday January 15, 2018 3:30pm - 5:15pm EST
Rehearsal Hall (The National Opera Center) 330 Seventh Ave, New York, NY 10001

Session

5:30pm EST

Electronics, Amplification and New Opera

This session will focus on how to structure a production process that features amplification, including the need to hire a designer (not just an engineer), scheduling rehearsal time, budgeting correctly, and communicating not only with the venue, but with audiences who insist that opera singing must always be unamplified.

Moderators

Kurt Howard

Director of Programs and Services, OPERA America

Speakers

Douglas Cuomo

Composer, independent

Dallas Opera is presenting ARJUNA'S DILEMMA in an staged version with video at the Opera Conference on Thursday May 4, 7:30 pm at the Winspear Opera House. A new chamber opera, ASHES AND SNOW, is premiering in Feb. '18 at Pittsburgh Opera and then going to BAM's Next Wave Festival... Read More →

Garth MacAleavey

Audio Expert, National Sawdust

Ra Byn Taylor

Audio Expert, Dallas / Fort Worth area

Monday January 15, 2018 5:30pm - 6:30pm EST
Marc A. Scorca Hall (The National Opera Center) 330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001

Session

6:30pm EST

Dinner - Provided

Join your colleagues for a delicious buffet dinner and open bar with curated cocktails, beer and wine.

Monday January 15, 2018 6:30pm - 7:45pm EST
Rehearsal Hall (The National Opera Center) 330 Seventh Ave, New York, NY 10001

Meal

8:00pm EST

Marie Begins - Tri-Cities Opera (Tickets included)

You don't have a ticket for this event!

About the Performance
Marie is a modern woman in a time of endless possibilities. But on her 30th birthday, she reflects on her life and realizes she hasn’t done much of anything, especially since her father passed away. Today will be the day that she starts getting her life together. The opera, which takes place in the modern apartment of the female lead, starts with an introduction of the main character, Marie. At the end of this scene the audience votes which path to take from the two choices presented. After the audience selects the first path, they will encounter other choices at the end of each 2-6 minute scene. With each choice, characters who are intertwined with the lead character present new plot twists and dilemmas. The scenes progress from solo to ensemble singing as the experience unfolds.
Marie Begins is a condensed, comic opera with Jazz and Classical music roots. A chorus is incorporated as cinematic memories of friends and family of Marie and as her interior voice, the voice she battles with. A jazz trio with a Keyboard/Sampler accompanies the cast of five singers. The sampler is used to integrate the sounds of the apartment into the music as a way to expand the story through music. For example, in an interlude the singers are interrupted by their mobile devices leaving sentences unfinished and conversations incomplete. The incorporation of sounds from modern life serves as a way to further comment on Marie’s dilemma as she battles with distraction and “busyness” in her life while feeling as if she has accomplished little.

Speakers

Ellen Fishman

New Media Composer, 2017 Discovery Grant for Female Composers

Monday January 15, 2018 8:00pm - 9:00pm EST
Marc A. Scorca Hall (The National Opera Center) 330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001

Performance

9:15pm EST

New Models of Distribution

Patterns for consuming music and theater have been radically transformed over the last decade. Audiences expectations offer new challenges – and opportunities – for producers who are willing to explore new techniques for distributing opera. This session will explore some of the latest advances.

Moderators

Kevin Clark

Philanthropy Consultant, Kevin Clark Consulting

Speakers

Lisa Bielawa

Composer, Independent

Ellen Fishman

New Media Composer, 2017 Discovery Grant for Female Composers

Anne Hiatt

Artistic and General Director, Opera on Tap

I am a co-founder of Opera on Tap, a nationwide 11 year old organization with the mission of bringing opera to people while supporting the artists that keep it alive. We currently present 3 programs: -Bar Shows (our flagship core community outreach program). We sing opera in bars... Read More →

Frances Pollock

Student, Yale University

Kamala Sankaram

Composer, SUNY Purchase

KAMALA SANKARAM has been praised as “strikingly original” (NY Times) and “new voice from whom we will surely be hearing more” (LA Times). Recent commissions include Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Memphis, Opera on Tap, and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus... Read More →

Monday January 15, 2018 9:15pm - 10:15pm EST
Marc A. Scorca Hall (The National Opera Center) 330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001

Session

9:30am EST

Light Breakfast

Coffee and pastries available.

Tuesday January 16, 2018 9:30am - 10:00am EST
The National Opera Center 330 Seventh Ave, New York, NY 10001

Meal, Provided

10:00am EST

Listen, Wilhelmina! - Wolf Trap Opera Company (Tickets included)

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About the Presentation
Listen Wilhelmina! was commissioned by Wolf Trap's Institute for Early Learning as a first operatic/theatrical experience for pre-K and early elementary school students.
This presentation will be an introduction hosted by Lee Anne Myslewski and David Hanlon from Wolf Trap Opera Company followed by a viewing of the complete video of the premiere. The audience action and reaction to the work is an integral part of this presentation as it was commissioned for a very specific age group.

Speakers

David Hanlon

Composer/Conductor, Wolf Trap Opera

Composer of Wolf Trap Opera's Listen Wilhelmina, HGOco's After the Storm (with librettist Stephanie Fleischmann) and Past the Checkpoints. Conductor credits at HGO, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Diego Opera, New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera Center. Premieres include works by... Read More →

Lee Anne Myslewski

V.P. Opera & Classical Programming, Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts

Tuesday January 16, 2018 10:00am - 11:00am EST
Marc A. Scorca Hall (The National Opera Center) 330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001

Performance

11:00am EST

Creating, Not Adapting, Opera for Young Audiences

North American companies lag far behind their European and South American counterparts – and the theater community in the US and Canada – in developing a body of substantive new work for infants, pre-K audiences and young adults. At the same time, opera incorporates all the arts and encompasses all the senses. A panel of expert practitioners will share their experience in creating work that puts cognitive development at the forefront and prepares young people to engage comfortably as future creators, administrators and audiences.

Moderators

Brandon Neal

Administrative Coordinator, Education & Community Programs, The Santa Fe Opera

Brandon Neal is the Administrative Coordinator of Education and Community Programs for the Santa Fe Opera. Mr. Neal is responsible for a variety of programs for the SFO, including the chamber opera productions, apprentice tours and other special programming. He also manages the... Read More →

Speakers

Session

12:00pm EST

Facilitated Discussion and Closing Remarks

Speakers

Laura Lee Everett

Chief Programs Officer, OPERA America

Marc A. Scorca

President/CEO, OPERA AMERICA

Tuesday January 16, 2018 12:00pm - 1:00pm EST
Marc A. Scorca Hall (The National Opera Center) 330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001

Session