Words First: Talking Text in Opera

Keturah speaks with librettists: Matt Boresi, Bilal Dardai, Briana Hunter, and Steve Wallace about the currently streaming “Heroes” with the Decameron Opera Coalition.  All, saving Matt, are new librettists, and we talk about the inspiration behind their pieces as well as what it was like to write in this medium.

Decameron Opera Coalition: https://www.decameronoperacoalition.org/
Hilliard and Boresi: https://www.hilliardandboresi.com/#home-section
Bilal Dardai: https://bilal-dardai-theatre.weebly.com/
Briana Hunter: http://www.brianaelysehunter.com/
Steve Wallace: https://stevewallacemusic.com/

Keturah speaks with composer and lyricist, Taura Stinson, about her first foray into opera with “On The Edge,” composed by Laura Karpman for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis last season.  They also discuss Taura’s life as a songwriter for the film industry, and how to make opera more open and welcoming to everyone.

Taura Stinson:  http://www.taurastinson.com/about/
Laura Karpman:  http://www.laurakarpman.com/about

Keturah speaks with multi-faceted composer, librettist, and performer, Rinde Eckert.  They discuss the state of opera today, how much it’s changed (or hasn’t), and Rinde’s recent works as a librettist:  Moon Tea with Steven Mackey for OTSL, and The Aging Magician with Paola Prestini with Beth Morrison Projects.

Rinde Eckert: https://www.rindeeckert.com/
Steven Mackey: https://stevenmackey.com/
Paola Prestini: https://www.paolaprestini.com/
Margaret Jenkins Dance Company: https://www.mjdc.org/global-moves
Moon Tea: https://www.boosey.com/pages/opera/moredetails?musicid=108869
The Aging Magician: https://bethmorrisonprojects.org/projects/touring/aging-magician/

Keturah interviews music theorist and Puccini expert, Deborah Burton, about the many librettists Puccini worked with throughout his career, with special emphasis on Giacosa and Illica, as well as Fontana, who started it all with Edgar, a disaster that taught Puccini to be very involved with how his libretti were crafted.

Librettists mentioned:
Ferdinando Fontana
Giuseppe Giacosa
Luigi Illica
Ruggero Leoncavallo
Marco Praga
Domenico Oliva
Giulio Ricordi
Guelfo Civinini
Giuseppe Adami
Giovacchino Forzano
Renato Simoni

Deborah Burton - https://www.bu.edu/cfa/profile/deborah-burton/

Keturah interviews Douglas Kearney, a renowned poet and librettist who is the inaugural recipient of the Campbell Libretto Prize through Opera America.  They talk about his work with Yuval Sharon and The Industry in LA, his work as a poet, and his philosophy of writing performative text.

Douglas Kearney: https://www.douglaskearney.com/
Anne LeBaron: https://www.annelebaron.com/
The Industry LA: 

Keturah speaks with Bay Area librettist and composer, Tony Asaro, about his work in musical theater, how he found opera, and the two operas he’s currently working on: Zheng, and The Halloween Tree.

Tony Asaro: https://www.altnyc.org/tony-asaro
Theo Popov: http://www.theopopov.com/
Shinji Eshima: https://sfopera.com/about-us/people/bios/orchestra/shinji-eshima/
Zheng: https://www.zhengopera.com/
The Halloween Tree: https://www.altnyc.org/operas/the-halloween-tree

Keturah talks to playwright, librettist, and actor, Amanda Quaid about her left turn into writing opera libretti, and her new adaptation for Heartbeat Opera, The Extinctionist with Daniel Schlosberg.

Amanda Quaid: http://www.amandaquaid.com/
Daniel Schlosberg: https://danschlosberg.com/
The Extinctionist: https://www.heartbeatopera.org/extinctionist

Keturah speaks with librettist, playwright, and actor, Karen Chilton, about her collaboration with Damien Sneed on THE TONGUE AND THE LASH at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis for this year’s NEW WORKS, BOLD VOICES LAB.

Karen Chilton - https://www.karenchilton.com/bio
Damien Sneed - https://www.damiensneed.com/
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis - https://opera-stl.org/nwbv-lab

Keturah interviews composer and librettist, Nicolas Reveles, about some of his past work, as well as several upcoming pieces.  They end up talking about the physicality of trauma, a theme that shows up in a number of his pieces.

A recent interview with Nic in his role as opera educator: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/classical-music/story/2020-05-23/nicolas-reveles-on-discovering-and-rediscovering-the-magic-of-opera

In this first episode of Season 3, Keturah interviews composer and librettist, Rachel J. Peters.  They discuss a number of her works, including the recently premiered STAGGERWING, composed by Lisa DeSpain, and MEN I’M NOT MARRIED TO, which will premiere soon at Cleveland Opera Theater.  Rachel talks about always looking for the women in any given topic, which informs much of her writing.

https://www.racheljpeters.com/
https://www.lisadespain.com/
https://operakansas.org/our-performances/
https://www.clevelandoperatheater.org/operas-in-place